‘SNL’ star and a bunch of first-timers named as Kansas City Big Slick celebrity guests

“Saturday Night Live” star Heidi Gardner had just one chance to be a guest at her hometown’s Big Slick Celebrity Weekend back in 2019 before the pandemic sent the fundraiser online the next two years.

But now the graduate of Kansas City’s Notre Dame de Sion — where she was voted Most Likely to Become a Cast Member of “Saturday Night Live” — gets to return for another go at shenanigans back home.

Gardner led the list of celebrities announced Tuesday for this year’s event — a June 24 softball game and a June 25 party and auction, hosted by hometown hosts Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Eric Stonestreet, Rob Riggle and David Koechner.

Tuesday’s group of guests included a few Big Slick first-timers:

Comedians Brian Quinn and James Murray, who grew up together on Staten Island, New York, now star on TruTV’s “Impractical Jokers,” where they dare each other to basically make fools of themselves in front of a hidden camera.

Logan Mize, a country singer from Clearwater, Kansas (outside Wichita), will also be making his first Big Slick appearance. His latest album, “Welcome to Prairieville,” came out last fall.

Another returning guest: magician Blake Vogt, who entertained Children’s Mercy patients as well as Big Slick audiences for three years in a row.

On Monday, Big Slick announced a slate of guests including actor Adam Scott and WWE star (and Lenexa native) Happy Corbin. Organizers will name the other guests a few at a time over the next few days.

The public can attend two big events this year:

▪ The Big Slick Celebrity Classic softball game at 5 p.m. Friday, June 24, at Kauffman Stadium. Anyone who buys a ticket to the Kansas City Royals game that night against the Oakland A’s can watch the celebrity softball game beforehand for free.

▪ The Big Slick Party & Show at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 25, at the T-Mobile Center downtown. Tickets range from $75 for standard lower level to $250-$375 for upgraded seats with Founder’s Club access, including drink tickets or open bar. They’re available at bigslickkc.org and T-MobileCenter.com.

In between the comedy and musical performances that night, people can try to outbid each other on a slate of auction items. Previous big-ticket offerings included a visit to the set of one of Rudd’s Ant-Man movies and a dinner with Kansas City Chiefs stars. Could Sudeikis’ hit series “Ted Lasso” be in the mix this year?

Gardner has certainly not forgotten Kansas City amid her “SNL” fame. She flipped the switch on the Country Club Plaza lights in 2019. And she finds ways to give subtle shoutouts to her hometown, whether it’s a strategically placed Chiefs cup or a skit about the Viking Voyager log flume ride at Worlds of Fun.

To date, Big Slick has donated more than $13 million to the Children’s Mercy Cancer Center.

Includes reporting by The Star’s Lisa Gutierrez.

This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 6:09 AM.

Sharon Hoffmann

The Kansas City Star

816-234-4457

Sharon Hoffmann was an enterprise editor at The Star. She grew up in the KC area, graduated from the University of Kansas and promptly moved away. After she married and had kids, she just had to come back. She has been editing Kansas City Star stories since 1999.