Here are eleven things to do in Kansas City the weekend of October 20-23, including a Horror Play Festival, Dia de Los Muertos Celebration, and eerie, immersive installations in the woods at Powell Gardens.
Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman Screening and Book Event
Buster Keaton’s 1924 classic, The Cameraman, will be screened with live musical accompaniment by composers Brad Cox and Jeff Harshbarger. Along with the film screening and live instrumentals, The Restaurant at 1900 is offering movie snacks and drinks. Each audience member will receive a personalized copy of Camera Man: Buster Keaton, The Dawn of Cinema and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, and be able to watch a post-film conversation between author Dana Stevens and Vivien Jennings of Rainy Day Books.
October 20. 6:30 pm. 1900 Building.
The Kansas City Horror Play Festival
The Living Room Theatre presents this limited-run festival which features twelve brand new short plays written, designed, directed, and performed exclusively by local artists. There will also be local goods for sale, Tarot card readings, specialty drinks, and costume contests before each show.
October 20-23. 7 pm (doors at 7 pm. Show at 8 pm.) Upside Bungee.
View this post on Instagram
Crossroads Hotel’s Dia de los Muertos Celebration
A traditional, beautiful ofrenda will greet guests as they enter, traditional Mexican folkloric music will be played by Mariachi Estrella KC, and light bites and specialty cocktails will be served. Attendees can also create alebrijes-inspired masks, receive complimentary face paint, and watch puppetry from StoneLion Puppet Theater.
October 21. 6 pm. Crossroads Hotel.
Dark Forest at Powell Gardens
As nightfall sweeps across an eerie Midwest sky, Dark Forest returns to offer a magical and mysterious landscape with captivating music and innovative, creative technology. Local performance art collective Quixotic is working with Powell Gardens to create one of their signature immersive installations in the woods.
October 21–23 and October 27–30. 5-11 pm. Powell Gardens.
View this post on Instagram
Ghost Light
KC Rep’s annual Ghost Light is a show that combines music and ghost stories. The show begins at dusk in the woods of Roanoke Park. The family-friendly event is free and features musicians, writers and storytellers that reflect the cultural riches of the city.
October 21 and 22. Roanoke Park in KCMO.
View this post on Instagram
Vintage Market Days of Kansas City
Over a hundred unique local and national vendors will be showcasing and selling their original art, furniture, clothing, jewelry, home decor, and other hand-crafted items. The event will hold workshops for shoppers to be able to craft one-of-a-kind items for their homes and also features food trucks and live music.
October 21 – October 22, 10 – 5 pm. October 23, 10 – 4 pm. 7100 Prairie View Rd.
View this post on Instagram
Kansas City Ballet Presents “Giselle”
This ballet is a tragic story of a young girl’s innocent love that turns into heartbreak and retribution. When “Giselle” first was performed in the late 19th century, it was advertised as a “ballet-fantastique,” which meant the ballet involved dark and powerful spirits or supernatural and fantastical elements. Get into the Halloween spirit as the Kansas City Symphony plays live alongside this spooky ballet.
October 21 – 22. 7:30 pm. October 23. 2 pm. Kauffman Center.
Napoleon Dynamite with Jon Heder, Jon Gries and Efren Ramirez
The story behind Napoleon Dynamite is almost as legendary as the cult film itself: Two Brigham Young film students wrote a screenplay about awkward teens and their quirky uncle and cobbled together four-hundred grand to film it in rural Idaho. The film became a cultural sensation, with a cult following remaining to this day. At this screening and talk, you’ll hear more inside details from Jon Heder (Napoleon), Efren Ramirez (Pedro) and Jon Gries (Uncle Rico).
October 22. 8 pm. Yardley Hall at JCCC.
Halloween on the Lawn
This free, family-friendly event features an outdoor movie screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas, along with fortune telling, face painting, halloween candy, and special offers from participating stores and restaurants.
October 22. 6 pm. Legends.
The Rocky Horror Show Experience
Cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be performed live, outside in the historically spooky West Bottoms. Along with the performance, there will also be art installations, a themed jack-o-lantern display, specialty cocktails, fire pits, and of course, audience members are not required, but highly encouraged, to dress up as their favorite Rocky Horror character.
October 22. Doors at 11 pm. Show at 12 am. The Black Box.
String Sprout’s Stringfest
This fall party will have food, drinks, a silent auction, a live performance by Kansas City Symphony musicians and a performance by Year 4 and 5 Sprouts in order to raise funds to provide more KC children the opportunity to learn to play a violin or cello through Sprouts K.C.
October 22. 5:30 pm. H.J.’s Community Center.
View this post on Instagram
