Every holiday season for nearly a century, thousands of tiny lights sparkle across Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza. They’re illuminated every Thanksgiving, in a ceremony broadcast on TV and featuring live music, circus performers and local celebrities.
On Thursday evening, members of the Kansas City Current, fresh off a record-breaking season, will flip the switch. But that won’t be the first time the Plaza’s famous lights have been lit this week.
The neighborhood conducts a test run every year ahead of the public ceremony, you just have to stay up really late — or wake up really early — to catch it.
At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, a handful of Kansas Citians trickled into the Plaza to see the lights get turned on for the first time — away from the noise and crowds, and without the hassle of navigating traffic and finding parking.
Downtown Kansas City resident Joel Kennon said he first discovered the test run about 20 years ago, after leaving a restaurant on the Plaza.
“It was a beautiful, snowy night. I was walking down the street, and all of a sudden, the lights just came on at 2 a.m.,” he said. “It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen.”
It’s not as easy for Kennon to stay up this late anymore. But since then, Kennon has turned the viewing into an annual tradition he shares with friends, including Beth Froeschl, who said she’s seen the test run about five times. She likes the peace and quiet, and being able to pick the best spot for viewing.
This Wednesday morning, Froeschl was in her usual spot at the Court of the Penguins Fountains on the corner of Nichols Road and Pennsylvania Avenue.
“As soon as the lights come on, it just twinkles and it’s just magical,” she said. “Everyone just gets excited, you get a little hint of, before the holiday hits.”
Down the road, at Nichols and Central Street, Miranda Speak and Aidan White posed for instant photos. Speak held up her hand to show off a brand-new engagement ring.
Speak grew up in Olathe, and grew up attending the Plaza lighting ceremony with her sister. White grew up in South Africa. The couple now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“I knew we were going to be getting engaged soon, but I did not think that it was going to be happening tonight,” Speak said.
White said he chose this occasion to propose because it was a longtime tradition close to Speak’s home. He popped the question at 2:01 a.m., right after the Plaza’s first illumination.
“I grew up seeing stuff like this,” White said. “It just brings a Christmas feeling. And I like that.”
The Country Club Plaza lighting ceremony begins this year at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27 with holiday music and performances. The switch flip will happen at 7:55 p.m. and is followed by fireworks. Find the full schedule here.
