Mayor Sly James’ Club KC to cap third season with Aug. 16 celebration
Mayor Sly James’ summer youth entertainment initiative, dubbed Club KC, has recorded just over 7,500 visits from middle and high school students so far, which is down a bit from last year.
The numbers for this summer, the third annual installment of the program, are down slightly because the Fourth of July fell on a Friday this year, so the community centers were closed that night and Club KC did not operate.
The centers also have clamped down on admitting people who do not have approved registration cards, so that reduced the numbers, said Roosevelt Lyons, a recreation manager with the Parks and RecreationDepartment and a key organizer with Club KC.
Last year, the city counted 9,063 verified visits by the end of the program in mid-August, and city officials are looking for something close to that result this year.
The programs so far this summer have been well-received, Lyons said.
“It’s the smoothest year we’ve had,” he said.
Brush Creek and Hillcrest Community Centers continue to be the most popular venues with high school students, and Tony Aguirre Community Center with middle school students. But new programs offered by ArtsTech, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and movie nights at the Plaza Library also have generated interest, Lyons said.
More information is available at KCMayor.org/MayorsNights.
The mayor’s office has announced that this year’s Club KC events will culminate with a celebration Aug. 16 in the south parking lot at Union Station.
Dubbed “Sly’s Rock the Block,” the free event will feature family-friendly activities from 4 to 8 p.m. and will provide free food for the first 4,000 people from 5 to 7 p.m. The Phantastics will provide entertainment, and Hot 103 Jamz will co-host. At 8 p.m., the event will transition to the final night of Club KC for middle and high schoolers and will run until midnight.
To reach Lynn Horsley, call 816-226-2058 or send email to lhorsley@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published August 3, 2014 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Mayor Sly James’ Club KC to cap third season with Aug. 16 celebration."