Here are fifteen things to do in KC this weekend, October 15—18 including The Wizard of Oz, the Kansas City Mavericks’ season opener and Dark Forest.
Cowtown Vintage & Art Exchange
Every third Thursday of the month, this grassroots market brings a curated pop-up to Midtown’s El Torreon. Set to the soundtrack of local bands and DJs, shoppers can browse everything from trendy Y2K pieces to handmade goods to books. The event series pays homage to the venue once known as the Cowtown Ballroom, a hall that hosted artists like Frank Zappa and Van Morrison throughout the ’70s.
October 15. 6 pm. El Torreon.
Kansas City Ballet: The Wizard of Oz
The Kansas City Ballet kicks off its season with a special nod to home, performing Septime Webre’s ballet adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The ballet will follow Dorothy, Toto and her peculiar friends’ journey on the yellow brick road to meet the wise Wizard. Accompanied by the Kansas City Symphony, this performance will transport the audience from Kansas to the glamorous city of Oz.
October 16–25. Times vary. Muriel Kauffman Theatre.
Eric McDowell presents Bake Anything
Baking can feel intimidating, but Eric McDowell—a Kansas City-based pastry chef and author with quite the online following—wants to change that. Last month, McDowell released her fourth cookbook, Bake Anything, which comprises 11 foundational recipes (like puff pastry, brioche and pudding) and the many ways that bakers can branch off from those bases. The superstar baker stops at Mid-Continent Public Library on her book tour to connect with local readers.
October 17. 2 pm. Mid-Continent Public Library.
Kansas City Mavericks vs. Rapid City Rush
For the past three seasons, the Kansas City Mavericks have made a name for themselves as one of the ECHL’s best teams, consistently sitting atop the Mountain Division. With standout players like Marcus Crawford and Casey Carreau returning to the rink, the sticks are down as the Mavs kick off the 2026–2027 season with two home matches against Rapid City Rush.
October 16, 7:05 pm and October 17, 6:05 pm. Cable Dahmer Arena.
Día de los Muertos Celebration
The Museum of Kansas City celebrates Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, a little early. The museum’s 13th annual festival features music from Mariachi Estrella, dance performances from Grupo Folklórico Izcalli, face painting and more. Grab a bite from one of the food trucks on the museum lawn, browse the vendor fair, and be sure to bring an item of remembrance for the community altars.
October 17. 5 pm. The Museum of Kansas City.
Dark Forest
In need of an adrenaline rush? Head to Dark Forest for an eerie evening of performance art in the great outdoors. A collaboration between Powell Gardens and cirque company Quixotic, attendees take a one-mile, after-hours stroll through the botanical gardens among special effects and live performers like acrobats, musicians and dancers.
October 16–31. Gates open at 5:30. Powell Gardens.
John Proctor Is the Villain
Anyone who remembers reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in high school probably remembers John Proctor as the story’s flawed but ultimately heroic leading man. Playwright Kimberly Belflower would like us to reconsider. Her provocative John Proctor Is the Villain comes to KCRep’s Copaken Stage, making the local company one of the first regional theaters in the country to produce the play following its buzzy 2025 Broadway run.
Set in a small Georgia town, the play centers on five teenage girls studying The Crucible in their high school English class. But as they examine the Salem witch trials—and Proctor’s relationship with teenage Abigail Williams—the conversations begin to hit uncomfortably close to home.
October 6—25. Times vary. Copaken Stage.
Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck
New York City-based artist Barbara Takenaga, known for her abstract and meticulous dot paintings and print work, will have her first career retrospective, Awestruck, at the Kemper. Her work is held at institutions across the nation including the The Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Broad in Los Angeles. The Awestruck exhibit will feature the past 25 years of Takenaga’s work.
October 9–April 11, 2027. Times vary. Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
Apparition: Coffin Club
Sip themed cocktails among vampires and werewolves at this immersive murder mystery bar. Though the bar is an experience in itself, it’s the ideal spot to grab a drink before visiting one of the West Bottoms’ many haunted houses.
September 18—October 31. Times vary. Fountain City Winery.
KC Wine Co. Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch
Roam KC Wine Co.’s 40 acres at this all-ages extravaganza. The price of admission includes over 60 activities like corn pits, skee ball, mega slides and plenty of seasonal photo ops. Plus, the Olathe winery’s signature wine slushes will be available for purchase all day, every day.
September 26–October 31. Times vary. KC Wine Co.
Visions of the Flint Hills
At this annual art benefit and sale, celebrate the beautiful plains of Kansas, portrayed through art pieces inspired by the Flint Hills’ landscapes—the largest tallgrass prairie in North America. Artists from around the country find themselves inspired by the region and present their pieces at the Buttonwood Art Space this fall. Half of the proceeds go to the artists themselves, while the other half benefit the Friends of Konza Prairie, which promotes environmental education for the region.
September 28–December 9. Times vary. Buttonwood Art Space.
Mobile Music Box
The Kansas City Symphony’s free, metro-wide outdoor concert series, Mobile Music Box, returns for the fall season. This weekend, the portable stage makes a stop at Mission’s Mohawk Park as orchestra musicians deliver a chamber music performance.
October 18. 6 pm. Mohawk Park.
Local Thursdays: Kadesh Flow
Each Thursday evening through October, non-profit organization Manor Records spotlights KC musicians with concert series Local Thursdays. This week features rapper and trombonist Kadesh Flow. Admission is free.
October 15. 6 pm. J. Rieger & Co.
Snap Space: The Distance Between
In M. Willie Garcia’s mixed media print installation The Distance Between at the Kansas City Artists Coalition, the printmaker explores what it means to live alongside the unknown. Garcia draws from science, science fiction and personal identity to explore space and invites viewers to reflect on their place within a universe that has been expanding for 13.8 billion years. As a printmaker, Garcia has worked throughout the Kansas City area and has had work featured abroad in the “Sumi-Fusion” Mokuhanga exhibition in Nara, Japan.
September 18—November 6. Times vary. Kansas City Artists Coalition.
KC Renaissance Festival
Take a step back in time at Kansas City’s Renaissance Festival. The annual fair transports visitors to the Renaissance with cosplay, costumes and live entertainment such as jousting matches and folk music. There will be food and drinks, handmade goods and immersive activities throughout the festival, enhancing the creative and playful atmosphere.
September 5–October 18 (Saturdays and Sundays only). 633 N. 130th Street. Bonner Springs.
