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NKC’s Friday in the Park, Northtown Jazz Jam take stage
By Jeffrey M. Salem
A pair of locations in North Kansas City will be music to listeners’ ears this summer.
Two weekly free concert series began earlier this month and will run through September. Friday in the Park is held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday at the Macken Park Pavilion, 800 Clark Ferguson Drive, while the Northtown Jazz Jam will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday in North Kansas City’s Town Square, 321 Armour Road. Each event format will prevent performances from becoming stale by September’s end, said those involved with the programming.
The Northtown Jazz Jam, for example, encourages the audience to bring along their instruments and get up on stage with the Jam’s season-long hosts, Sherrie Jones and Mike Ning. The format is what makes the sessions truly “jam” in nature, and Ning said they have had as many as 10 musicians on stage at one time. The level of experience of someone wanting to join in matters little as Ning said anyone from high school students to semi-professionals had taken to the stage before.
“I usually can figure out a song you can play,” Ning said, who plays the keyboards to complement Jones’ vocals. “It’s really different. You don’t know what to expect each Saturday.”
Friday in the Park has a varied concert schedule and park goers will hear differing music styles each week. Polka, ragtime, Cajun, blue grass and Hawaiian are all scheduled for the lunchtime sessions.
Jeff Samborski, economic development director, said the wide range of music should appeal to a large audience.
“I’m always impressed in the quality of musicians,” he said. “If more people gave it a listen, that place would be packed.”
In addition to the Friday in the Park, prize drawings from local merchants will also be raffled to the audience.
Both events are sponsored by the city as local sponsorship dwindled in recent years. Samborski said the city did not want to see these events fade — Friday in the Park, for example, has been running for more than 25 years.
“It’s an institution all in itself at this point,” Samborski said.
From an economic development standpoint, Samborski said concert series such as the two offered in North Kansas City added to the quality of living and could also boost surrounding retail sales.
“We want to build foot traffic, and we’re highly interested in seeing our downtown revitalized,” he said. We need that mix of vibrancy of the arts along with retail.”
Samborski noted large employers in the city, like Cerner Corp., use events such as the concerts to attract employees, too.
“This is another step in that direction,” he said.
Concert series:
Friday in the Park
- 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday through September
- Macken Park Festival Pavilion, 800 Clark Ferguson Drive
Northtown Jazz Jam
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through September
- Town Square, 321 Armour Road
Concert dates:
Upcoming Friday in the Park performers:
- May 16: Noel Scott Group
- May 23: Alpen Speilers
- May 30: Turpine Tyme Ragsters
- June 6: Tommy Ruskin/Julie Turner
- June 13: Don Lipovac
- June 20: New Red Onion Jazz Babies
- June 27: Hula Dancers O’Kiakahi (Hawaiian)
n July 4: Blue & Gray Brass Brigade
For the complete schedule, visit www.nkc.org.
Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.
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Two weekly free concert series began earlier this month and will run through September. Friday in the Park is held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday at the Macken Park Pavilion, 800 Clark Ferguson Drive, while the Northtown Jazz Jam will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday in North Kansas City’s Town Square, 321 Armour Road. Each event format will prevent performances from becoming stale by September’s end, said those involved with the programming.
The Northtown Jazz Jam, for example, encourages the audience to bring along their instruments and get up on stage with the Jam’s season-long hosts, Sherrie Jones and Mike Ning. The format is what makes the sessions truly “jam” in nature, and Ning said they have had as many as 10 musicians on stage at one time. The level of experience of someone wanting to join in matters little as Ning said anyone from high school students to semi-professionals had taken to the stage before.
“I usually can figure out a song you can play,” Ning said, who plays the keyboards to complement Jones’ vocals. “It’s really different. You don’t know what to expect each Saturday.”
Friday in the Park has a varied concert schedule and park goers will hear differing music styles each week. Polka, ragtime, Cajun, blue grass and Hawaiian are all scheduled for the lunchtime sessions.
Jeff Samborski, economic development director, said the wide range of music should appeal to a large audience.
“I’m always impressed in the quality of musicians,” he said. “If more people gave it a listen, that place would be packed.”
In addition to the Friday in the Park, prize drawings from local merchants will also be raffled to the audience.
Both events are sponsored by the city as local sponsorship dwindled in recent years. Samborski said the city did not want to see these events fade — Friday in the Park, for example, has been running for more than 25 years.
“It’s an institution all in itself at this point,” Samborski said.
From an economic development standpoint, Samborski said concert series such as the two offered in North Kansas City added to the quality of living and could also boost surrounding retail sales.
“We want to build foot traffic, and we’re highly interested in seeing our downtown revitalized,” he said. We need that mix of vibrancy of the arts along with retail.”
Samborski noted large employers in the city, like Cerner Corp., use events such as the concerts to attract employees, too.
“This is another step in that direction,” he said.
Concert series:
Friday in the Park
- 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday through September
- Macken Park Festival Pavilion, 800 Clark Ferguson Drive
Northtown Jazz Jam
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through September
- Town Square, 321 Armour Road
Concert dates:
Upcoming Friday in the Park performers:
- May 16: Noel Scott Group
- May 23: Alpen Speilers
- May 30: Turpine Tyme Ragsters
- June 6: Tommy Ruskin/Julie Turner
- June 13: Don Lipovac
- June 20: New Red Onion Jazz Babies
- June 27: Hula Dancers O’Kiakahi (Hawaiian)
n July 4: Blue & Gray Brass Brigade
For the complete schedule, visit www.nkc.org.
Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.