Festivals, Hello Kitty Cafe, outdoor movies coming to Kansas City this weekend 

As the fall months quickly approach, family fun in the Kansas City area continues this weekend with several festivals and other activities.

Tiblow Days Festival

The Tiblow Days Festival in Bonner Springs, Kansas, is taking place Thursday through Saturday. The celebration will have food trucks, vendors, a carnival and more throughout the weekend.

Tiblow Days has free admission along with free concerts Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m., which will include a performance from American Idol 2024 runner-up Will Moseley. The festival’s carnival will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Single tickets for games and activities cost $1, while wristbands are $30.

Special festival events include:

• Tiblow Trot run/walk, Saturday at 7 a.m. at Third and Oak streets in Bonner Springs

• Tiblow Days Parade, Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

• Bonner Springs Police Department K-9 Car Show, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Pickleball doubles tournament, Saturday at 3 p.m., costs $20 per team

• Kids Zone, Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

Anyone wanting to participate in the parade Saturday morning should arrive at Lions Park by 8:30 a.m., as no preregistration is required. Pickleball competitors need to register their team by midnight Friday.

Festivalgoers can enjoy free parking at Bonner Springs High School and a free shuttle service will take visitors to the corner of Nettleton Avenue and Cedar Street. The shuttle will run Friday starting at 5 p.m. and Saturday starting at 11 a.m., running continuously until 11:30 p.m. both nights. Nearby side streets will also have free parking.

2026 Apple CiderFest

Kansas City’s Fun Farm will be celebrating its 2026 Apple CiderFest now through Labor Day with a you-pick apple orchard, farm foods, barnyard animals, you-pick peaches and more.

The festival will have more than 20 games and activities, along with several photo opportunities for the family. Visitors can enjoy all things apples, such as apple cider, apple cider slushes, caramel apples and more as they explore the farm.

Anyone 2 years old and up requires a ticket for admission, which costs $24.95 online and $30.95 in person at the festival gates. Picked fruits, foods and drinks are an additional cost. The festival will be held Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Hello Kitty Cafe

The bright pink Hello Kitty Cafe Truck, which travels across the U.S. for pop-up events, will be visiting Crown Center Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The cafe truck features treats and merchandise that are all Hello Kitty-themed.

The nostalgic character will bring macarons, madeleines and cookies for the food menu, along with keychains, mugs, shirts and more, which will be offered as long as supplies last.

Miss Congeniality at Overland Park Botanical Gardens

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens will be showing Miss Congeniality, a PG-13 action and comedy movie, on the big outdoor screen Friday evening.

Gates for the event open at 6 p.m., and moviegoers can enjoy food trucks, yard games, gift shops and movie trivia as they wait for the movie – which features an FBI agent who comically has to go undercover and enter a beauty pageant for a mission – to begin at dusk, around 7 p.m.

Children 5 years old and younger get into the event for free, while kids 6 to 17 are $3. Adult general admission is $7 per person, and visitors are encouraged to buy their tickets online in advance.

Those who have a botanical garden membership can attend the event for free but must pre-purchase a ticket for entry.

The Wild Robot at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead

The Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead will also be hosting an outdoor movie night, showing The Wild Robot on the big screen Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

Visitors can enjoy face painting and free milk and cookies from Hiland Dairy starting at 5 p.m. as they wait for the movie to be shown. The Wild Robot is a PG-rated family and science fiction movie featuring a robot who is stranded on an unfamiliar island, connecting with the native wildlife.

The movie event has free admission, and food trucks will be available for additional food and drink purchases.

(Photo credit: Screenshot/Facebook/Fun Farm Pumpkin Patch)