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Published May/June 2007 |
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Wyandotte County’s Village West serves up
family fun with entertainment options not found elsewhere in Kansas. By Marge Peterson |
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| In less than 10 years, Village West in eastern Kansas went from fertile farmland to an area that boasts the state’s most popular attractions. The 400-acre development, located at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 435, has changed the landscape of Kansas City, Kan., by adding top-notch shopping, entertainment and dining experiences. It started here Kansas Speedway, located off I-70 and North 110th Street (exit 410), opened in 2001 and was the first piece of the puzzle, as well as the development catalyst, for Village West. Each year, the NASCAR Nextel Cup, NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Trucks and Indy races are run on the 1.5-mile track. The speedway offers great views from every seat and an opportunity for fans to get close to the cars and drivers on the Fan Walk. Throughout the year, the track hosts driving schools, car shows and barbecue contests. AAA is the official auto club at the speedway and will be at three upcoming races there. The Kansas Indy 300 will be April 29. Stop by AAA’s area and have your photo taken with the No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion car, try your hand at the race simulator and get a free member gift. Sept. 29 will be the Yellow Transportation 300, part of the Busch Series. The Kansas 400, part of the Nextel Cup Series, will be Sept. 30. AAA will be at the speedway both days with an expanded exhibit area that includes a prize wheel, a free gift for members, sweepstakes registration, plus the No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion and racing simulators. Not long after the speedway opened, Cabela’s followed suit. The 180,000-square-foot hunting, fishing and outdoor gear store opened in 2002 and is the No. 1 attraction in Kansas. In addition to aisles filled with hip waders, hunting rifles, fishing rods and camping gear, Cabela’s features Deer Country Museum, an aquarium with fish native to Kansas and trophy animal dioramas. A gun library displays Western and gangster guns. The average customer spends more than three hours here on their first visit. Cabela’s is located off I-435 at State Avenue West. The 712,000-square-foot Nebraska Furniture Mart, 1601 Village West Parkway, opened next, offering furniture, flooring, appliances and electronics in spacious display areas. Shoppers will find interactive areas, point-of-purchase displays, dream rooms and more. The Kansas City T-Bones, a baseball club that’s part of the independent Northern League, offers affordable family entertainment in the modern Community America Ballpark, 1800 Village West Parkway. Tickets range from $6–$14.50 and parking is free. The Legends at Village West Between the speedway and Cabela’s is The Legends at Village West, an 805,000-square-foot outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex that opened in April 2006. It honors 80 legendary Kansans in a variety of visual art forms. President Eisenhower is depicted in bronze fly-fishing in his hip waders. Visitors can take part in self-guided audio walking tours and scavenger hunts to learn more about these legends Kansas City is known for its many fountains, so it’s not surprising that The Legends features a two-tiered fountain rising 60 feet in the air. This creation is by the California company WET Design, which also designed the fountains in front of the Bellagio, the AAA four Diamond hotel in Las Vegas. Another visual feature is the Legends’ signature brick smokestack, a part of the old warehouse district architectural theme. At night, the stack is showered with innovative lighting that can be seen 10 miles away. The Legends development is on Parallel Parkway just off I-435. Diverse tenants Retail stores include Gap Outlet; Banana Republic Factory Outlet; Brooks Brothers 346; Nike Factory; Books-A-Million; and Cavenders, a Western outfitter. Local favorites include Pride of Kansas City, selling Kansas and Missouri products ranging from gourmet foods to Wizard of Oz collectables; Sports Nutz, stocked with Kansas City Chiefs, NASCAR and other local sports merchandise; and Wyldewood Cellars, a family-owned and operated winery. T-Rex Café is a must-see attraction where families can get up close and personal with life-size animated dinosaurs, waterfalls, geysers, ice caves and a dinosaur dig. Try the Stegosaurus Steak and Cheese Sandwich. Other restaurants include Jimmy Buffet’s Cheeseburger in Paradise, with tropical cocktails and live music; Saddle Ranch Chop House, with a Western theme and $3 rides on a mechanical bull; and Dave & Buster’s, with great food and an extensive midway with arcade and traditional bar games such as billiards and shuffleboard. There’s no shortage of entertainment options. The Pin-Up Bowl is an Art Deco martini lounge with a 1940s pin-up artwork theme and 12 lanes of bowling with projection screens showing music videos and cartoons above the lanes. The Legends 14 Theater offers the most legroom, widest seats and largest movie screen in Kansas City. Where to stay The four-story log-sided Great Wolf Lodge, located at 10401 Cabela Drive, is a favorite with families, capturing the atmosphere and adventure of the northern woods. The lodge’s four-story indoor waterpark features eight waterslides, five pools and two whirlpools: one for adults, one for families. A four-story water fort has several levels of adventure complete with suspension bridges, cargo nets and web crawls. A 1,000-gallon bucket atop the structure fills with water every few minutes, tips over and drenches everyone in the vicinity. For mom and dad, Elements Spa offers six feng shui treatment rooms for facials, massages, pedicures, manicures and a tranquility room. For a couple’s getaway, the perfect spot is Château Avalon, a 62-room luxury hotel sitting high on a hill overlooking the speedway. Built in the style of a French château with a variety of room themes including Camelot, Colorado frontier and Roman dynasty, each accommodation features a two-person whirlpool spa, surround-sound entertainment system, chilled sparkling apple cider upon arrival and complimentary in-room breakfast. The château is at 701 Village West Parkway. With almost unlimited choices in shopping, dining and entertainment, Village West makes a great getaway for a day or weekend. Marge Peterson is a contributor from Ralston, Neb. |
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| Landmark celebration | |||||||
| Whether you’re hungry for art or artichokes, Kansas City, Mo., will be ripe this summer for whatever you crave. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will unveil the completion of its $200 million expansion project on June 9. It is the first major expansion to the museum since 1933. And dating back even further is the City Market Farmers’ Market, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The city will kick off summer with a party the weekend of June 9–10 to celebrate the opening of the Bloch Building at The Nelson-Atkins Museum. A dedication will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a variety of activities all weekend at the museum to commemorate the completion of the massive project. The new Bloch Building, a significant work of contemporary architecture by world-renowned architect Steven Holl, is woven harmoniously into the surrounding landscape of the museum’s sculpture park. The museum will inaugurate the new galleries with landmark opening exhibitions on June 9. The Impressionist masterpieces of the never-before-seen Marion and Henry Bloch Collection will be featured in an exhibition called “Manet to Matisse,” and early achievements in photography will be examined in an exhibition titled “Developing Greatness: The Origins of American Photography, 1839–1885.” The museum is located at 4525 Oak St. Admission is free. For more details, call (816) 751-1ART (1278), or visit online at www.nelson-atkins.org. After admiring the art on display at the museum, you can enjoy a palette of colorful and tasty options at the Farmers’ Market, located at Fifth and Walnut streets downtown. In its 150th year, the market hosts more than 140 vendor stalls bursting with color and flavor, including bedding plants, fruits, vegetables and herbs. Plus there are baked goods, cut flowers and crafts made by local artisans. The market, which was first established in 1857, is open on weekends from 6 a.m.–4 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m.–4 p.m. on Sunday through November. For details, call (816) 842-1271, or visit www.thecitymarket.org. |
 The new Bloch Building at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opens June 9. Kansas City CVA photo |
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