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Walk past Rye after the fried chicken plates have been cleared and Megan's lemon meringue pie is just a memory, take a left, and you'll find The Blacklist — a Victorian-style wine bar and speakeasy tucked into the corner at Mission Road. Small-production wines from around the world, craft cocktails, a small-bites menu they purposely keep small. Here's the move: they encourage you to bring food in from the other restaurants. Bring your Rye leftovers. Bring a slice and a stranger and stay a while.

The room is plush and dark in the way speakeasies were originally meant to be — not a theme but a temperament. It is the after-dinner find, if you’re in Leawood, don’t sleep on it.

We are officially counting down to summer, and Kansas City is gearing up for two parades on one Saturday.

KC PrideFest anchors Theis Park June 5–7 with this year's theme — It's All Ours. The Pride Parade steps off Saturday at 11 AM from Westport and marches to the park, where the festival runs through Sunday with live music and food.

An hour later, at noon Saturday, the 9th Annual JuneteenthKC Cultural Parade kicks off from 18th & Benton and marches into the heart of the historic Jazz District — this year also celebrating the official completion of the 18th & Vine Pedestrian Mall and the reopening of the district for community. Bands, dancers, motor clubs, family legacies. Red, white, and blue.

Two parades, one Saturday, both pointed at what this city is and what it's becoming. You can catch the start of Pride at 11, slide east, and stand on Vine by noon. Or pick your block and stay rooted.

Summer doesn't officially arrive until June 20. But this weekend is when it shows up early.

I’ll see you at the bar ☾
—Jay, SecretKC editor

First Fridays · Fri 6/5, 5:00 – 9:00 PM Twenty-five years in and still the city's most dynamic monthly event. Galleries open late, studios open up, food truck plaza between 19th and 20th, live music throughout the district. Free Streetcar runs right through it. New this month: opening reception for Garry Noland's "Piece Work" at Studios Inc, plus the Bunker Center's First Friday show. → Crossroads Arts District

First Friday Musikshow · Fri 6/5, 5:00 – 9:00 PM The Waldo counter-program. KC Bier Co. runs two sets every first Friday — Libations Quartet (classic jazz, Jackie Myers on piano) from 5–7, then Castle Studios Presents (jam band with rotating lineup) from 7–9. Free, communal seating, families welcome, German beer on tap.
→ KC Bier Company

Jazzoo · Fri 6/5 · VIP 6:30 PM / GA 7:30 PM The Zoo's biggest annual fundraiser. Unlimited food from 30+ restaurants, open bar, live music across the grounds — Disco Dick & The Mirrorballs, SWITCH, dueling pianos with Nick Carswell & Kevin Coon, DJ Kirby, JT Duo. Creative black-tie attire encouraged. 21+. Rain or shine. Proceeds feed nearly 10,000 animals. → Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium

Shakey Graves w/ Wes Parker · Fri 6/5, 8:00 PM Austin's Alejandro Rose-Garcia at The Truman — the one-man-band-turned-full-band that helped define a decade of folk-rock. East Crossroads, the room that does it right. → The Truman

The Yachties — Dance Party 2026 · Fri 6/5, 7:00 PM – Midnight KC's beloved yacht-rock cover crew turns Knuckleheads into a five-hour singalong for the Don Bosco Centers. Smooth hits, disco classics, costumes encouraged, the whole room dancing. Annual benefit, sells out every year. → Knuckleheads Saloon

Broadway Rave · Sat 6/6, 8:00 PM Touring dance party that turns showtunes into a club night. Big sing-alongs, costumes encouraged, 21+. recordBar makes a good room for absurdity. → recordBar

The Blacklist · Any Night New in Leawood's Mission Farms. Victorian wine bar on one side, speakeasy on the other. Small-production wines from around the world, gin-forward Prohibition-era cocktails, Get the Perfect Negroni! → The Blacklist

Girl's Night: Hot Girl Summer · Fri 6/5, 8:00 PM Skirvin's most quietly excellent room runs a curated girls'-night experience — themed cocktails, a seat at the marble bar.
Reservations on Tock. → The Monarch Bar

Marina 27 · Fri – Sun, live music nightly The only public waterfront dining in metro KC. Lake Lotawana, twenty minutes east, a 200-person deck wrapped in summer light. Lance McFarland and Chef Robert Davis run a serious steak and seafood program with a wine list deep enough to commit to. → Marina 27

The Jackie Myers Duo · Sat 6/6, 6:00 – 10:00 PM Pianist and vocalist on the Plaza, four-hour set — Myers is also working KC Bier's Musikshow on Friday with the Libations Quartet, so this is the second night to catch her this weekend.→ Chaz at the Raphael

'Til Death Do Us Part · Sat 6/6, 6:30 PM The Elms Hotel & Spa in Excelsior Springs runs its signature summer murder mystery. A wedding at the historic property takes a deadly turn; you arrive in costume, work the clues over a chef-curated prix-fixe dinner, and try to solve it before the night ends. Limited seating.
Make it a stay. → The Elms Hotel & Spa

Old Shawnee Days · Thu 6/4 – Sun 6/7 Free four-day festival at Shawnee Town 1929. Thursday is Wristband Night (carnival $30 all-you-can-ride, 6–10 PM). Friday adds vendors and concessions. Saturday parade kicks off at 10 AM, festival runs 11–10. Sunday noon–6 closes it out with another wristband day. Two music stages, both free, all weekend. → Old Shawnee Days

KC Monarchs vs. Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks · Fri 6/5 Independent league baseball at Legends Field in KCK. Cheap tickets, family-friendly atmosphere, the only baseball in town this weekend since the Royals are away. → Legends Field

Family Tree Nursery Summer Festival · Sat 6/6 – Sun 6/7 Liberty location. Live music, food trucks, free kids activities, blooming garden displays. The slow weekend morning option. → Family Tree Nursery