Will Lee’s Summit’s Downtown Days return after weekend chaos? ‘Nothing’s off the table’
The future of Lee’s Summit’s beloved Downtown Days festival may look significantly different — if it returns next year — following disruptions at the event over the weekend and in previous years.
The event, which helps to kick off summer each year, can draw as many as 80,000 people to downtown Lee’s Summit over three days, according to Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street, the group that puts on the event.
Donnie Rodgers, executive director of Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street, said that “nothing’s off the table” for changes to the festival. Priority number one for the event, he said, is community safety.
“I would say, if it’s back, it would be with major, major changes,” Rodgers said.
On Saturday evening, Lee’s Summit police responded to reports of fights, assaults, property damage, large groups of youths “refusing to disperse.” They called in backup from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. In one incident, a child unleashed bear spray in a crowd, and in another, officers recovered a gun after chasing another youth, police said.
Police said Sunday that two teenagers were detained and released to their guardians and could face charges.
No injuries were reported.
“There will be continued discussions with event organizers and city officials about additional improvements and safety measures for future events,” Lee’s Summit police said in a statement Sunday.
Rodgers said that Downtown Days is a long-standing community tradition, and it’s made to bring our community together.
“Just very heartbroken over the actions that took place on Saturday,” he said. “Definitely not something that I think represents what we stand for. We want something that is welcoming and inviting and safe for all. Just really heartbroken on the things that happened.”
Three years in a row
This is the third year in a row that youths have disrupted the Downtown Days festival. In 2025 and 2024, cries of “gun” caused panic in crowds at the event.
Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street had implemented a few changes for this year in an effort to get ahead of any problems, including by boosting the number of private security officers present, closing the event down earlier and limiting rides to those for younger children, Rodgers said.
The event comes just before a series of World Cup watch parties that will be held at the city’s Green Street Market event space over the coming weeks. Those are being put on by LSGoal26, a separate nonprofit volunteer group.
Rodgers sits on that group’s board said those events won’t have vendors or a carnival and will be put on at a much smaller scale than Downtown Days. He said he would be “ecstatic” if as many as 2,000 people showed up for the first event on Friday.
Reactions around downtown
Brian Pilachowski, who owns the Local Foundery shop on Third Street, made the decision to close up his store’s display on the street a little early Saturday evening.
“It’s a bummer,” he said of that night’s chaos. “It’s a shame that it kind of gets ruined if people don’t feel safe to come down with their families. I think it’s important somehow we figure it out and kind of get a hold on it. Hopefully, we can make it more safe for everybody, and people feel comfortable coming down.”
Dru Newman, who owns Mindgames and Magic, a comic and collectibles shop on Second Street, suggested that the festival establish a rule that youths must be with a parent or guardian while attending.
“It’s just stupid kids that were just doing stupid stuff,” he said. “Thankfully, no one was really, truly hurt. It sucks to get bear-sprayed in the face, but it’s not a mass shooting, it’s not anything that’s super awful, thank goodness.”
“I think that for the most part, Lee’s Summit police, the downtown people, did a great job,” he said. “Safety is something that they are really, really concerned about.”
Jillian Mason, of Blue Springs, mulled the incident while supervising a happy youth at the Green Street playground on Monday afternoon.
“Especially having a child and just wanting to get out and about and do things, I feel like you’re always questioning safety,” she said. “Are we gonna be safe where we go? Is anything gonna happen? I feel like that has to go through your mind nowadays, when you didn’t use to live in a world where that was our perspective on things.”
