The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts was designed by Moshe Safdie whose works are known for their dramatic curves and arrays of simple geometric patterns. The Kansas City Ballet, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Symphony each share space in the architecturally distinctive building that graces the downtown skyline.

Minutes from the performing arts center is the Crossroads Arts District. It is home to an eclectic mix of shops, studios, galleries, and boutiques. Local artists and designers converged to create a diverse arts community offering everything from furniture, flowers, chocolates, and baked goods to watercolors, oils, photographs and glass and metal sculptures. The Crossroads Arts District hosts monthly events dubbed First Fridays and Second Saturdays that open the area to visitors in a street fair-like atmosphere.

Located in the heart of Kansas City, the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art stands as a monolith of limestone in a beautifully manicured landscape of gardens. A recent modern addition to the building strikingly reflects the contrast of new architecture to old. The Nelson houses a world-class permanent collection of art and regularly features special exhibitions. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and the Kansas City Art Institute are both situated within blocks of the Nelson. All three offer workshops and art classes for children and adults.

Included in the diverse arts abounding in Kansas City is the Jazz District. This district is anchored by the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Live jazz entertainment, reminiscent of the days when Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, or Count Basie played here, is available almost nightly in either the Blue Room or the Gem Theater.

Whether your interests are geared to the outdoors or indoors, you will find something in Kansas City to suit you. For thrill seekers, there is the World’s of Fun Amusement Park with a roller coaster touting a daring 205-foot drop. There are two outdoor and two indoor water-amusement parks.

The Kansas City Zoo encompasses over 200 acres of land with more than 1000 animals on exhibit. But, that doesn’t compare with the Powell Gardens’ 915 acres of garden displays. This botanical garden was designed to “embrace the Midwest spirit” with its gardens and gently flowing meadows.

Multiple area lakes offer summer opportunities for boating, sailing and skiing. The Missouri River serves as a base for multiple river boat casinos moored within city limits. In addition to being a gambler’s paradise, they house a variety of restaurants and concert venues.

Other concerts, plays and Broadway style shows are available through multiple theaters and stages. The Midland and The Folly Theaters both feature early 1900’s architecture. The Midland caters to the concert scene, while The Folly is geared more toward the fine arts. The Coterie Theater is specifically oriented to families and young audiences and is nationally rated as one of the top 5 theaters in this category. Outdoor summertime productions are offered at the Starlight Theater and Providence Medical Amphitheater at Sandstone.

Kansas City’s past meets with its present each October during the American Royal horse show and rodeo. Originally a small livestock show, the event has grown to include a horse and livestock show, professional and youth rodeo, entertainment events with some of country music’s top performers and a top-ranked barbecue contest.

Barbecue may be synonymous with Kansas City but there is much more to the local food scene than just ribs and burnt ends. Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewery is the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest producing about 600,000 barrels of beer a year. One of the best selling seasonal beers is the Chocolate Ale, designed in conjunction with local chocolatier, Christopher Elbow.

Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates mixes chocolate with a variety of other flavors such as lavender, grapefruit, chili, and elderflower to create a small work of edible art. The chocolatier gained national acclaim when Oprah Winfrey named his chocolates one of her “Favorite Things”.

And again, it wouldn’t be Kansas City without barbeque. Gates and Sons, Arthur Bryant’s, Fiorella’s Jack Stack, Joe’s Kansas City, BB’s Lawnside, Danny Edward’s, Winslow’s, Hayward’s, and Smokestack—just to name a few of the local joints. The typical long and slow smoking process and the prolific use of sauce rather than dry rub has attracted a loyal following: The Kansas City Barbecue Society boasts over 20,000 members worldwide.

But if barbecue is not your style you will still find a big variety of restaurants and specialty shops offering everything from burgers to sushi to foie gras to tapas.