Summer in the City at Oppenstein Park

Summer in the City May 21st Line-Up

12:00-1:00pm - Dandelion Lakewood,  is an otherworldly bard, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, audio engineer, and video maker born in Kansas City whose music integrates various styles into his eclectic blend of indie, folk, blues, americana, balkan, middle eastern and psychedelic sounds.

5:00-7:00pm - Art Market with Local Art Vendors:

• Anita Easterwood, a multi disciplinary visual artist, born and raised in Kansas City, who enjoys creating art that celebrates life, centered around fashion, history, culture and sisterhood.
• Mariah Markt  is a multidisciplinary artist from Kansas City, MO, working across fine art, graphic design, and murals. Her practice explores themes of body positivity and sharp, observational takes on the world around her. 
• Steph Becker makes functional ceramics with hand painted illustrations. Animals and humor are the main themes of her work.
• Tokeya Waci U Richarsdon recreates a modern style of Native American Ledger art that is traditionally a visual reference to reflect the stories and teachings that one would hear from their elders.  
• Steph Becker’s  hand made and hand-painted ceramics are inspired by her love of animals, children's book illustrations, and folk art. 
• Summer Brooks’ artworks explore the intersections between Black joy, femininity, and race. Using soft colors, glitter, diamonds, and gold, she captures the gentle essence of Black women.
• Tara Tonsor  enjoys working with glass, wood, metal and stone with a self-taught curiosity for sculpture. Her work is explorative and ever changing, working in stained glass, jewelry and home goods. 
• Adrian Halpern, whose creative process often involves ink drawing, music production, laser engraving, video editing, and printmaking.

5:00 - 6:00pm - Dreamcatcher Making Workshop led by the Kansas City Indian Center. Supplies provided. Join us in learning about this ancient practice and create your own Dreamcatcher.

6:00-7:00pm - Recognizing Our First Nations, a performance organized by the Kansas City Indian Center. Join us at Oppenstein Park in the KC downtown area where we will celebrate and recognize the First Nations people of North America. If you have ever attended the Kansas City Indian Center's Indigenous Art Market, then you will recognize the collaboration with them as we intend to showcase, and educate the public of our Native American allies to help break stereotypes and other uninformed misconceptions about their culture and race. We ask that you come with a "good heart and an open mind" as they explain the origins of their dances, how they represent their people/tribes. The audience is most welcome to join in on specific dances and ask all of the questions they may have about the performance when prompted.

Lunchtime and Evening Food Trucks:

With the goal of engaging workers and residents, Summer in the City supports our thriving, creative community by weaving various talented artists and community members of Kansas City into the tapestry of Downtown. Sponsored by the Downtown Community Improvement District (DCID), in partnership with Jackson County, Art in the Loop, The Downtown Council and area businesses, Summer in the City ignites, activates and celebrates the greater community of Downtown Kansas City.

For more information visit: https://www.downtownkc.org/summerinthecity

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Host or Publisher Downtown Council of Kansas City