Looking for something different to do?

 Below is a link that will give you all the info about the something reel film festival coming to the Tivoli. Check it out!

http://www.tivolikc.com/dosomethingreelf.html

Westport Prepares for St. Patrick's Day

With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, the city of Westport is bracing for a lot of activity. Westport is home to one of the biggest Irish celebrations in the nation. Kansas City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade goes right through the heart of Westport and down Broadway and stops just before Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard. Thousands of people each year look to continue the “after parade” activity in Westport, but many predict that this year Westport will see a decline in business.

                Walking around Westport in the weeks before St. Patrick’s Day you will see signs in the windows of places like Kelly’s and McCoy’s advertising St. Pat’s specials. This is a town that takes the holiday very serious. Westport has a very rich Irish tradition and has multiple organizations with in it dedicated to Irish heritage preservation and providing aid to Northern Ireland.

Mary Collin is an Irish Westport resident, who has been involved in several different Irish organizations. Collin works for the Kansas City Public Library and considers herself and amateur historian. She lives in a high rise apartment complex off of Southwest Traffic way, and overlooks Westport. “I sit in my window seat on St. Patrick’s Day and watch all of the activity and I have seen a few very interesting things”, Collin say’s before exploding into laughter. “More puking in the streets than I care to admit…that happens a lot on Pat’s day.” Collins bookshelf is full of books about Ireland and Kansas City and includes a wide variety of Celtic poetry. “I have lived in Kansas city my Entire life. I was born in the Westport area, and then my family picked up and moved to Brookside. I later moved back when I got the job at the library.”In the last few years, with multiple violent incidents occurring in Westport, they are seeing a steady drop in the number of people heading to Westport on St. Patrick’s Day. “Nobody had to tell me that Westport is seeing less business on St. Patrick’s Day. I can see it from my window. Ten years ago, the streets and side walks were packed with people. Now…to be fair…there are still a lot of people, but nothing like years past. It seems like there were fewer problems down here then, it was more the fun hippie crowd.” Collin said with in a disappointed tone.

                The man considered the father of Westport in John Calvin McCoy. The popular restaurant and micro brewery “McCoy’s Meeting House” was aptly named for him and is built on the site where his office once sat. Emily Jenkins has waited tables there the last two St. Patrick’s Days. “It’s really not that fun, to be honest. I mean…the money is good but it is just Bananas. People just get really sloppy. You get grabbed and yelled out…it just gets packed in there.” Jenkins said. “It just seems like every year somebody ends up hurt or the cops have to break up tons of fights. That’s why business down here is declining…that’s why people are going to the Power and Light District or to Weston. People just don’t want to be afraid for their safety. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like its dead down here on St. Pat’s or anything…McCoy’s and Kelly’s especially hold their own. Westport just isn’t the only place to head anymore,” she said.

                In spite of other entertainment options there are many people that plan to spend St. Patrick’s Day in Westport every year. Jeff “Shotgun” Jaxon is the afternoon DJ on WDAF-FM and a Westport resident. St. Patrick’ Day also happens to be Jaxon’s birthday. “I always take St. Patrick’s Day and the day after off of work, because me and my friends typically tear it up in “The Port,” He said proudly. “There will always be people coming to Westport for St. Patrick’s Day…because it is the original place to go in Kansas City. It is a historic place, and you can really feel the history here…it’s not the same anywhere else.”

                Westport bars and clubs have many hopeful signs sitting in there windows.”2 for 1 drink specials” and “free appetizer” signs are put up to lure business in, but there are other less obvious signs in Westport that suggest that business this year may not see the same boom that it has in years past. Regardless of the talk about this years St. Patrick’s being a “dud” The bar and restaurant owners of Westport are putting on a full court press for St. Patrick’s Day 2011.

What is it about Westport?

Westport is a lot of things to a lot of people. Physically Westport is a small community that sits between downtown and the plaza. It is known as a bar district, housing several different watering holes as well as restaurants and boutiques. It is also known as a place that you don’t want to be caught alone after dark.

            In the last couple of years Westport has seen its share of tragedy. It’s most recent headlines have been centered around the death of Brian Euston, a young man who was found dead on the corner of Westport and Mill in early October 2010. The violent reputation has had a visible effect on the small community. The Westport Center building takes up the entire block between Mill St. and Pennsylvania. The building houses The Beaumont club, The Eclectic Stem floral design, Gold Evans architecture, Wilks Broadcasting, the Tivoli Theatre, America’s Pub and Kelly’s to name a few. While walking around the building, you can’t help but notice all the “For lease” signs in the windows of the vacant store fronts. In the past couple of years Westport has lost several businesses. Stores and restaurants move in and out with just a few of them enduring. While Westport has always been known for night life, there is plenty going on there during the average week day. People are having lunch at McCoy’s meeting house, heading to class at the dance studio and having a drink at Kelly’s which is where I am headed.

