PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL HARRISON
WHERE YOU WANT TO BE IN SEPTEMBER
September
10
GO: September 10, 9 am–4 pm. Sar-Ko-
Par Trails Park, 87th Street Parkway & Lackman Road. Free. lenexa.com.
LENEXA SPINACH FESTIVAL
Believe it or not, Lenexa was once known as the Spinach Capital of the World. Today, Popeye would surely be disappointed—unless he happened to sail in during the city’s annual celebration of its history. Lenexa earned the label “thanks to a really amazing crop of spinach during the Great Depression during the times of drought,” according to Susanne Neely, the face behind the festival for the past ten years. Legend has it a “buyer from Chicago came to the
MORE FESTIVALS
Kansas City market looking for quality spinach” and was so “delighted” to find the quality product available in Lenexa that he bought as much as they could grow, rebounding their economy. Popeye and Olive Oyl make an appearance, dressing the World’s Largest Spinach Salad, served in a bowl “the size of a kid’s swimming pool.” Festivalgoers compete in spinach recipe competitions, with dessert inviting some particularly innovative creations. Rock skipping, balloon artists, pedicabs and face painting provide a classic fall festival atmosphere. —L IZ SCH ROEDER
Scan for a full list of local fall festivals.
KANSASCITYMAG.COM SEPTEMBER 2022
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