Music festival to open July Jubilee
There’s still time to be part of an enlivening annual Midtown event taking place on July 27 and 28. The Whole Person (TWP) has booth space available for vendors and needs about 10 more volunteers for the fourth annual July Jubilee. It’s a two-day event the nonprofit hosts to mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. July Jubilee takes place at 3710 Main St. in Kansas City, Mo. Admission is free.
For the first time, the event will open on Friday with the Main Street Music Festival, 6-11 p.m. TWP’s parking lot will rock with musical artists, Conga Jim and the Coconuts. The group’s repertoire of folk-rock, island tunes and rockin’ blues encompasses 50 years of popular music. Also on the lineup are local jazz and blues doyenne, Diane “Mama” Ray; The Selle Brothers Band, popular for their artful welding of blues, country and rock’n’roll; and Kansas City native, Washboard Jo, internationally famous for her versatility and bridging genres – blues, jazz, funk, zydeco, bluegrass and more.
The Jubilee’s inaugural music festival includes not only music and dancing but tantalizing chow. Festivalgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. A trio of the area’s favorite food trucks will offer their various artisanal specialties. Cheesy Street, “Kansas City’s first gourmet grilled cheese truck” serves homemade tomato basil soup along with other mouthwatering grilled cheese sandwich varieties. The Humdinger Drive-In, home of the “legendary” Big Kahuna burger offers a multiplicity of burgers and franks together with fries and tacos.
Marigold’s serves up “simple comfort” in a selection of made-from-scratch sliders, sandwiches, salads, skewers and more, including stuffed mushrooms, black-bean-corn quesadillas and corn fritters with salmon and dill and sauce. The tempting food trucks will be on hand Saturday, too.
Rain or shine, musicians and vocalists will entertain Friday evening, and activities on Saturday will interest guests of all ages. On Saturday’s entertainment lineup are performances by TWP’s own choir, Tota Voces, The Pulse Dancers, the Kansas City Marching Pythons and more.
Fans can take pictures and get autographs from Kansas City Royals mascot Sluggerrr; Chiefs mascot, KC Wolf; the Kansas City Mavericks Mac the Maverick; and Swope Park Rangers mascot, Hat Trick Harry. Joining the celebration to mingle and pose for pictures will be Star Wars characters, members of the 70th Explorers Garrison and more.
Fair exhibitors will be displaying various mobility products and rehabilitative and other services. Confirmed groups include Mosaic and Mobility First (see the complete list online at http://thewholeperson.org/news-events/special-events/july-jubilee/jubilee-vendors.html). The League of Women Voters will be registering new voters. Throughout Saturday, local leaders will address accessibility in the community and how to improve it. Vendor booths and food trucks open at 8 a.m.
Vendor applications and additional information are available online at https://thewholepersonorg.presencehost.net/news-events/special-events/july-jubilee/vendor-application.html. The $100 fee for the tented booths is tax-deductible.
There are applications online at https://thewholepersonorg.presencehost.net/news-events/special-events/july-jubilee/volunteer-for-the-jubilee.html for anyone interested in volunteering or by contacting Kelly Grooms, kgrooms@thewholeperson.org or 816-627-2232.
Founded in 1978, TWP serves people in the metro area with disabilities. The July Jubilee is a way to celebrate them, TWP volunteers and belonging to the Midtown community.
“And,” says Terri Goddard, TWP’s manager of resource development, “we’re building awareness about accessibility issues in the metro, with a focus on the right for inclusion and where we’re going with transportation, sidewalks and so forth.”
