This week in Kansas City: Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, Burlesque Festival, Billy Joel and the Royals are back in town
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Guadalupe Center (1015 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez)
The 24th edition of the Guadalupe Center’s Cinco de Mayo Fiesta provides enticing opportunities to exercise, worship and dance this weekend. The three-day function opens Friday with a dance party headlined by San Antonio-based Tejano star Emilio Navaira. Kansas City’s Las Estrellas will also perform. Saturday morning’s 5Qué is a family-oriented set of races and walks. The day’s festivities continue until 10 p.m. A mariachi band will augment Sunday’s worship service at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine. Grupo Calle Seis, a collective of veteran musicians from Austin, Texas, will entertain at Sunday’s function.
The Fiesta will be held from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, and from 1 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 3. Saturday’s 5Qué begins at 9 a.m. Sunday’s Mariachi Mass is at noon. Guadalupe Center. 816-421-1015. guadalupecenters.org. Admission to the Fiesta is $7 on Friday. Admission to the Fiesta is free on Saturday and Sunday. Registration in Saturday’s races ranges from $12 to $30. Sunday’s Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine (907 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez) is free.
Kansas City Burlesque Festival
Friday and Saturday at the Folly Theater
Just as today’s jazz musicians are privileged to perform at historic locations in Kansas City’s jazz district, contemporary burlesque artists rightfully consider the stage of the Folly Theater as hallowed ground. Risqué but glamorous dancers including Gypsy Rose Lee were once showcased at the downtown venue. The form will be revived at the Folly Theater on Friday and Saturday as part of the five-day Kansas City Burlesque Festival. Friday’s Spectacularly Burlesque show has a Western theme. A jazz band led by Dave Stephens will accompany performers during a competition Saturday.
8 p.m. Friday, May 1, and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2. Folly Theater. 816-474-4444. kcburlesque.com. $22-$63.
Truman Heritage Festival
Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Meadowmere Park in Grandview
Harry Truman recalled that life on the seemingly bucolic Truman Family Farm in Grandview was difficult. He was burdened by cramped quarters and extreme temperatures. The conditions should be far more comfortable at the nearby Meadowmere Park for the three-day Truman Heritage Festival. The event opens Thursday with a carnival. Friday’s entertainment includes musical tributes to Garth Brooks and Foreigner. Danielle Nicole, a powerhouse vocalist formerly of Trampled Under Foot, is among Saturday’s performers. Saturday’s activities also include a parade and a chili cook-off.
Thursday, April 30, Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2. 816-316-4800. grandview.org/index.aspx?page=770. Admission is free.
Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit and Cleveland
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday vs. Detroit and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday vs. Cleveland at Kauffman Stadium
The Royals picked up where they left off last season. After winning eight playoff games in a row before losing in the seventh game of the World Series, the Royals remain one of the hottest teams in baseball. Another team appears to be just as formidable as the Royals. Led by slugger Miguel Cabrera, the Detroit Tigers have also resumed their winning ways. Beginning Thursday, the Royals and their division rivals will trade punches in a four-game series that’s likely to set the tone for the remainder of the season. A three-game set against another division foe, Cleveland, opens Tuesday.
7:10 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 7:10 p.m. Friday, May 1, 6:10 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and 1:10 p.m. Sunday, May 3, vs. Detroit. 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, and 1:10 p.m. Thursday, May 7, vs. Cleveland. Kauffman Stadium. 816-921-8000. kansascity.royals.mlb.com. $11-$97.
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Friday at Liberty Hall
Friends of the Kaw is a “grass-roots conservation group dedicated to protecting the Kaw.” The group asserts that the waterway also known as the Kansas River is “the world’s largest prairie-based river system.” Friday’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival is a benefit for the organization. The sixth annual version of the event showcases a collection of 10 short films curated by the South Yuba River Citizens League of California. The features include “The Curious Snail,” a study of the slow creatures, and “Our Power — Black Mesa, AZ,” an examination of a water-based conflict in Arizona.
