Stars of Hallmark Xmas movies headed to KC for new Christmas Experience at Crown Center
Crown Center always bustles at the holidays, with ice skating on the terrace, concerts in the shopping center and the mayor’s Christmas tree standing tall in the plaza. But guaranteed, Kansas City has never seen what’s about to pop up there in just a few days.
Let’s just say the elves at Hallmark have been very busy.
Beginning Friday, the public is invited to visit the new Hallmark Christmas Experience at Crown Center Square. It will have the look and feel of a Hallmark Christmas movie with vendors, food — and showings of Hallmark holiday movies inside the nearby Hallmark Visitors Center.
Hallmark expects the event to attract 80,000 visitors.
As part of the experience, more than 40 of the most beloved Hallmark Channel actors are coming to Kansas City including Erin Krakow, star of the popular “When Calls the Heart” series and the Queen of Christmas herself, Lacey Chabert, who became a pop culture icon in the 2004 movie, “Mean Girls.”
Yup, Gretchen Wieners is coming to town. She’s so fetch she has not only starred in more than a dozen Hallmark Christmas movies, she just starred in her first (and already popular) holiday movie for Netflix, “Hot Frosty.”
The free Christmas Experience will run every weekend on the Crown Center Square from Friday through Dec. 22. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
The first weekend’s festivities will celebrate the debut at 7 p.m. Saturday of the highly anticipated new Hallmark Christmas movie, “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Red carpet festivities at 4:30 p.m. Saturday on Grand Boulevard in front of the square are open to the public.
Before they walk the red carpet, the movie’s co-stars, Tyler Hynes and Hunter King, will help Mayor Quinton Lucas and Crown Center president Stacey Paine light the mayor’s Christmas tree at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Visitors should note that traffic around Crown Center will be rerouted this weekend. Grand Boulevard in front of Crown Center Square will be closed from 25th Street to Pershing Road from 4 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Saturday.
Hallmark officials have said that during this first weekend they will evaluate foot traffic and the impact of that road closure before deciding how to handle traffic for the coming weekends.
“We often hear from our fans that they wish they could step into the world of our movies and get a peek behind the curtain of card making, and more,” Lindsey Roy, Hallmark’s senior vice president of brand development, told The Star earlier this year.
“This event brings all things Hallmark to life in an immersive way we haven’t done before, and what better place to host than our hometown.
“Plus, Kansas City’s central location makes it a great place for those who travel in for the event. We love our hometown and are excited to share it with all of our Hallmark fans.”
Visitors can shop in the Holiday Hallmarket featuring one-of-a-kind gifts made by Hallmark artisans, products exclusive to the event and other seasonal offerings.
Style alert: The vintage-inspired Kansas City Chiefs hat and scarf featured in the new movie will be available there.
And just like in a Hallmark Christmas movie, the mayor’s tree will be lit, accompanied by a new light show, at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. each night of the event.
Ticketed events are also available, including a Light Walk.
Hynies expected, too
If you’ve never seen Hallmark Christmas movie fans geek out over their favorite stars, let’s just say they could give Taylor Swift fans a run for their money.
Kansas City experienced it over the summer in the excited groupies who flocked to the historic Independence Square while the Chiefs movie was filmed there.
Hallmark is expecting to host fans from every state and 14 countries over the next few weekends. VIP packages for $699 sold out so quickly Hallmark had to add more ticketed events, Variety reported last month.
Hallmark Media, the entertainment arm of a company built on greeting cards, is working “to surprise (the) audience with new ideas” like the elaborate fan experience in Kansas City, working with the NFL on the Chiefs movie and this month’s “Hallmark Christmas Cruise,” the first of its kind that sold out in a record-breaking handful of hours, Variety reported.
The cruise was full of “Hynies,” the nickname of Hynes’ enthusiastic fans.
“We have to go where the consumer goes. People want to do things, not have more stuff. How do we create this?” Roy told Variety.
Anything that puts Hallmark movie fans within selfie-distance of its stars seems to work. The marquee events of the Hallmark Christmas Experience with the actors cost money, but fans who snapped up tickets seemed not to care.
At those events, at The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center, fans will hear the actors share behind-the-scene stories.
Hynes and King from the Chiefs movie will appear this weekend, alongside Jonathan Bennett and Melissa Peterman, currently hosting the new Hallmark Channel reality series, “Finding Mr. Christmas.”
Hynes will be back for the second weekend with Andrew Walker and Paul Campbell, his co-stars in the “Three Wise Men” movies. Chabert will appear that weekend, too.
Krakow and other stars from “When Calls the Heart” are scheduled for Dec. 13-15.
- Nov. 29 -Dec. 1: Jonathan Bennett, Wes Brown, Erin Cahill, Warren Christie, Tyler Hynes, Hunter King, Kristoffer Polaha, Jessy Schram and Melissa Peterman..
- Dec. 6-8: Benjamin Ayres, B.J. Britt, John Brotherton, Paul Campbell, Lacey Chabert, Taylor Cole, Nikki DeLoach, Heather Hemmens, Ginna Claire Mason, Kimberley Sustad, Tyler Hynes and Andrew Walker
- Dec. 13-15: Pascale Hutton, Erin Krakow, Viv Leacock, Chyler Leigh, Crystal Lowe, Andie MacDowell, Kevin McGarry, Chris McNally, Brendan Penny and Kavan Smith
- Dec. 20-23: Rachel Boston, Brooke D’Orsay, Brennan Elliot, Aimee Garcia, Niall Matter, Barbara Niven, Autumn Reeser, Marcus Rosner, Ashley Williams and Victor Webster
For tickets, and information about free and ticketed events, go to experiencehallmarkchristmas.com.
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