The Best Things to Do in Kansas City the Rest of July
Every year around this time I catch myself saying the same thing. Where did the summer go. We blinked past the Fourth, the pool bag is permanently by the door, and suddenly it is the middle of July and I have a running list of things we still wanted to do before school sneaks back up on us.
So I made myself an actual plan this year, and because you are here, I am sharing it. Here is what is worth leaving the house for in Kansas City for the rest of July. Some of it is big and buzzy, some of it is the free, low-key kind of night that ends up being your favorite. All of it is the good stuff.
Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens
If you do one thing off this list, make it this one. The Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens runs July 16 through August 2, and this year is the big one, its 30th year. You walk through the conservatory surrounded by around 50 varieties of butterflies, plus all the botanical displays and family activities outside.
It is about a 45 minute drive east of the city, so I treat it like a little outing. Go early before it gets too hot, bring water, and let the kids wear something bright because the butterflies are drawn to color. Watching a tiny person hold perfectly still hoping one will land on them is the whole reason to go.
KC Fringe Festival
The KC Fringe Festival is back July 16 through 26, and it is eleven days of theater, comedy, dance, music, and shows you genuinely cannot see anywhere else. This is the un-fancy, wonderfully weird side of KC arts, and tickets are cheap on purpose so people actually go.
My tip is to pick something you would never normally choose. Grab a friend, buy tickets to a show with a strange title, and go in with zero expectations. Worst case you have a funny story. Best case you find a local performer you fall in love with. This is date night for people who are tired of dinner and a movie.
A Night at Starlight Theatre
There is nothing like sitting under the sky at Starlight in the summer. On July 14, The Fray, Dashboard Confessional, and Colony House share the stage, which is a very specific flavor of nostalgia for those of us who had a lot of feelings in the 2000s. Earlier in the month Starlight also had A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond musical, come through.
Even if the lineup on a given night is not your thing, keep Starlight on your radar all summer. Pack a light layer, get there early enough to settle in, and let yourself have the full outdoor-concert experience. It is a KC rite of passage.
First Fridays and the Crossroads Night Market
First Fridays in the Crossroads is still one of my favorite free things to do here, and this summer the neighborhood has been leaning into it with a weekly Crossroads Night Market too. Think pop-up food vendors, open galleries, local makers, and that easy energy of a whole neighborhood out walking around on a warm evening.
Wear comfortable shoes, bring a little cash for the vendors, and do not overplan it. The point is to wander, pop into a gallery, grab something from a food truck, and people watch. It is the kind of night that costs almost nothing and feels like the most KC thing you can do.
Saturday Morning at the City Market
When I want a slow, easy Saturday, we head to the City Market. It is the area’s biggest farmers market, with dozens of producers set up in one of the most historic corners of the city. Peak summer means the tables are loaded with tomatoes, peaches, sweet corn, and flowers, which is exactly the produce I was building a whole caprese skillet around last month.
Go hungry, bring a tote, and let yourself buy the messy ripe peaches even though they will not survive the car ride home. Half of ours never do.
A Royals Game at The K
And when in doubt, there is always a Royals game. A summer night at Kauffman Stadium, a hot dog, the fountains going, kids losing their minds over the mascot. It does not matter much whether you follow every stat. It is the atmosphere that makes it, and on the right night there are fireworks after.
The takeaway
You do not have to do all of it. Honestly, if you pick two things off this list and actually follow through, you are winning July. I am eyeing the butterflies with my crew and one messy, wonderful night at the City Market, and I will call that a full month.
If you have a KC July tradition I am missing, tell me in the comments. I am always looking for one more excuse to get us out of the house before the summer slips away.
So glad you are here.
xo, Pam
