The 85th annual Plaza Art Fair took place this last weekend, from Sep. 23 to Sep. 25. Almost 250,000 attended and with an array of different mediums of art and entertainment from 240 artists, according to plazaartfair.com. Everyone had the opportunity to enjoy a free event that offered something for all.

White art tents stretched for blocks between Wyandotte and Pennsylvania, filled with paintings, sculptures, collages and more. Pieces were available for purchase and artists were available in each tent for questions and comments. Even for people without any knowledge of art, the variety displayed at the fair catered to every interest – dream destinations, comedy, animals, even Kansas City landmarks. The subject matter was endless.

Scattered throughout the fair were rows of booths offering food and drink, with options ranging from Bo Lings to Jack Stack barbeque. The wide variety of restaurant booths available gave crowds a break, and tables allowed attendees to relax and watch performers, another form of entertainment at the fair, while they ate.

Local bands and acts occupied three different stages throughout the span of the Plaza Art Fair. Seats preceding the stages allowed people to enjoy the music without having to stand or crowd one another. The contrasting genres represented by the acts, like folk and alternative, gave the fair a chance to appeal to a larger and more musically diverse crowd.

While the weekend-long event was mainly targeted towards arts and entertainment, the theme of Kansas City pride was a recurring one. Local entertainers and artists displayed the ever-growing creativity throughout the Kansas City area and how that creativity can reach a larger crowd of people through events like the Plaza Art Fair. A sculpture with the words, “That’s how we do KC” on one of the Plaza street corners summarized how an entire city can come together to support locals.