Downtown Kansas City

Countdown: the 75 best things to do in Kansas City

Part one of three

By: Jessie Burche

Posted: 8/20/07

75. Take your children, or someone else's children, to Kaleidoscope at Crown Center

74. Learn a new dance, the Westport Beach Club offers salsa lessons at 8:30 pm every Saturday

73. Attend a show at the Coterie theatre in Crown Center

72. Run around with your dog at the Penn-Valley off-leash dog park

71. reVerse offers up live DJs, blues and jazz musicians all through the week

70. Find out more about downtown at the annual Urban Housing Tour

69. Sample some exotic tea at the Tea Drop in Westport

68. Visit the WWI museum at the Liberty Memorial

67. Get a little more cultured at the Kansas City Symphony

66. Be awed by the houses in Mission Hills at Christmas time, then sigh because you will most likely never live in a house that nice

65. The Louisburg Observatory is a hidden gem in the metro area. It's run by amateur astronomers who put on weekly lectures and has a giant telescope open for public viewing

64. Wonderscope in Shawnee, KS is another great place to take kids. They offer exhibits you won't find anywhere else, such as a tree house, a grocery store and an indoor picnic area

63. Marvel at the flexibility of dancers at the Kansas City Ballet

62. Have one of the best Chinese lunches in the city for $5 at Red Dragon downtown

61. Check out some contemporary art at the new Bloch building addition to the Nelson-Atkins museum

60. Cheer on the wiener dogs at the annual Wiener Dog Race at the Woodlands in Leavenworth

59. The lookout point at Case Park offers a great view of the Missouri River, it's also the ideal place for a nap

58. Take a trip to River Market and check out the Arabia Steamboat museum. It houses a giant, intact steamboat and many strange artifacts from the 1800's

57. Watch a movie at the restored Granada theater on 1656 Washington

56. The Irish Festival near Crown Center offers dancing competitions, traditional Irish food, music and a Catholic Mass on Sunday. The festival also won the 2007 Visitor's Choice Award

55. If you're into scaring yourself, go ghost hunting. The web site, http://missourighosts.net/kansascity.html can show you where to find haunted places in town

54. Cupcakes are better than cake and Babycakes in River Market knows it

53. Go flea market shopping and get a burger at the Westport Flea Market

52. People-watch and enjoy a tasty treat at the Classic Cup on the Plaza