Our Man BY
IN KC
Damian Lair
dlair@inkansascity.com
GRAND TOUR
: @damianlair #OurManINKC
PHOTO BY BRIAN RICE
Shakespeare in Love: Romantic Revels
Damian Lair and Bernie Ashcraft.
T
he Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s Annual Romantic Revels Black & White Ball kicked off at the Intercontinental Hotel with cocktails and a robust silent auction. After hobnobbing with friends upon friends, we settled into the glittering ballroom for a divine dinner marked by beef tenderloin and Campo Lindo chicken. The ever-bubbly HASF executive artistic director Sidonie Garrett greeted us. Barb Bloch gave a touching tribute to HASF and expanded upon the many reasons she is a supporter. We then raised our paddles in a fund-a-need to support scholarships for the various youth Shakespeare year-round education and summer camp programs. Dancing and merriment followed with music by Kokomo. Also—don’t forget to mark your calendar for unfurling your blanket in Southmoreland Park for this year’s festival show: The Tempest—June 16 - July 5. I’ll see you there, with the perfect picnic basket in tow. OVERHEARD “Put me in, SPOTTED: Kelly & Joe Privitera, Dr. Coach. I’m Roopa Bansal, Barb & Bob Bloch, Beth ready to slay.” Ingram, Ed Milbank, Michael Fields, Phyllis Cohen, Jackie & John Middelkamp, Bernie & Scott Ashcraft, Gayle & Bruce Krigel, Jim Blair, Kevin Hancock, Dan Nilsen, Don Loncasty, Terry Anderson & Michael Henry, Dan DeLeon & Jerry Katlin, Lee Page, Garrett Toms, Stephanie & Dion Sankar, Ingrid & Jay Sidie, Jennie Corbette, Cindy Pratt-Stokes, Laurence & Edward Bate, Frank Campanella, John Fulton Adams, Erin & Will Gregory, Barbara Reed, Jean Kiene, Lisa Kiene, Chris Kelly, Kent Schumacher
APRIL 2020
DINNER AND A SHOW
VISIT KC held its annual tourism SUMMER WHEAT grew up in Oklaoutlook event at the Kauffman homa City, but came to Kansas City Center for the Performing Arts. to experience contemporary art. So Hospitality community members imagine—according to her—how and business leaders alike joined full-circle it felt to open her latest to hear industry updates from monumental exhibit, Blood, Sweat and Mayor Quinton Lucas and Visit Tears, at a museum that has been KC’s Cindy Circo, Jason Fulvi, formative since her childhood Nathan Hermiston and Traci days. As a vocal admirer of the Moon. Some facts I found Kemper Museum of ConHOT interesting: KC hosts temporary Art, I make it GOSSIP: more than 25M visitors a mission to attend nearly What former each year—half of whom every big show. And upon major patron of Il stay overnight. Tourism reflecting, I feel this one is Centro is no longer welcome? generates $5.6B in ecothe most remarkable I’ve nomic impact for the region experienced yet. It was a joy annually—offsetting $550 yearly to hear Summer, at the opening in taxes for the average KC housereception and artist talk, describe her hold. (Nice!) Forty-eight thousand long journey from drawing on endless jobs (one in nine) are sustained by rolls of cash-register tape to wanttourism. VisitKC assisted 210 new ing to figure out how to “paint with film productions through the KC string” to eventually stumbling upon Film Office last year (remember how pressing paint through aluminum Queer Eye?), generated more than mesh screens can create large-scale 350 articles and stories about tapestry-like paintings, with a texture KC—accumulating 225M impresunlike you’ve ever seen before (that beg sions, and hosted the 10th Annual to be touched—but don’t!). I’m always Restaurant Week, which raised wildly fascinated to hear directly from $380k for local charities ($2.6M these inimitable artists, in an intimate in total). Negro League Baseball setting, about their process and what Museum President Bob Kendrick inspires them. (Hear her for yourself: was honored with the 2020 KC kemperart.org/video.) Following the Tourism Icon award. Following the talk, Summer stuck around to host program, the crowd regrouped in another installment of the museum’s Brandmeyer Hall for a KC Makers incredible Artist Dinner Series. Café & Doers Reception, featuring the Sebastienne executive chef Rick Mulunique sights, sounds, and tastes of lins prepared an unforgettable, multivarious local artists and restaurants. course feasting-table dinner, in which Notables included Quixotic, he collaborated with Summer and her Strawberry Swing, Holladay team for inspiration. It was a bounDistillery, The Rieger, Corvino ty of food as vibrant and textured as Supper Club, Room 39, Rye, and Summer’s works themselves. It was an live painting by Chico Sierra. evening of non-stop splendor and brilliance—art, food, and company. SPOTTED: Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, Heidi Markle, Angie Jeffries, Crissy Dastrup, Pat Contreras, Nia Richardson, Jenny Johnston, Katie Mabry van Dieren, Marissa Baum, Rebecca SpragueGangle, Jeffrey Beeson, Jenny Wheat, Cynthia Malone, Elisabeth Ingraham, Jake Buchheit
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SPOTTED: Leigh & Ryan Adams, Mary Kemper Wolf, Tony Jones, Bill Gautreaux, Jack Holland, Kim Klein & Jeffrey Goldstein, Kat McDaniel & John Ditch, Anna Petrow, Amy McDaniel, Margaret PerkinsMcGuinness, Katrina Revenaugh