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6 Last-Chance Things To Do In Kansas City This Weekend

Brian McTavish
/
KCUR 89.3

 
Did you get everything fun done that you wanted to this year? Are you sure?

Because it’s now or never to take part in disappearing expressions of the holidays and other going-going-gone doings before they’re as kaput as 2017.

From a legendary pizza joint’s brilliant finale to luminary rock ’n’ rap antics on New Year’s Eve, this is your last chance to do fun stuff – until next year, anyway. And then we can start all over again. Feel free to check back often.

1. Fun House Pizza

How many families has the family-owned Fun House Pizza in Raytown simply yet meaningfully served since opening in 1964? You might as well ask how many stars are in the sky. It’s a lot! And families are still streaking into the local landmark, perhaps as never before, because this weekend will be its last. If you’ve been – a few or hundreds of times – you’ll want to go again. If you’ve never been, what in the world are you waiting for? How many Fun House pizzas can you fit in your freezer? It’s a lot!

But also take the time to order in and savor not only your pie, but the tangible community nostalgia. Watch expert pizza-makers in old-school action. Behold beaming kids riding the throwback coin-operated horsey. Check yourself out in the full-length funhouse mirror that one longtime customer swore to me has been there since the 1960s. And definitely get the combo.

Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fun House Pizza, 9120 E. State Route 350, Raytown, Mo.

​2. WinterFest

Worlds of Fun’s first WinterFest concludes on Saturday. The stroll-worthy holiday attraction offers live music acts, including Christmas Bluegrass and Jingle Jazz, as well as select rides familiar to summertime WOF visitors, including the park’s award-winning Prowler rollercoaster. Have a thrill “coasting” into 2018, but go overboard on the liqueur-spiked eggnog at your own risk. Tip: Nothing should be spinning until you get on the … uh-ohhh!

Thursday and Friday, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, 4-10 p.m.; Worlds of Fun, 4545 N.E. Worlds of Fun Dr., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $28.

3. Christmas in the Park

Santa, reindeer, snowmen and even holiday-involved pink flamingos are depicted in festive fashion through Sunday at the 30th anniversary of Christmas in the Park, the drive-through seasonal lights extravaganza at Longview Lake. Get the family together, turn off your phones and take an awe-inspiring spin. Or as Dad might announce to the eye-rolling backseat brood: “I said turn off your phones! Don’t make me pull this car over!” Yes, sir.

Thursday and Sunday, 5:30-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30-11 p.m.; drive-through display begins at Frank White Jr. Softball Complex, 3901 S.W. Longview Road, Lee’s Summit, Mo.; admission: free (donations to 39 area charities accepted).

4. Mummies of the World

It’s a wrap! The biggest touring exhibit of mummies and associated relics is ending its long run at Union Station. Sights to still see until New Year’s Day include the 19th-century Burns Collection of medical mummies that helped teach anatomy students, and a variety of Egyptian animal mummies intended to provide companionship for royalty in the afterlife. Rest assured that the exhibit is presented, in the words of promoters, “with reverence and dignity,” including a mummified Hungarian family thought to have expired from tuberculosis. Well, at least they’re still together.

Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Road, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $19.95; $15.95 ages 3-12.

5. Kid Rock

Country-infused singer-rapper Kid Rock can put another feather in his signature porkpie hat. The well-practiced provocateur has been sued by the owner of the no-longer-touring Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for labeling his current concert tour “The Greatest Show on Earth!” That promotional designation, of course, was utilized by the circus forever, before calling it quits this year. To be fair, the publicity-seeking entertainer – who in 2017 announced and later debunked his candidacy for the U.S. Senate – does indeed tack on an exclamation point to the famous phrase. Nice try, Kid! Catch him cavorting on New Year’s Eve in support of his latest attitudinally extravagant album, “Sweet Southern Sugar.” Pour it on.

Sunday, 9 p.m.; Sprint Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $37.50-$127.

6. A Very Fifties Christmas

The 1950s All Electric House approximating a historic suburban-dream ranch home at the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center gets gussied up every Christmas. The treat actually extends to Jan. 6, so you’ll have extra time to revel in such authentic period decorations as a rotating plastic color wheel shining its translucent glory on an aluminum Christmas tree. Sincere appreciation or accidental kitsch? Either way, it’s your last chance to live in the past until next year!

Thursday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, Kan.; admission: $5, $4 seniors, $3 ages 1-17.

Brian McTavish is a regular arts and culture contributor for KCUR 89.3. You can reach him at brianmctavish@gmail.com.

Brian McTavish follows popular culture in the belief that the search for significance can lead anywhere. Brian explains, "I've written articles and reviews ... reviewed hundreds of concerts, films and plays. And the thing is, these high arts all sprang from the pop culture of their day. Don't forget: Shakespeare was once Spielberg."
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