Livin' La Vida Local, no. 4: Boulevardia 2015

Known for its many fountains, a ridiculous number of barbecue restaurants, stellar live jazz and blues, and a well-established art scene, Kansas City, Missouri, provides plenty to experience. I thoroughly enjoy livin' la vida local in the Flyover Zone. Join me as I explore new finds and old faves in this big small town I call home.  

Welcome to Boulevardia! And can we talk about how many rompers we saw? What I want to know is how people use 
 Johnny-on-the-Spots while wearing them. Yikes!!

Boulevard Brewing Company's Can Bar. Yes, we can!

Boulevard Brewing Company hosted Boulevardia, a combination food, music and beer festival held in Kansas City's 12th Street Bridge Historic District (known as the West Bottoms by us locals), over Father's Day weekend. My friends Lora, Kate and I joined the throng on Saturday afternoon to celebrate Kate's birthday.

Upon entering Boulevardia, we found photo booths set up. If you know me, you know I love a photobooth:

Kate looks cute. Lora and I are being goofy. We all look cool and collected, though. No sweat yet.

Our Sassy Pantry offered samples of their wonderful jams. I especially enjoyed the bacon jam. 
How could I not!?

We enjoyed browsing through the Makers Market and the many shops selling antique and handmade items. We found delicious bacon jam, maple seeds beautifully set into rings, vintage-inspired printed tea towels, and much more.


I was so excited to see this place!

I bought a cute little vintage white and gold sun pin. It perfectly fits my style. Photos later.

As for the shops, I was especially excited to go into Bella Patina. I have been following them on Instagram for-ev-errr, but I had never been inside. It was fantastic! The displays were well-curated, and the mixture of handmade and vintage goods charmed me.

Gorgeous people. Gorgeous architecture. I love Kansas City.

Later, we people-watched and talked as we ate street tacos. We were not at all fond of the hot, sunny weather. However, we were appreciative of the (alas, warm) breeze that dried our sweat, which  cooled us down until we dried out. 

Unfortunately, Kate became overheated and felt sick after we had been walking around for a while. Her boyfriend Alex picked her up and took her home. I know she felt bad about leaving early, but you can't help getting sick. And getting overheated can be so dangerous. It is much better to get to a place where you can cool off than end up in the hospital. Luckily, the people running the First Aid tent were very kind. They helped cool Kate down and walk her to Alex's car.

Getting ready for Making Movies. Photo by Lora!

Lovelorn makes such haunting beautiful music.

After Kate went home, the weather grew milder. Lora and I listened to music - most notably local bands Making Movies and Lovelorn. We also ran into some friends and chatted with them for awhile.

We almost rode the Ferris Wheel...

We waffled back and forth about riding the Ferris Wheel, but ultimately decided $5.00 a ticket was too much for us. In retrospect, though, I would have loved to have seen that westward-facing view around sunset.

This was my favorite "seating area" at Boulevardia.

All in all, I had a good day, but I really wish Kate could have joined Lora and me for these end-of-the-day-looking-kind-of-greasy pics:

We weren't ready, but those expressions are just so me!

Yeah, we're adorable, if a little (a lot) sweaty.

What festivals have you been to this summer? Did I miss out on anything fun? Should I put any upcoming events on my calendar?

I'm so glad to be back,

Alison :)