            Even though you can no longer smoke in doors in Westport, the moment you cross the threshold of Kelly’s, stale cigarette smoke is the first scent that hits you. It’s 11:45 in the morning, but already there are a couple of guys sitting at the bar. I head back to the Joe’s pizza counter where I meet Crystal Donovan. Crystal lives and works in Westport or as she calls it “The Port”. At 5 foot nothing, she couldn’t weigh more then 100 pounds and is tattooed from shoulder to finger tip on both arms and assures me that there are plenty more that I can’t see.

When asked about the reputation of the place she calls her home, she doesn’t sugar coat her feelings. “Oh it’s not safe at night, but it honestly never really was. Any place that is heavily populated with bars is going to see its fair share of trouble. I don’t hang out at night alone here, but I don’t hang out alone at night anywhere really.”

As we sit there chatting, several of the patrons who stop in come to say hello to Crystal.

“Most of the people you catch down here on a week day are people I know who live or work here. They aren’t usually the ones that are down here partying at night. Most of the people who come down to party are from the suburbs or something,” she says with a knowing expression. Crystal use to be one of the many who came down here just to drink and play, until she moved here from Independence.

“I just love this place. I fit in here. Some of my friends and I joke that we are like Peter Pan and the lost boys here, we never wanna grow up. This place just gets under your skin and it’s not because of the night life. It’s like we finally found a place where it is the norm to be a little different.” When asked to comment about the recent death of Brian Euston, Crystal said “I read that Kelly’s is one of the last places his friends saw him, so being here now is a little eerie. The entire situation is tragic. Anytime someone so young dies, especially in that way it is awful.” Crystal pauses for a second silencing her sticker covered phone. “You know…I wish everyone saw The Port during the light of day, I think it’s a different place than it is at night. I’m just not sure that people want to see it any differently. People hear the bad things…and there is plenty to pick from, but nobody see’s it as being home to anything besides the bar scene”

Tivoli Theatre

Going to the movies in this day and age usually involves stadium seating, digital projection and most recently having entire meals served to you in your seat. It’s all making the movie going experience bigger and better, which causes ticket prices to get steeper.

            While many enjoy going to the Studio 35's and the Fork and Screens of the world, many people still prefer the small intimate setting of the Tivoli Theatre. On any given Saturday you will see people funneling into the Westport center building and up to the Tivoli’s ticket window.

The Tivoli plays mostly independent films and limited releases. This Saturday the matinee is Rabbit hole starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Elkhart, but I am not so much interested in the film as I am in sharing the movie going experience with George Elden. Elden, a retired school teacher comes to the Tivoli on a regular basis. “I love the lights that line the stairs up to the lobby…It reminds me of the way movie theatres looked when I was a boy.” Elden said struggling to the top. The lobby is small and lined with movie posters, and in the center sits one concession stand. “I can’t see a movie without Milk duds…its tradition!” Elden said leaving me in the dust. After Elden has gotten himself a snack, we head in to the theatre. By today’s standard, the theatre is microscopic, just two rows and one tiny screen. We take a seat close to the back and off to the right. “I am terribly near sighted, so I always sit a ways back. My wife Judy hated sitting too close anyway…so when Judy passed from cancer I just kept doing it.” When asked what attracted him to the Tivoli in particular, he laughed “I have to be honest. I wasn’t all that in to the artsy movies or for that matter some of the people they attract, but Judy loved them. We use to live in Ohio when we first got married and we would go see art house flicks all the time.” He pauses and fumbles in his pocket a minute. “I was going to show you her picture, but I guess I left it at home, but anyway she was the one that like them and I just liked what she liked.” As we chat just minutes before the movie starts, I see a handful of couples walk in, all of them over the age of 50. “See I’m not the only old fogy that comes down here!” Elden says to me in a loud whisper, that I am fairly sure everyone in the theatre heard. “I bet you all these guys got dragged here the same way that I use to. What they don’t know is that this is the kind of thing they are gonna miss one day.”

It’s show time. The lights dim, the projector clicks and Elden is completely engrossed. The movie chronicles the loss of a couple’s young son, and the way that they handle the grief. I find myself thinking of Elden who sits silently next to me staring at the screen, and feel regret for choosing this movie to accompany him to. When the movie ends and I ask him if he enjoyed it, he turned to me and said “there are different kinds of happy endings; I prefer the ones that are a little less realistic.