‘SNL’ veteran Kenan Thompson to debut at Big Slick Celebrity Weekend this month
The guest list for this year’s Big Slick Celebrity Weekend is being unveiled this week and, as usual, there are a lot of fun (and funny) people coming to Kansas City.
On Monday, organizers announced that “Saturday Night Live” veteran Kenan Thompson will make his debut at this year’s 16th annual event.
Comedian Adam Ray, who impersonates Dr. Phil McGraw in the Netflix comedy special “Dr. Phil Unleashed,” is another first-timer.
This year’s two-day event takes place May 30-31. The annual weekend raises money for pediatric cancer research at Children’s Mercy Kansas City.
Thompson, no doubt, was recruited by his “SNL” castmate Heidi Gardner, a Kansas City native and one of the homegrown squad of A-listers who host the event.
“I’m so excited,” Thompson wrote on the Big Slick Instagram announcement Monday.
Gardner, Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, David Koechner and Eric Stonestreet bring celebrity friends and colleagues from TV and Hollywood with them, many of whom are regulars now.
Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have also appeared at the party and main event at T-Mobile Center in recent years.
The guest list is typically heavy with comedians who do stand-up, perform in skits and otherwise keep the large party crowd laughing.
Last year, for instance, actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani (“Silicon Valley,” “The Big Sick”) appeared for the first time alongside Big Slick veterans Will Forte, Taran Killam from “SNL,” George Wendt (“Cheers”) and Sean Evans, host of YouTube’s “Hot Ones.”
This year’s guest list so far also includes mostly familiar faces:
- David Cook, Blue Springs native, singer, returning guest
- Fortune Feimster, comedian, returning guest
- Anthony Hill, KC native, actor, “Grey’s Anatomy,” returning guest
- Johnny Knoxville, actor, stunt man, returning guest
- Kevin Pollak, actor, comedian, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” returning guest
- Sarah Tiana, comedian, writer, returning guest
As always, this year’s event involves two core events:
The Big Slick Celebrity Classic Softball Game will take place on the main field at Kauffman Stadium on Friday, May 30, before the Royals play the Detroit Tigers. Everyone with a Royals ticket can watch the softball game, which begins at 5 p.m.
The Big Slick Party & Show, the weekend’s main event, is Saturday, May 31, at T-Mobile Center. The raucous event includes musical performances, skits and an auction for big-ticket items.
Tickets, starting at $75, are available at bigslickkc.org or T-MobileCenter.com.
Since its first year in 2010 as a celebrity poker tournament and party, Big Slick has raised more than $25 million for the hospital and children it serves.
The guest list will be rolled out daily this week on Big Slick’s social media channels and its website, bigslickkc.org.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 10:13 AM.
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