Here are sixteen things to do in KC this weekend, October 22—25 including Yee Haw!, Re/Gen and Boo at the Zoo.
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.
Yee Haw!
Missouri-born comic Caleb Hearon’s career has skyrocketed in recent years. In addition to his popular podcast “So True!,” his film and TV credits continue to accumulate with recent roles in The Devil Wears Prada 2, Sweethearts and his own HBO Max comedy special. But each fall, Hearon reliably hosts Yee Haw!, KC Tenants’ annual fundraiser, alongside singer-songwriter Waxahatchee. Special guests include famed drag queen Trixie Mattel, voice actor and comic David Gborie and local soul band The Freedom Affair.
October 23. 8 pm. Uptown Theater.
Outlander in Concert
In honor of the final season of the hit show, Outlander will be brought to life through a live concert experience. The show tells the story of Claire Randall, a nurse from 1945 who falls in love with a Highlander, Jamie Fraser, in 1743 Scotland. The show is a tale of romance, drama and time-travel accompanied by Bear McCreary’s rich orchestral score influenced by Scottish folk music.
October 23. 7:30 pm. Yardley Hall.
Created by Chaos
Goddesses, monsters, heroines and troublemakers have populated Greek mythology for thousands of years. At Created by Chaos, Kansas City Dance Collective gives these powerful women a thoroughly modern spin. First staged in spring 2025, the production features individual works that explore the various characters through the perspectives of the dancers and choreographers who created them.
October 23 & 24. 7 pm. City Stage Theatre at Union Station.
Re/Gen
Pianist, producer and composer Eddie Moore describes his performance series Re/Gen as a “regeneration of Kansas City’s historic jazz culture through modern artists.” Bridging the gap between then and now through music and visual storytelling, the evening features performances from Moore and three emerging groups on KC’s scene: Paxton Harvey Elektrik Band, Nick Hmeljak’s Open Channel and Daul Lee’s Atelier. In between sets, DJ Skeme will spin a cocktail of soul, funk, R&B, hip-hop and beyond.
October 25. 5 pm. YesWay Live.
Boo at the Zoo
Enjoy daytime trick-or-treating (and another opportunity to don a costume) at the Kansas City Zoo’s “not-so-scary” Halloween event. Collect candy while roaming the park, and be sure to visit the zoo’s new indoor habitat, Giraffe Crossing, which opened earlier this year.
October 24 & 25. 9:30 am. Kansas City Zoo.
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 follows 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.
“living Room” by Hailes
Hailes—an R&B artist and Broadway performer who splits her time between NYC and her hometown of Kansas City—hosts an artist-led residency at one of the city’s hottest clubs: In The Lowest Ferns. This installment features Zeph France, Charmelle, Resident MC and DJ Dom Chronicles.
October 22. 7 pm. In The Lowest Ferns.
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.
Ryan & Ryan Kickin’ the Clouds Away
From Rachmaninoff to Billy Joel, this father-son piano duo plays a little bit of everything. Donald Ryan, the patriarch of the group, is a native of Trinidad and Tobago who came to the United States to study music and is now a member of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Following in his father’s footsteps, Barron Ryan first took the stage as a four-year-old and hasn’t stopped since. Expect a program that spans ragtime, classical, funk and more.
October 25. 7 pm. Polsky Theatre.
PBR Outlaw Days
The Kansas City Outlaws, one of 10 teams in the Professional Bull Riders, host their annual homestand and the final event of the league’s regular season: Outlaw Days. While traditional rodeos include a range of riding and roping competitions, expect just one event at PBR matches. Competitors are scored on their ability to hold on to a bull, one-handed, for eight seconds.
October 23–25. Times vary. T-Mobile Center.
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.
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.
Local Thursdays: Frankie Shorez & Mercy Fire
Each Thursday evening through October, non-profit organization Manor Records spotlights KC musicians with concert series Local Thursdays. This week features soulful singer-songwriter Frankie Shorez. Admission is free.
October 22. 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.
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.
