The 3 stars are not for the bands. (they deserve 5 stars, but I had to take it all in one big…read morepicture. This review is regarding the venue, and the bigger picture. The bands deserve 10 stars. I) I almost gave it 4 stars this year, when looking at the big picture and the whole festival. I've attended better. In fact, I've attended 10 Rockfests. Ten Rockfests, not necessarily in a row. I've seen almost every band that played yesterday, and they are great to see again. I've become a fan. I was looking forward to Seether, but I also was looking forward to camping out under a tree for the entire day, and just be-ing. You ever just have a time when you want to BE? That's what this is for. Usually, I leave Rockfest with a scorching sunburn, a bit of a head rush from drinking Sparks, and full of food. The food is quite good. No complaints there, except, as usual, no vegetarian options. I have to hang my vegetarian hat on the coat wrack, before I leave home. I accept that fact. This time I was cautious to buy a 1.49 emergency poncho, and wear a hoodie, and jeans, instead of shorts. I left my sunscreen at home. my Mytouch 3g, and Fuji film camera were in a heavy duty zip-loc bag, in my cheap purse, I bought a week before, thinking that the weather might turn. I had a towel with me, in a large, Ziploc tote bag. I'm not the type to bring in any contraband. One glance at the inside of my purse and one can see...money, glasses, camera/cell phone, car keys/driver's license. I even removed my pocket knife before I left. They wouldn't had found it, the way they glance at things. Let's start with parking. When I saw the price of $20.00, I should've turned around. Kanas City isn't that great of place to charge $5.00 less than the ticket price, to park. (1/2) star for parking. Is the 20.00 (up 10.00 from last year!) because of the ruined sod, and AEG had to pay $50,00 for the replacement product? Not my fault. Had I gotten there earlier, one star for parking. Crown Center had their late in the month Cinco De Mayo Festival. No parking for Rockfest people there. Grand was blocked totally, with Cinco De Mayo. The sign clearly said, "All Rockfest parking $20.00." I should've taken a picture of it, but it is ingrained in my sour memory. It may have been cheaper or equal taken a taxi. If I go next year, and that's a big IF, that may be my choice. I didn't see Max Busses running,and probably weren't. I had to park at 2 Pershing Square (cool, almost underground, the first building past Union Station from Liberty Memorial). I've had to park at other odd locations, atleast this one was easy to figure out where my car was parked when it was time to leave. Stood in line and the gates opened. The security searched me. Made me throw away my plastic tote bag . It made me a bit perturbed, cause I dropped my towel in the mud a few times, due to not having it in a bag. The layout was pretty much the same as last year. There seemed to be more lines of outside privies. Again, they were nearer to the second stage, or atleast, my eyes didn't find any others. I was hoping the producers would add outside privies close to the mainstage, but there might be problems or ordinances to where they place them. Hay was scattered on the ground, everywhere. This made for easy walking in the beginning. The vendors were about the same people, from the large merch tent, to the rows of vendors outside the mainstage. The I Heart Vagina vendor was there, telling me they also have I Heart Penises. Worth Harley was on the other side of the park, near some more vendors. The vendors are high quality, I felt bad for them, considering I had spent my $20.00 (allotted for a t-shirt), on parking. Usually, it's a ten minute walk from the mainstage to the bathrooms, but through the mud, which built up quick, it was a 20 minute, rather entertaining walk. Past the Big Iron barbecue, past the Steak burgers, the frozen lemonade, the local Italian Sausage stand with cherry limeades, past the funnel cake stand. The Military booth is always next to the same tree, but who would want to visit that, having to deal with the mud? On the other side of the stage, there was a huge baked potato tent. I've not seen them there before. But the food, I found, quickly got soggy. .here aren't any awnings of protection for this. I do wish they would have more vegetarian offerings, than just the baked potato vendor. (possibly a one star for that). Usually Rockfest is scheduled in June, around the 5th. This year it was 3 weeks ahead of schedule. (1 star.) Yesterday's weather was certainly a factor. The weather-made mudslide was a great attraction. I left a bit early. I had seen the bands, and got mud thrown towards me, which I didn't find very funny. When they start throwing mud, it's time to leave. Parking, vegetarian offerings, and bathroom location, made this score a 3. Would I go again? Certainly.