7 p.m. Friday, May 1. Liberty Hall, Lawrence. 785-749-1972. www.libertyhall.net. $10 in advance and $12 on Friday.
Billy Joel
Friday at the Sprint Center
Billy Joel and the musicians who back him serve as the unofficial house band at Madison Square Garden in New York. Joel performs far less often in Kansas City. Thousands of fans will attempt to make the legendary “Piano Man” feel at home Friday. Joel’s career as a hit-maker began more than 40 years ago. Recent set lists reveal that familiar favorites like “Only the Good Die Young,” “Uptown Girl,” “New York State of Mind” and “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” are likely to be balanced by surprising cover songs by the likes of AC/DC and deep album cuts, including “Captain Jack.”
8 p.m. Friday, May 1. Sprint Center. 816-949-7000. sprintcenter.com. $17.50-$125.50.
Kansas City Symphony, “Don Juan, plus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20”
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Helzberg Hall
Pianist Steven Lin is an unflappable musician. While Lin performed in a 2012 competition in Japan, an earthquake rocked the concert hall. Almost entirely unfazed, Lin kept playing. The audiences at Helzberg Hall this weekend may feel moved as they hear Lin — a pianist with two degrees from the Juilliard School — interpret Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with the support of the Kansas City Symphony. Carl Nielsen’s “Inextinguishable” symphony, a work composed in the midst of World War I, and Richard Strauss’ Don Juan round out the eclectic program.
8 p.m. Friday, May 1, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Helzberg Hall. 816-471-0400. kcsymphony.org. $23-$73.
Jessimae Peluso
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Kansas City Improv
A recent Twitter post by Jessimae Peluso encapsulated the comedian’s outlook. “Just saw a mother check her phone 27 times and not her baby once. Baby is crawling on the floor of LAX. This is my future. Minus the baby.” The self-deprecating woman from the East Coast doesn’t hesitate to mock her unflattering quirks and dating habits. Her blue comedy also includes jokes about bodily functions, sexual acts and the embarrassing behavior of her mother. Peluso has performed her scandalous humor on television programs including “Girl Code,” “Last Call With Carson Daly Spotlight” and “Chelsea Lately.”
7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, May 1, 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Kansas City Improv. 816-759-5233. improvkc.com. $20-$25.
Kansas City Tattoo Arts Convention
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center
There was a time when tattoos were taboo. In 2015, people with tattoos often outnumber clientele without them at fashionable coffee shops and taverns. That ratio may further shift following the Kansas City Tattoo Arts Convention. Patrons attracted by the presence of personalities made famous on television reality shows like “Ink Master” and “Best Ink” at the three-day event may be compelled to acquire new body art. Live human suspension exhibitions and other “sideshow stunts,” wrestling matches and burlesque shows will entertain attendees of the convention.
2 p.m.-midnight Friday, May 1, 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday, May 2, and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center. 215-423-4780. villainarts.com/home/kansas-city-tattoo-arts-convention. $20 per day or $40 for a three-day pass.
Brookside Art Annual
Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Brookside
Dedicated patrons of the Brookside Art Annual may keep their eyes peeled for objects made with pearl this weekend. The event turns 30 this year, an anniversary that traditionally calls for the gift of pearl. Viewed as a neighborhood gathering by many local residents, the art fair also draws patrons from throughout the metropolis and vendors from around the country. Pam Fox Jewelry of Sarasota, Fla., crafts objects inspired by nature. North Carolina’s Ronnie Hughes creates “wildflower sculptures in glass.” The “street photography” of Rusty Leffel is among the offerings by locally based artists.
5-9 p.m. Friday, May 1, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, May 3. 63rd and Brookside. 816-523-5553. brooksidekc.org/bba/art-annual. Free.
Merle Jam
Friday and Saturday at Knuckleheads
Merle Zuel, a gentle giant and recipient of a heart transplant, no longer mans the door at Knuckleheads, but the annual charitable fundraiser he initiated continues. Friday’s show features country-oriented musicians, while Saturday’s event tilts toward rock and blues. Chuck Mead, the Kansan who spearheaded the country revivalist ensemble BR549, is Friday’s headliner. Four locally based acts will support Mead. Saturday’s headliner is Los Lobos, the acclaimed California band that helped to reinvigorate the American roots-rock tradition in the 1980s. Maria the Mexican is among the evening’s opening acts.
