Spring Break
When I finally got to Thursday night's The Foundation for the Kansas City Fashion Week show, the first thing I wrote in my notes was "West Bottoms are really scary at night." Something about the abandoned buildings and myriad of train tracks make me feel like an escaped chain gang is going to jump out from a corner and mug me.
Michelle Boisseau, coordinator of the Creative Writing program at UMKC, is really excited about the two new faculty who joined her program this fall. "It's as though it's Christmas for us in the Creative Writing program to have our two new colleagues with us tonight," Boisseau said.
Nancy Horan had an adventure. Horan brought her adventure to listeners as she discussed her book, "Loving Frank." This historical fiction novel is about the love affair between Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright. Horan spoke Sept. 26 at Unity Temple on the Plaza.
It's "Huckleberry Finn" and "The Odyssey" combined into one story. "Enrique's Journey" is a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario. It is a factual epic about a boy's journey from Honduras to North Carolina to find his mother. Nazario took this same journey, sitting atop the freight trains and experiencing the same problems Enrique faced.
Andrew Huang, first-year law, warned us the words to his Chinese pop song would probably be difficult to understand. It didn't matter. A group of female students from Cherry Street Residence Hall sang along anyway. They were part of the lively crowd at the 13th Annual Talent Show wednesday Sept.
A woman fawning over a pair of gaudy, hot pink pumps kicked off Theresa Rebeck's "Bad Dates." The first Kansas City Repertory Theatre production of the season showed at Copaken Stage on Wednesday, Sept. 26. Haley Walker's bedroom is overrun with shoes and her closet would even make Carrie Bradshaw run to the nearest Jimmy Choo store for a restock session.
Teadrops Westport Teahouse 411 Pennsylvania Ave. Teadrops is a quiet, smooth oasis of calm in the heart of Westport. Tea is supposed to be the next hot trend, the new coffee, and Teadrops definitely presents tea as a modern beverage in many forms.
Iron and Wine's "The Shepherd's Dog" is a page-turner, but for reasons one might not expect. Instead of eagerly enjoying each track and wanting to get to the next, I found myself flipping through tracks to merely get to the end. Performing under the moniker Iron and Wine, South Carolina native Sam Beam creates unique soft folk music with a trademark vocal delivery.
The Tivoli, in association with the UMKC Department of Communications Studies, is presenting a fine selection of art house films, all in newly-struck 35-mm prints. Of course, for $650 you can buy the Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films box set, which collects fifty of their films in a lavish package, (and while you're at it, pick up one for me as well.
Sunfire Ceramics wants to display and sell local art. Cheryl Roth, owner of the shop, has opened a new location in Kansas City at 7100 Wornall Road. At the Sunfire Ceramics in Lawrence, Kan., Roth displays jewelry. However, the shop in Waldo has more space to display paintings and wall art.
Tuesday, Oct. 2 Drive Safe, Drive Smart: Seatbelts and Sobriety: While it isn't truly practice for drunk driving, it does catch your attention. The UMKC Police Department is having a fair on seatbelts and sobriety. Free pizza and soft drinks and a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Plaza.
The West Bottoms are known for their haunted houses with sinister characters lurking around, but last Tuesday a new assortment of people came dressed up. This time they were dressed up for fashion shows. An old warehouse named The Foundation was the setting for the opening night of Kansas City's first ever fashion week.
Kansas City Fashion Week recognized local fashion and the people in the industry. A variety of retailers and designers showed off their hottest looks from Tuesday, Sept. 25 to Friday, Sept. 28. Boomerang, a vintage boutique at 1415 W 39th St., was on the runway Friday night.