What a great event for a fantastic cause! The course was relatively easy, just a few hills. The…read moreonly tough thing was the timing - it started so late (noon) that the traffic was heavier and made navigating busy intersections difficult at times. The venues were very hospitable though. Great music and refreshments.

Attended the National Junior Angus Show hosted here at the American Royal complex n 2022. The…read morefacility is well maintained and there are a lot of great options available for families who wanted something unique to do on the 4th of July. The facility offers plenty of space for vendors, lots of history for people who want to know more about what the future of ranching looks like, and it really is setup for anything you want to do in showing livestock. This is a great event location, and being able to attend NJAS was fantastic.

I hauled sheep to the new AR complex last Wednesday for the sheep, goat and swine show. Check in…read morewent very wel. But once inside, the sheep and goat area resembled the streets covered with homeless drug users. The aisles were filled with fitting equipment making it difficult to get animals stalled or even walk through. Whoever designed the area was not familiar with all the equipment necessary for fitting these animals for show. The area was chaotic to say the least. The swine area was quiet and functional. I hope the powers that be can remedy this unfortunate lack of planning in this wonderful facility.

This museum has relocated to inside of the Truman Memorial building a few blocks west of the…read moreIndependence square - it was originally a few blocks south of the square. Admission is free with donations accepted. It starts with a 20 minute video that i recommend to get you acclimated to the importance that the frontier trails played in shaping this nation's history and growth. The museum is broken into sections on the California, Sante Fe, Oregon, and Mormon Trails and also showcases the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the fur trade. There's lots to read and lots of artifacts. It was personally intriguing since I have recently discovered that ancestors of mine trekked both the California and Mormon trails. There are certainly more interesting and larger museums in the region but i would recommend this one highly to show why our metropolitan area was critical to westward expansion.

My interest in the Oregon trail starts here in Independence, Missouri, since I know that the…read moremajority of the westward expansion movement in America started here in Independence in the mid 1800's. I know on the Oregon Trail since my youth playing the video games and that sparked my interest in seeing the real stuff in person. So once the opportunity came to see artifacts and exhibits pertaining to the Oregon Trail was made available, I jumped at the chance to see it before leaving the area. It was nice to come to this museum after searching on TripAdvisor and Yelp to find a good museum that caters to the Oregon Trail. I arrived here around 3:30pm on a brisk and casual Monday in October 2017 after picking up my rental car in Overland Park, KS. I had about an hour to browse through everything before leaving the museum at 4:30pm. The museum itself isn't large but had quite a bit of exhibits and information about the Oregon trail and its associated historic significance in the independence Missouri area. For the most part though, it was nice to see more of the artifacts and historical stories that made the travel from Independence mo to Oregon, California, and even Utah way back before the invention of the car. Those were rough times on the frontier and these brace souls risk their lives for the betterment of themselves and the growing country. The overall experience here at the National Frontier Trail museum was very fascinating, good, positive, and educational. I learned more about some of the pioneers' stories and the incredible hardships they had to endure throughout their journey: diseases, dehydration, starvation, weather, and the hostile Native American people were basically the main contributors to what they had to put up with on their long haul to the Pacific Ocean. This place does charge admission fee, but I lucked out, since I came in late, I got charged the senior rate, so I saved a couple of $$. Admission fee is get nominal though, so it is always good to support museums that support your need for knowledge and curiosity. They accept major credit cards, as well as cash. I was here when they had construction equipment here nearby, but I chose to park around the corner. They have parking spaces here for people visiting. Just didn't know how that would work, but I had a nice walk to and from the car regardless. For the most part though, my experience really wanted me to solidify my knowledge base of the Oregon trail and how the American pioneers risked death to achieve their dreams of living on the edge of the western fringes of America. The museum building itself was one story, but large enough to accommodate the exhibits, its artifacts, and collections of items that relates to the Oregon trail and its associated westward expansion of American civilization past the Mississippi River. The place was very much kid friendly and clean. It's quiet and casual like a library, so do yourselves favor by keeping your concerns and conversations to a dull roar. Be respectful that they kind of frown upon loud people and obnoxious individuals. If you are interested in this part of American history and near Independence, Missouri, consider coming and spending some time here. You will be enlightened by the hardship and sacrifices needed to undertake and understand what they did to survive and to build a nation. Hard work and dedication to what you do makes waves. 5.0 stars for the overall experience. You might want to have lunch first before coming here. It can be worth it if you stay long and soak up the knowledge and be amazed. I wish I could have been there earlier but had a time crunch. Support local! A+

