What to Do and Where to Eat in Lee’s Summit
What’s going on in Lee’s Summit? Quite a bit, actually. This southern suburb of Kansas City has become a hot destination for young professionals and families over the last several years. It’s no wonder why, with nice neighborhoods, quality schools and a short drive to downtown KC. These are the qualities that most often define a great suburb. But don’t be fooled — there’s much more to Lee’s Summit than meets the eye.
Along with the typical list, this suburb has created a genuinely interesting local culture of businesses, artists, retailers and restaurants. Throughout the year, there are Lee’s Summit events that highlight, celebrate and continually create this culture. For locals and visitors, this guide to Lee’s Summit events is your go-to resource for planning out nights, days and weekends at fun festivals around the city.
Along with the activities, we’ll highlight some of the local kitchens cooking up delicious dishes for Lee’s Summit diners. The food scene in this city may be the best of any suburb in the Kansas City metro area. Don’t miss the chance to try some of the best spots while you are there.
Without further ado, here are the Lee’s Summit upcoming events you should know about.
Downtown Lee’s Summit Events
Downtown Lee’s Summit is the heart and soul of the city, as well as one of its most important accomplishments. Creating a true downtown with historic buildings, walkable streets, local shops and quality restaurants is the key to any cultural revitalization in our modern era of city planning. Most suburbs struggle to pull it off, with retailers and restaurants preferring strip malls and shopping centers. But Lee’s Summit’s downtown area has come to life in recent years, and we are starting this rundown of Lee’s Summit, Mo., events in the heart of the city.
- The Farmer’s Market: The market opens in early spring (typically the first week of April) and runs through late fall. Take part in the growing movement of sustainable, local shopping by browsing the many tents set up by farmers, bakers, and all kinds of makers. It’s the perfect way to start off your Saturday, and you can follow it up by walking right into downtown for a hearty breakfast.
- Oktoberfest: Of all the downtown Lee’s Summit events, this may be the biggest. In fact, the Lee’s Summit Oktoberfest is one of the largest fall festivals in the whole Kansas City area. Most of the downtown streets are closed to traffic and filled with vendor booths. You’ll find food, beer, crafts, antiques, clothing, leather goods and pretty much anything else. An outdoor beer garden is set up and features local brewers; there’s a concert stage and carnival rides. This celebration is a blast.
- Fourth Fridays: You’ve heard of First Fridays in the Crossroads, West Bottoms and the River Market. Now you know about Fourth Fridays in Lee’s Summit. This monthly downtown Lee’s Summit event is an outdoor art show with local artisans, retailers and food vendors.
More Lee’s Summit Events
Those are just a few of the downtown Lee’s Summit, Mo., events you can attend, but we have to move on, because there’s a lot going on in the rest of the city too. Here are just a couple Lee’s Summit, Missouri, events that have become local favorites:
- Downtown Days: Are you ready to start your summer off right and experience downtown Lee’s Summit in the best possible way? Downtown Days is a weekend festival that features local vendors, food, carnival rides, and even a sports zone.
- Christmas in the Park: It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Ring in the festive feelings of the holidays with this classic Lee’s Summit event. More than 300,000 lights are used to make a Christmas light course you won’t forget, and the kids are sure to love it.
Restaurants to Try During Lee’s Summit Events
This list will barely scratch the surface of what’s happening in the Lee’s Summit food scene. For the whole picture, check out our complete guide to restaurants in Lee’s Summit. For now, these are a few of the hottest eateries in town:
- Neighborhood Café: Let’s start with a classic. This is the spot for that hearty breakfast after the farmer’s market that we mentioned earlier. Neighborhood Café was born in 2001, but the building has been operating as some kind of diner since the mid-1900s. The whole menu is good, so you can try anything. If we had to make one recommendation, it would be the famous cinnamon rolls.
- Third Street Social: A laidback, upscale restaurant in a refurbished warehouse with lofted ceilings, exposed brick, great food and good vibes. If you’re attending one of the downtown Lee’s Summit events and need dinner or drinks, this is the place to go.
- Pearl Tavern: A new arrival in Lee’s Summit that made a splash with its seafood offerings. Seafood in the Midwest can be a bit of a gamble, but you have nothing to worry about here. The sea bass has a case for best in the city and the fish and chips makes for a perfect lunch stop.
There you have it, Lee’s Summit events and restaurants that will be a fun time and tasty bite. We hope you can find time to enjoy all of the things this unique city has to offer.