Kansas City: Know Before You Go

Kansas City is a vibrant, cultural hub in the Midwest, with a rich history, thriving arts scene, and a passion for sports. Known as the 'City of Fountains', Kansas City rivals Rome in the number of fountains it has. It also has a reputation for its jazz and barbecue, with over 100 restaurants serving up the city's signature tangy, molasses-sweetened sauce. Kansas City is also family-friendly, with plenty of child-friendly attractions, including the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, and the Sea Life Aquarium. The city is spread across two states, with Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, being two distinct cities with separate governments. A car is essential to get the most out of your visit, as the public transport options are limited.

Kansas City is known as the 'City of Fountains

Kansas City is known as the "City of Fountains", and for good reason. With more fountains than any city other than Rome, it's a fitting nickname. Kansas City has over 200 registered fountains in the metropolitan area, and that number doesn't include the private fountains found in homes and businesses.

The city's fountains range from the classical to the modern, the realistic to the whimsical. Some are centrepieces for public squares, while others are tucked into small nooks or installed along main thoroughfares. Many of the fountains are landmarks, resting places, backdrops for special memories, and links to the Kansas City of the past.

The history of the fountains in Kansas City dates back to the late 1800s when they were first installed as part of humanitarian public drinking water projects. The first fountain built by the city was designed by landscape architect and urban planner George Kessler and was located at 15th and The Paseo. This fountain was destroyed in 1941 but was rebuilt in 1970 and 1990, and underwent another major restoration in 2008. The first fountains in Kansas City served a practical purpose, providing drinking water for people, horses, and dogs. One such fountain, built in 1904 by the Humane Society of Kansas City in Kansas, featured water pouring out of spigots in lions' mouths, with a granite basin at a height accessible to horses and overflow into four small pools at street level for dogs.

Over time, the purpose of fountains in Kansas City shifted from purely practical to decorative as well. The trend of building decorative fountains with statues took off in the 1920s when developer J.C. Nichols used them extensively in the development of Country Club Plaza. Today, the most famous fountain in Kansas City is the Mill Creek Fountain, featuring four allegorical equestrian figures that represent the four great rivers of the world: the Mississippi, Volga, Seine, and Rhine. The work is surrounded by sculptures of children riding dolphins.

Another notable fountain is the William Volker Memorial Fountain, which includes the last sculptures by Swedish artist Carl Milles. This ensemble depicts Saint Martin of Tours, the patron saint of France, on horseback, giving his clothes to a beggar, surrounded by two angels, a curious little demon, and jet sprays of water.

Each April, the city celebrates Greater Kansas City Fountain Day, when 48 publicly owned fountains are officially switched on for the season.

The city has a rich sports culture

Kansas City has a rich and varied sports culture, with a passionate fan base and a long history of professional sports teams. The city has had teams in all five major professional sports leagues, and three major league teams remain today: the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), the Kansas City Royals (MLB), and Sporting Kansas City (MLS).

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team with a rich history. They were the first American League expansion team to reach the playoffs, the World Series, and to win the World Series. The Royals have won the World Series twice, first in 1985 and then again in 2015.

The Kansas City Chiefs are a highly successful National Football League team. They have won the Super Bowl three times, in 1969, 2020, and 2023. The Chiefs play at the GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which is known as the loudest sports stadium in the world. Attending a Chiefs game is a rite of passage for Kansas City residents, with enthusiastic tailgating and raucous crowds.

Sporting Kansas City is a Major League Soccer team that plays its home games at Children's Mercy Park. They have won the MLS Cup twice and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup four times. Kansas City also has a women's professional soccer team, the Kansas City Current, which will debut a unique, purpose-built stadium in 2024.

In addition to these major league teams, Kansas City has a number of other professional and semi-professional sports teams, including the Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL hockey), the Kansas City Monarchs (independent baseball), and the Swope Park Rangers (soccer). The city also has a rich history of basketball, with the Kansas City Kings playing in the NBA from 1972 to 1985, and the Kansas Crusaders winning the 1993 Women's Professional Basketball WBA Championship.

Kansas City is also a hotbed of college sports, regularly hosting 60-plus college basketball teams each year, more than anywhere else in the country. The city has also hosted ten men's final fours, more than any other city.

It's famous for its barbecue

Kansas City is famous for its barbecue. The Kansas City style of barbecue is characterised by a wide variety of meats, seasoned with a dry rub, slow-smoked over a variety of woods, and served with a thick tomato-based barbecue sauce. The sauce is often seasoned with brown sugar, molasses, and tomatoes, resulting in a thick, sweet flavour.

The Kansas City barbecue can be traced back to Henry Perry, who, in 1908, started barbecuing in an outdoor pit adjacent to his streetcar barn, serving slabs of meat wrapped in newspaper for 25 cents. Perry's sauce had a somewhat harsh, peppery flavour. His restaurant became a major cultural point during the heyday of Kansas City Jazz in the "wide-open" days of Tom Pendergast in the 1920s and 1930s.

