December

The Holiday Express will arrive in Kansas City and be available to tour from noon to 5:00 PM on Sunday, December 17. We encourage patrons to climb aboard and help the Salvation Army in the process.

After winding through 23 communities in six states, Kansas City Southern’s sixth annual Holiday Express pulls into Union Station from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, December 17. The six-car express is led by the Southern Belle, and includes Rudy, a smiling tank car; a flat car carrying Santa’s sleigh, reindeer and a miniature village; a gingerbread box car; the elves’ workshop; the reindeer’s stable; and a little red caboose. At each stop, children visit with Santa in the caboose before touring the cars full of holiday displays. The train is staffed by employees and friends of the railroad. In addition, donations from employees, vendors and others raised more than $100,000 to buy giftcards that were donated to the local Salvation Army at each stop to provide warm clothing for children in need. Admission is free and open to the public.

The 11th Annual Champagne & Chocolate Party begins at 7 p.m. Sunday, December 17, in a Victorian home.
At 8:30 p.m., the party moves across the street to a Frank Lloyd Wright home for aperitifs and coffee. The party, which includes a silent auction, benefits Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care Services. For more information, call 913.722.3100.

The 33rd Annual Snow Ball, a Celebration with Friends, begins with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and dancing Saturday, January 13, at the Crown Center Exhibition Hall. The evening benefits Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. For more information, call 913.621.1504 or visit www.catholiccharitieskc.org.

Winter Storm 2007–The Pipes & Drums Concert is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 13, at the Community Christian Church. The concert will feature an international all gold-medal lineup of 19 of the world’s best Highland bagpipers and Scottish drummers from the U.S., Canada and Scotland. For more information, visit www.winterstorm.net or call 866.524.PIPE.

The Young Friends of Art, which support the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, hosts “Party Arty Disco,” from
8 p.m. until midnight Saturday, Jan-uary 20, at the Athenaeum Club. The evening will feature music from Disco Dick and the Mirror Balls, munchies and cocktails. For more in-formation, call 816.751.1ART or visit www.nelson-atkins.org.

This 14th annual dinner and live auc-tion is a benefit for students from the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the Diocese of Kansas City/St. Joseph studying for the priesthood. “Support Our Seminarians” begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday, January 26, at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. Over the past 13 years, the event has raised more than $2 million. For more infor-mation, visit www.conception.edu or call 913.649.9013.

Believed to be the only underground racing event in the nation, the 25th Annual Groundhog Run is Sunday, January 28, at the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis. The 5K race begins at 9 a.m. and the 10K race begins at 9:45 a.m. All funds raised stay in Kansas City and directly benefit the clients of Children’s TLC Easter Seals. For more information, visit www.mo-kan.easterseals.com or call 816.756.0780.