Overall a great event, I would just recommend that they move it to a grassy field in the future…read more Plenty of booths to browse (we even saw our first Yelp booth which was cool), decent food vendors, and live music. To top it off we stopped at Green Acres and grabbed some of their delicious dessert!

I like the trails at Cave Sorings. I took a workshop on foraging with Missouri Conservation and…read moreenjoyed the trails. If you follow a part of the trail, there really is a small cave connected to a spring. Other trails lead to chimneys left from the battles. One leads to a large bomb fire area. One leads to an algae coated pond. Etc. What's cool is there are all kinds of plants to forage. There's lizards. There's interesting trees and thousands of walnuts. The many trails, one has a rail to the spring, are often steep so hold on. I really enjoyed this park.

Cave Spring is an outdoor wilderness and educational space…read more It's used by the Scouts, so you'll see some meeting and picnic areas. It's got some picturesque spots, especially around the small pond. The common areas are a nice spot to leisurely walk, relax, let the kids burn off some energy and even have a picnic. Like others have said, once you get past the common areas and enter the wilderness, the experience begins to decrease. The trails suddenly get small, randomly branch off and are poorly marked. If you're not paying attention, heck even if you're trying, you might find yourself in the middle of nowhere. The good news, is the area isn't super large, so if you just keep walking, you'll eventually walk back to a larger trail, where you can find your bearings. The not as good news is getting lost could be an issue if you're walking closing to sun down.. It's always fun spending somebody else's money, however I wish Jackson County would allocate some funds into cleaning up the backwoods a bit and improving the trails. This could be a cool little spot. Currently, it's just an A-OK one.

After having attended quite a few beer festivals throughout the years in Kansas City, I have come…read moreto the conclusion that Hopfest is the best of the bunch. Most importantly, the beer selection was really good! I mean, I've been to festivals with a few more selections, but i didn't even come close to trying all of them that were available here. Further options would just be wasted. Plus a lot of familiar breweries pulled out stashes of really unique products. I was glad to get a sample of some rarities from Boulevard, Schlafly and New Belgium. I know for a fact there were a lot of other little surprises in the mix, I just never got around to trying them. The layout is fantastic. There were quite a few people here, but the lines moved quickly and efficiently. No waiting 10 minutes to sample a beer. Barely any waiting at all. I thought that was pretty awesome. There were plenty of tables and shade for people wanting to chill for a bit, and the restroom line moved quickly as well. I'd maybe add a FEW more toilets next year, but it wasn't that big of a problem. My only other suggestion would be to do something different with the speaker series. It's great that they offered it, but I think they should make it more prominent. It was difficult to hear the speakers, at least the couple that I kinda/sorta paid attention to. OK, one more suggestion: I think it'd be fun to have a vendor area. I mean, beyond a sausage and lemonade truck. Overall, I was VERY happy to attend Hopfest, and It'll certainly be on my calendar next year.

I was definitely very happy to attend Hopfest this year and I hope this will be a reoccurring…read moreannual festival. When I think of the establishments in Waldo I think of beer - from brewery, to sports bar, to gastropub, to dive. So, how very appropriate to have such an amazing beer tasting day in Waldo. The craft beer selection was quite extensive to say the least. Though it was packed with lots of folks, the pace was surprisingly easy and fast and barely any waiting at all. All of the vendors were extremely friendly as well as very patient & informative - they all seemed to enjoy discussing beer and didn't mind having their brains picked. I love the art of beer and I happen to be a very inquisitive individual as well - so it was refreshing to feel at ease while I delved into the world of endless beer knowledge. As Matt E. suggested, I also think that it would be wonderful if Hopfest would make their speaker series more prominent in the future and I second his suggestion on enhancing the vendor area to more than just two - quite a few Waldo exclusive vendors would be a really nice touch or at least plenty of food trucks would be divine. As an amazing conclusion to my day, my girlfriend and I gladly went next door to The Well to enjoy the Spinach Artichoke Dip (along with a pint to wash it down, of course) - it was offered complimentary when you used Yelp's mobile app to check-in to Hopfest!