Today, Kansas City has over 100 barbecue restaurants, several of which are nationally renowned. The area also hosts several large barbecue cooking contests, such as the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle and the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, the largest barbecue competition in the world.

Some of the most famous barbecue joints in Kansas City include:

• Arthur Bryant's Barbeque: Once proclaimed "the single best restaurant in the world" by Calvin Trillin in 1972.
• Gates Bar-B-Q: A local institution since 1946, known for its beloved house sauce.
• Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que: Named one of the "13 Places You Must Eat Before You Die" by Anthony Bourdain.
• Q39: An upscale barbecue restaurant that combines smoky art with a classically trained chef's devotion to the moisture and tenderness of the meat.
• Big T's Bar B Q: A family-owned barbecue joint that serves brisket made the old way—slow-cooked in a brick wall smoker with no gas or electricity.
• Buck Tui BBQ: A fusion of KC barbecue executed with northern Thai flavours and techniques.

There's a vibrant jazz scene

Kansas City has a vibrant jazz scene with over 40 venues featuring jazz on a regular basis. The jazz tradition in Kansas City dates back to the early 20th century, with its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s. The genre is as vibrant as ever today, fuelling more than 40 jazz and fine-dining venues every night of the week.

The roots of jazz in Kansas City are varied, with blues singers of the 1920s and ragtime music, as well as dance halls, cabarets, and speakeasies, influencing the development of this new musical style. In the early days, many jazz groups were smaller dance bands with three to six pieces, but by the mid-1920s, the big band became the most common. The city's African-American community, centred around 12th and 18th streets downtown, was a vital hub for the growth of jazz, with many great musicians getting their start in this community.

Some of the most famous jazz musicians of all time performed in Kansas City during this time, including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams, Duke Ellington, and more. These musicians attracted legions of fans to the city, creating a potent combination that helped establish the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District. At its peak, jazz could be heard in more than 200 venues throughout the city, including The Gem Theater, The Blue Room, and the Mutual Musicians Foundation.

Kansas City's rich jazz history continues to be celebrated and honoured today through various institutions and cultural offerings. The American Jazz Museum, located in the former Gem Theater on 18th & Vine, honours the careers and legacies of KC's jazz greats and celebrates jazz as an original American art form. The museum is connected to The Blue Room, a popular club and venue that is as essential to the city's jazz scene today as it was in the 1920s and 1930s.

Other popular jazz clubs and venues in Kansas City include the Green Lady Lounge, known for its vibrant scene and no-cover-ever policy; The Phoenix, a downtown joint known for its local flavour; and The Majestic Restaurant, a classic Kansas City steakhouse and jazz hotspot located in a historic building that was once a Prohibition-era speakeasy.

Kansas City's jazz scene is not limited to dedicated jazz clubs, as the genre's influence can be found in other venues as well. For example, Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room, one of the hottest restaurants in the city, regularly features popular jazz acts alongside its delicious cuisine.

The city also hosts Jazzoo, an annual charity fundraiser for the Kansas City Zoo dedicated to celebrating Kansas City jazz. In 2011, Jazzoo was one of the nation's largest charity fundraisers, raising over $800,000.

It's family-friendly

Kansas City is a great place to visit for families, with plenty of child-friendly attractions and venues. The city's museums cover everything from the history of jazz music to a celebration of African American baseball players.

One of the most popular spots in town is Kaleidoscope, a free, hands-on art centre for children. Located at Crown Center and sponsored by Hallmark Cards, Kaleidoscope offers a unique multi-sensory, artistic environment where kids can design, cut, glue and decorate either on their own or with a little help from their grown-up, taking home their own special works of art at the end.

For more artistic exploration, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art showcases some of the world's finest modern and contemporary art. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is also internationally recognised for its outstanding collection of objects dating from ancient times to the modern day.

The Kansas City Zoo is an all-time favourite, with impressive African and Australian exhibits, plus an IMAX Theatre. The zoo also hosts a Halloween event where children can trick-or-treat and show off their costumes.

For indoor entertainment, head to Crown Center for imaginative adventures at Legoland Discovery Centre, Sea Life Aquarium and Kaleidoscope. The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures is also filled with wonder, housing the world's largest fine-scale miniature collection, as well as one of the nation's largest antique toy collections.

For outdoor adventures, Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park offers conservation area trails, pole fishing, petting zoos and more. Lakeside Nature Center, one of Missouri's largest wildlife rehabilitation facilities, provides scenic trails, hands-on exhibits and educational programming.

If you're looking for thrilling action, Zip KC offers zip-lining courses through the trees, while iFly lets kids simulate a free-falling flight in a safe and fun indoor skydiving environment. Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City, KS, offers indoor water park family fun year-round.

Kansas City also boasts an impressive array of family-friendly restaurants. Spin! Neapolitan Pizza offers kid-sized pies and delicious gelato, while Fritz's Railroad Restaurant delivers your burgers and fries via miniature train. Donutology lets kids craft their own mini-donuts with dozens of glazes and toppings. For classic Kansas City 'cue, Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue provides kids' menus so everyone can enjoy.

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