Best Charitable Event
The criteria for Best Charitable Event is probably the amount of money raised and the amount of fun had by attendees. Once again, 15 year old Jazzoo succeeds for the Gold. This year, over 4,800 attended and contributions to the Zoo's educational fund totaled over $610,000, the best result ever, helped perhaps by their first silent auction where everything from elephant poop heads to fine china went to the fund raisers. The Silver goes to the Children's Mercy Hospital Golf Classic, not exactly a surprise--see the next category for the why of it all. The Bronze is awarded to Forks and Corks, the eating/drinking/entertaining bonanza at Union Station where all the food and wine are donated by the best restaurants, distributors and patrons in town and eaten by the most devoted foodies who've paid for the privilege. Since it all goes to help the truly hungry fed by Harvesters, it's indeed eating for a cause.
Charitable Golf Tournament
Add golf to the criteria above and the Gold hole in one goes to the Children's Mercy Hospital Golf Classic in its 25th and final year. This unparalleled commitment by Tom Watson has brought in every major player and contributed over $12 million over the years. The Silver birdied to Touched by Cancer Golf Tournament, held for the last three years in July. This "celebrity" tournament at Staley Farms Golf Club in Kansas City North is a five person scramble devoted to the worthy cause of cancer awareness and assistance. The Sunshine Center, serving children with special needs since 1975 in Independence, took the Bronze with its inaugural Rock Man Celebrity Classic at WinterStone, a new course in Independence.
Best Community Theater
So what if they refuse to spell theater the American way? All three winners in the Best Community Theater category offer something different. The Gold sashays over to the 30 year old Unicorn Theatre's possession, due perhaps to "bold, artistic productions written with passion and integrity." Starlight Theatre has a gangbuster season and the Silver trophy is a just reward for favorites from both Broadway and the concert scene. With seats for about 8,000 people, the theater since its inception in 1950 has been a summertime favorite, even if Cats does keep coming back. And the perfect combination for Kansas City's suburban crowd zooms to the Bronze: The New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park with its good food and solidly entertaining productions.
Best Day Trip
Day trips fulfill an important function: get out of town quickly and have some off-the-beaten-track fun. Number one trip, for the Gold is Weston, Missouri again. Head up highway 29 and venture west of Platte City and you'll hit a wonderful historic town that includes antebellum homes, vineyards, shops, dining, all amidst the beautiful hills and bluffs overlooking the Missouri River. And some of us never left KU in our hearts, for we (and others) voted Lawrence as the Silver contender. Just 30 miles away, there's football, well basketball, restaurants, shops, lodging, and much more. And for bucolic idylls as well as garden envy supreme, there's first time winner Powell Gardens for the Bronze, just out east Highway 50--for a whole other world in ‘the other Johnson County'.
Best Entertainment Venue
Formerly the venue known as Sand-stone, the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater picks up the Gold for Best Entertainment Venue though not the catchiest name. Entertaining 400,000 patrons annually, the outdoor theater features every artist you'd like to hear, from Rod Stewart to Josh Gracin (who?) to Snoop Dogg. Starlight Theatre takes the Silver in this class, proving that improved oldies can still be goodies. The Midland Theatre graciously accepts the Bronze, where its eye-boggling interior and solid entertainment make us forget the leg room issue.
Best Happy Hour
Happy Hours are just that, combining food, drink, and cheaper prices . . . what more could you ask for? Oh yes, good company. You provide that and the Kona Grill will provide you with the Gold standard of the Best Happy Hour in town. McCormick and Schmick's serves up the Silver for its nearly full size meals for about two bucks each and excellent drinks as well. Come early--it's always crowded. The Bronze was such a tie for more than a dozen restaurants, we've decided you'll just have to choose your own.
Best Jazz or Blues Club
When you want the jazz that Kansas City is famous for, you have many choices. But the Gold goes to The Phoenix Piano Bar & Grill which moved up this year and where headliners consistently demonstrate their talents. This 8th & Central location Downtown is known, too, for good food, reasonably priced, the better to not interfere with the music. Jardine's swings its way to the Silver, another climb up from last year, due to consistently great offerings and amazing food from maybe the world's smallest kitchen. And B.B.'s Lawnside Bar-B-Que makes an appearance for the Bronze, proving that the best barbecue can have soul, country, and blues along with those fries.
Best Festival or Fair
Oh, there's nothing cheerier than an outing in KC where the baby strollers, dogs, and people all compete for space to eat, drink, walk, and greet. Striding to the Gold, the Plaza Art Fair once again proves that art can be outrageous and just sheer fun to look at--and all the goodies certainly help encourage that receptive feeling. The Silver is grasped by The Renaissance Festival, where for the last 27 years, we've gnawed on turkey legs and laughed at performers, having grand fun as we do. The Bronze is awarded to the ever growing, ever improving Brookside Art Fair which combines the best art in tents every May.
Best Casino
Hitting the jackpot for the Gold for the third year in a row: Ameristar Casino. With 2,900 slots and over 100 table games, including the largest poker room in the Midwest, ten restaurants, including an Arthur Bryant's and an oyster bar, 18 AMC theaters, a pavilion for headline entertainment, and a hotel, this Casino has just about it all. The Silver goes to Harrah's North Kansas City Casino where its new slots, four restaurants and a newly renovated hotel keep the action lively. The Bronze is won by the Argosy Casino at I-635 & Hwy 9 with its 1,750 coinless slots and 46 tables of gaming excitement and 49 plasma screens for those sports addicts.
Best Museum or Art Gallery
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art triumphs again for the Gold. Since 1933, this museum has shown patrons its masterpieces from every culture and period of the world, especially its Chinese arts and sculpture collections. And wow! It's free now--go see what all the work has accomplished. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art draws the Silver for its modern and contemporary artworks in all media from around the world. In addition to gallery spaces, the Museum houses an indoor courtyard, the wonderful Sebastian Café, and a museum shop. For a very different experience in this category, trek over to 19th Street to see why the friendly Blue Gallery captured the Bronze--perhaps for its non-elitist attitude, for one thing. Another would be its focus on finding the best in every genre.
Best Performing Arts Venue
The Kansas City Repertory Theatre, founded back in 1964, is a class act for the Gold. Over 100,000 play lovers see its six main stage plays each season--which, by the way, employ more than 250 professional artists, technicians and administrators. Starlight Theatre twinkles to the Silver, its improved stage and sound system is music to our ears. The vintage 1936 Music Hall, with 2,400 seats, sings to the Bronze, with its Italian marble floors and walls, huge murals and elaborate art deco chandeliers that somehow inspired the Bartle Hall Sky Stations.
Best Sports Venue
It doesn't even matter if the teams win or lose, the winners of the Gold and the Silver Best Sports Venue stay the same this year as last: Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, respectively. The former seats nearly 80,000 rabid fans with our baseball stadium at capacity with nearly 41,000--they're not quite so rabid this year, alas. But the Bronze this year zooms to the Kansas Speedway whose track seats over 80,000 spectators in the grandstand with free parking for 65,000, but will eventually expand to 150,000 upon completion of the final phase of development. And talk about rabid!
