Weeks after KCK Christmas village defaults on payment, some employees receive partial pay
One week after retaining a bankruptcy lawyer, troubled pop-up Christmas village Jingle! Kansas City has released a portion of missing funds to some employees whose final paychecks were never sent.
Jingle took place at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas — home of the Kansas City Monarchs — between Nov. 29, 2024 and Jan. 1, 2025. The holiday popup opened to poor reviews despite the success of a similar event at Legends Field during the 2023 holiday season. On Jan. 3, the winter event space, helmed by former Monarchs CEO Mark McKee, emailed some employees with news that Jingle was “unable to meet its payroll obligations.”
The initial email, though widely circulated on social media, was only sent to a handful of salaried employees. On Jan. 9, another small group of now-former Jingle employees were issued a second statement saying they would be paid in full by Jan. 31.
Only employees on Jingle’s payroll appear to have received Friday’s partial payment, with dozens of contractors still waiting on December invoices to be fulfilled.
Some workers are out hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The Monarchs also allege that the team has not been paid for the use of Legends Field.
Hanah Glimpse, who worked as an assistant stage manager at Jingle, was among those to receive about a quarter of her outstanding $800 paycheck. Jingle still has not contacted Glimpse directly, she said.
“I did not know I was getting any money till I got my Gusto email informing me,” Glimpse said Friday.
Jingle retained Kansas City bankruptcy law firm The Wagoner Group last week to “manage the wrap-up of its business operations,” according to a Jan. 10 letter. The Wagoner Group was unavailable to comment on Friday’s partial payments.
In previous statements issued through Will Gregory Public Relations — which no longer represents Jingle — McKee alleged that missing funds at Jingle were largely attributable to a three-week delay in the arrival of a portable ice rink, one of the Christmas village’s main features.
Will Gregory has said that McKee and the Jingle team plan to seek damages payments from the ice rink vendor to put toward paying employees. The payroll and contractor payment deficiencies at Jingle have also been reported to the Department of Labor, according to Gregory.
Similar payroll issues have been reported at the St. Louis location of Jingle. Some employees at both locations have been considering legal action, with a St. Louis employee gauging interest through an online form last week.
This story was originally published January 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
