westside

Musicians and Fat Tuesday marchers have made their way through 18th & Vine, the Crossroads, and the Westside neighborhood for decades — rain, sleet or snow. The colorfully-dressed revelers, known as krewes, celebrate Mardi Gras, the final day of Carnival, before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine has been a central part of life for Latinos in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood for more than 100 years. Repairing it will require raising nearly $1 million, but community members refuse to let their history fade away.

Desde la década de 1950, el baloncesto masculino latino ha sido una tradición en el barrio de Westside. Un icónico torneo de baloncesto que le rinde homenaje a un antiguo entrenador de adolescentes del barrio, Tony Aguirre, se ha juntado con las celebraciones del fin de semana del Cinco de Mayo para recaudar fondos para los deportes en la comunidad latina.

Latino men's basketball has been a Westside tradition since the 1950s. An iconic basketball tournament that honors a former youth coach in the neighborhood, Tony Aguirre, has been paired with Cinco de Mayo weekend celebrations to raise money for local Latino sports.

A popular Kansas City harpist and vocalist is now also running his own performance venue, Greenwood Social Hall in Kansas City's Westside neighborhood, which he took over this month.

Popular Kansas City harpist and vocalist Calvin Arsenia is now also running his own performance venue — Greenwood Social Hall in Kansas City's Westside neighborhood — which he took over at the beginning of the month.

Although it's been visible from the ground for months, the 150-foot KC Wheel is now open to ride for a panoramic, albeit obscured, airborne view of Kansas City. With climate-controlled gondolas and a putt-putt course below, the wheel is the first installment of the Pennway Point entertainment district.

The annual displays in the Kansas City area pays tribute to victims of gun violence, suicide and overdoses in the Latino community. Victims from both sides of the state line will be represented.

Reade Rex, a 17-year-old senior at Olathe Northwest High School, has been buying and selling vintage clothing online and in pop-up markets for about two years. His brother, Thomas, graduated college and is handling much of the business side of The Rex Catalog, which is having its grand opening Saturday.

So far, 53% of all homeowners on the Westside have signed up for the program, which cuts property taxes to a percentage of their income and, for some, freezes it at that level for 25 years.

The new Pennway Point entertainment district, which makes use of space that sat empty for years as industrial storage, is already making some neighbors in the Westside neighborhood uneasy. Developers are building the project without using tax money, but say they plan to seek incentives for the years ahead.

The Westside tortilla bakery beat out two bakeshops in North Texas, an Italian bakery in New Orleans and a Miami bread maker.