Joined 35 of my closest friends for Ladies night at the K. We have tailgating down to expert level…read more It's an experience in itself. Hanging out with friends in a no rush way is the way to go. Entered in gate A for the Royals jersey giveaway. I love that you were able to go on to Little K to exchange for bigger sizes (S-3XL) I love this size inclusiveness. Our group purchased the ladies night theme ticket so we also got the wristlet . Cute. Vendors were set up all along the outside path. Jewelry, earrings, skincare, Photo Bus, Graceland Nursing program(by far my fav giveaway booth). I made my way to get a new souvenir cup. I was disappointed that the soda machine and ice was down at the particular location outside gate B and I had to go to another location. Not a horrible but inconvenient. I think it would be nice to have a staff member outside the Ladles Night light display to take pics even for just the first hour so you don't have to stop random people to take your group picture. Our seats were in the upper level all together. Right behind home plate and the perfect seats for us. Not too far up from the entrance and perfect view! We wanted to try out the Rum drink inside the cute little igloo glass. We decorated it with our cute little people but the glass was just as cute without. Strawberry rum was by far our fav choice of all. I love that you can take in 1 water bottle and snacks that fit in a clear ziploc bag. How family friendly cost saving is that! We also purchased popcorn, pretzels and dipping dots. There are so many food choices and many are kiosks of well known KC restaurants. Chef J is my fav BBQ place. The Crown store was running a special so it was quite crowded but still were able to get in and out fairly quickly. I think the prices are a little higher than what you can find at outside stores but the variety and selection outstanding. Definitely will find something for a Royals fan. Fans and shaded areas everywhere if you get too hot in your seats. Most evening games are just the right temperature. Ushers are quick to keep the breezeways clear but I think taking a quick pic is not asking too much but they can be quite serious about not even for a pic can you stop there. The scoreboard, fountains, and backgrounds are just beautiful. I can remember this being a KC tradition growing up and they have just modernized it. Very family friendly games that are interactive throughout the game.

My whole reason to come on this trip was to see the Phillies/Royals game because it was the final…read morestop for my brother-in-law to see mostly the Phillies in every ballpark in the country. It took over two decades, and my brother and I came out to finalize this quest. The ballpark is in the middle of nowhere and is next door to the Chiefs football stadium. Although the park is very old, it was clean and appeared modern. They kept everything in good shape. Signage was good, the concourses were open, and seeing the fountains and waterfalls in the outfield was very pleasant. As you walk around the ballpark, there's a lot for families to do with their kids behind the outfield. Concessions for the most part were like any other ballpark fare. Prices were high, too. However, there were multiple free COLD water stations available. You can also bring your own food in and water (up to one liter) in a clear bag. I did buy a milkshake. The staffer did not know what a black and white was! If you don't know either, it's chocolate and vanilla together to make the shake. Very tasty. We liked the place and since the Phillies lost on Friday, we decided to come Saturday where they beat the bejeezus out of the Royals. One of JT Realmuto's home runs landed in the water in front of our section. Couldn't reach the ball, and if we tried to go in, then it's off to jail we go. We had to deal with some friendly ribbing, but not like in Philadelphia for other fans. When we purchased our tickets for Saturday, one of the volunteers overheard us talking about where to stand, and he was nice enough to check and said once the game started we could sit in a section where there were a lot of empty seats and pointed out specifically where to go. We got a row all to ourselves and we're able to give ourselves some room. The seats are not really meant for big guys. The largest video screen in baseball is set vertically with Roman column lighting behind. Didn't like it. Also did not care for having a large putting green in front of the video board. Visually unappealing especially with the beautiful water fountains and falls off each side. Overall, we had a great time at Kauffman Park and happy we went to the second game because we pulled off a win.