What to Do in Kansas City This June: World Cup Fever and All the Summer Good Stuff
There is a specific kind of June energy in Kansas City, and if you have lived here for even one summer you know exactly what I mean. The air gets thick and sweet, the patios fill up, and suddenly there are about forty things happening every weekend and you actually have to choose. This year that feeling is turned all the way up, because the World Cup is in town and the whole city is buzzing like it has somewhere to be.
So I pulled together the things I am most excited about this month, the big splashy stuff and the quiet little favorites both. Save this one, because June in KC moves fast.
The World Cup is actually here
I still cannot quite believe I get to type this. Kansas City is hosting six FIFA World Cup matches at Arrowhead, and four of them land right here in June. Argentina plays Algeria on June 16, Ecuador takes on Curacao on June 20, the Netherlands faces Tunisia on June 25, and Algeria is back for a match against Austria on June 27. Even if you do not have tickets, and let us be honest most of us do not, the energy around town is worth showing up for.
The free FIFA Fan Festival at the National WWI Museum and Memorial is where I will be parking myself. Big screens, live music, food, and that hill with the best skyline view in the whole city. You do need to reserve a free pass ahead of time, so grab yours before they disappear.
JuneteenthKC at 18th and Vine
The JuneteenthKC Heritage Festival is back at the 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District, and this year it is a big one. They are expecting more than 25,000 people, and the lineup is headlined by Common. If you have never spent a real day at 18th and Vine, this is the weekend to do it. The history, the music, the food, all of it sits right where jazz was basically born.
Old Shawnee Days and the easy family wins
If you are wrangling littles like I usually am, the family stuff is what saves the month. Old Shawnee Days runs the first weekend with a carnival, a parade, crafts, and enough fair food to ruin everyone’s dinner in the best way. Family Tree Nursery in Liberty also does a sweet summer weekend with live music, food trucks, and free kids activities, which is basically my love language.
Shakespeare in the park and a big symphony finale
For the date night crowd, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival is staging Macbeth from June 16 through July 5, free and outdoors in Southmoreland Park. Pack a blanket and a little picnic and make an evening of it. The Kansas City Symphony is also closing its season with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Dvorak’s Ninth, which is a gorgeous way to send off the year.
The low-key stuff I love most
Honestly though, some of my favorite June days have nothing on a calendar. The farmers markets are finally overflowing, a Saturday morning at the City Market is pure people-watching joy, and a snow cone on a hot evening still feels like being ten years old. You do not have to do all of it. Pick two big things and let the rest of the month just be summer.
The takeaway
June in Kansas City is generous. There is genuinely more to do than any one family can get to, and that is a good problem to have. Whether you go all in on World Cup fever or just sit on a patio with your people, you are doing it right.
What is on your June list? Drop it in the comments, I am always looking for one more excuse to get out of the house. So glad you are here. xo, Pam
