Alright, so this is an obsession of the week. Or of the month. Or of the year. Either way, I am completely and utterly obsessed with First Fridays of Kansas City. I don't care if this post isn't on a Friday; it's about a Friday. And when have I ever followed my own rules anyway? Last time I checked, I last posted in February. Sorry.
Hardly ever did I venture downtown before last night, but when my roommate Outdoors Woman said she was coming to visit me in Kansas City for 6 days, I had to immediately find things for us to do so she wouldn't be bored. And I had to show her how awesome Kansas City is, even though I didn't believe so myself and was convinced I would live anywhere but here. And now, I'm re-thinking my entire life plan.
Anyway, we met up at my house and drove downtown to The Crossroads area for a free art show. This art show occurs during the first Friday of every month. You can find more information here (http://www.kccrossroads.org/) but basically it's amazing. You go into these different venues and places downtown and look at starving artists' work. Some are even in people's apartments and life spaces and I loved them! I aspire to live in such an eccentric area someday. Bands are also playing on the street and you kind of just hang out and walk around all evening. We parked in this vacant lot and I was convinced my car was going to get towed so I made my friend, let's call her Angel, go and ask these people if the lot was reserved. So she boldly went up to this group of guys and asked and they said, "It is for you ;)" When she shot a dirty look back at them, they admitted they didn't know anything (like all boys) and went back to whatever they were doing.
There were some interesting people down there, to say the least. My friend from Germany, we'll call her Sweetest-Girl-Ever (or SGE) saw this one lady in a tight black mini skirt and a black bra...THAT'S IT. And this lady weighed about 250+. She was so stunned because she'd never seen anything like that in Germany and hoped that we would see her again later so that I would have the pleasure of beholding this true Kansas City beauty. I thought "fat chance" and we moved on. We went in and out of studios, people's places of work and living, and saw many different lifestyles and ways of dress. I had never seen that many people downtown before and was very impressed with the blossoming and development of Kansas City. Way to go KC!
In case you're wondering who The Fearless Leader was, it was me of course. How could you wonder? I am usually very indecisive, but because I was with so many other indecisive people Friday night, I had to make all the decisions. I led the group from venue to venue, show to show and pretended like I knew exactly what I was doing when I actually had no clue whatsoever. I've learned over the years that if you pretend to be a pro at something, everyone will think you are because they're too concerned about themselves to pay that much attention. And it worked. We looked like we belonged even though we had no idea what was going on.
Later, we walked over to our friend Brent Kimmi's place. We hung out in high school. He had a bunch of artists in the new space his mom bought for him downtown and told us about the Fringe Festival. He has put it together for the past 5 years and this is the 6th year that it will be in KC. It occurs the week of July 23rd through August 1st and is something you definitely need to check out at http://www.kcfringe.org/Version2010/index.php. I was walking though his space when I hear, "Haley!" I look to find a woman who I do not recognize whatsoever. She says, "You don't know me, but your mom teaches my kid and I've heard so much about you." 'How funny!' I think, 'I come to this area once in my life to find out my friend Brent works on this cool festival every year and showcases artists in his place on Fridays and one of these artists is friends with my mom!' The world is so small. Anyway, this woman makes really cool magnets that my mom has sent to me and my friends at college. You should really check out her work; it is quite something. Her name is Tania Haggerty and you should friend her on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1191420582#!/taniahaggerty and ask about her awesome magnets!
After hours of walking around, the crew was hungry so we ventured to find a place to eat. We walked up to this place that was blaring loud music and boasting crowds of 30/40-somethings, but it looked like it had food. Angel, being the Nervous Nelly that she is, says, "Ohhh ahhh uggh well what if they card us?" while simultaneously chewing on her fingernails (we are all 20) and I say, "Well, then we'll leave." A light bulb goes on over her head, her eyes get real wide, and she seems to grasp the concept that never occurred to her. She gets so nervous about what others are going to think of her that she's afraid of rejection. The way I think about it is yeah, it stinks sometimes not being able to get in somewhere, but if we did get carded and asked to leave while everyone watches, we should celebrate our young age because that 40-year-old cougar will be eyeing us on the way out envying our youth and opportunities. So it may be a little embarrassing, but we'll never see these people again so what does it matter?
Then, Angel incredulously watches me shimmy past a red rope probably going somewhere I'm not supposed to, walk into a restaurant/bar, and go up to the front and ask for some food for my friends. I look behind me, and no one is there. The bartender/waiter laughed because I had no "friends". Later, I find out that they were waiting for me to get escorted out by some huge bodyguard and, when I didn't, they came in to find that I had secured us a table with drinks and menus.
After dinner, we walk back to the car to find that it magically has not been towed OR ticketed. I was shocked. We parked downtown KC all night FOR FREE right next to the Crossroads Outdoor Stage. It was awesome. The Black Keys were playing on the stage so we stood outside and listened to the music. We had just as good (if not better) tickets as those who payed 50 bucks and were on the inside. We could see them play and everything! And about 50-100 other people had the same idea as us. They were sitting and drinking beer outside in the streets while enjoying the free music. We did get to see the short skirt-black bra lady again, much to our surprise. But in the end, it was a successful venture downtown and is something you MUST do when you come to KC.
I swear KC is not what it used to be. And is making me rethink my after-college move. Sort of.
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