8 p.m. Friday, May 1, and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2. Knuckleheads. 816-483-1456. knuckleheadshonkytonk.com. Tickets to Friday’s show are $15 in advance. Tickets to Saturday’s show are $48.50 in advance.
Polski Day Celebration
Saturday at All Saints Parish
As business ventures and forward-thinking city dwellers remake the look and feel of previously overlooked neighborhoods in the Kansas City metropolitan area, some of each area’s original character is lost. These inevitable urban makeovers add additional luster to Saturday’s Polski Day Celebration in Kansas City, Kan. The function at All Saints Parish is a welcome vestige of the area’s Slavic heritage. The celebration includes a polka Mass, a parade and plenty of beer. Entertainment on indoor and outdoor stages will be provided by musicians including accordionist Jim Baric.
11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, May 2. All Saints Parish (811 Vermont Ave. in Kansas City, Kan.). 913-721-0081. polskiday.com. Admission is free.
Emanuel Ax, pianist
Saturday at John Gano Memorial Hall at William Jewell College
Although many partisans of the form would be loathe to admit it, classical music is often marketed in much the same way as pop. Comely photos of promising young prodigies are regularly employed to catch the attention of potential buyers of tickets and recordings. A fixture in the firmament of the classical world for decades, Emanuel Ax isn’t a dewy new talent. But the brilliant pianist is an excellent choice to be featured at the Harriman-Jewell Series’ Founder’s Concert, an event designed to recognize “the enduring contributions of Harriman-Jewell Series founders Richard Harriman and Dean Dunham Jr.”
8 p.m. Saturday, May 2. John Gano Memorial Hall at William Jewell College in Liberty. 816-415-5025. hjseries.org. $25-$70.
Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago
Sunday at Sporting Park
The first 15,000 fans through the gates at Sporting Park on Sunday will receive rally towels. The promotional items may be necessary. Sporting KC’s 2015 campaign is off to sluggish start. Although the regular season doesn’t conclude until the end of October, Sporting KC needs to begin racking up points more consistently to maintain its prospects for the postseason. The Chicago Fire, Sunday’s opponent, is similarly cold. The club opened the season with three consecutive losses, and David Accam’s overseas obligations have provided the Fire with limited access to the talent of its star striker.
4 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Sporting Park. 913-912-7600. sportingkc.com. $20-$275.
“Welcome to Night Vale”
Monday at Liberty Hall
Part of the spoken word craze that’s made TED Talks and public radio programs like “This American Life” incredibly popular, “Welcome to Night Vale” is an eerie podcast. “Welcome to Night Vale” combines elements of hard-boiled detective novels, Orson Welles’ “The War of the Worlds” and George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The related stage show maintains the podcast’s understated sensibility. Rather than watching a traditional theatrical production, Monday’s audience will take in a live reading of a script. Narrator Cecil Baldwin will be supported by a cast that includes the British musician Mary Epworth.
8 p.m. Monday, May 4. Liberty Hall, Lawrence. 785-749-1972. libertyhall.net. Tickets are $24 in advance.
Shen Yun
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Music Hall
The author Toni Morrison is part of a long lineage of people who have pondered the relationship between art and politics. She has stated that “all good art is political — there is none that isn’t.” While it’s entirely possible to enjoy a show by the large Shen Yun troupe without giving any thought to politics, the lavish productions are designed to raise awareness of the persecution of practitioners of the Falun Gong faith by the Chinese government. The Shen Yun performances at the Music Hall will feature “over a hundred of the world’s foremost classically trained Chinese dancers, choreographers, musicians and vocalists.”
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7. Music Hall. 913-735-0513. ticketmaster.com. $50-$120.
This story was originally published April 29, 2015 at 4:00 AM with the headline "This week in Kansas City: Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, Burlesque Festival, Billy Joel and the Royals are back in town."