Kansas City’s Stars and Stripes Picnic event ready to go rain or shine

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fireworks from the Stars and Stripes Picnic will light the night skies over downtown – this being the city of Kansas City’s official show.

For 100 years, the Wald and Company Fireworks Team, based right in Kansas City, has brought light to the night skies, and this year they’re back on the south lawn ready to do it better than they ever have before.

“That’s always the challenge making sure it’s better than the last time – so we are always pushing ourselves to be to be a better company with how we do this,” Bill Wald said.

The show lasting more than 10 minutes long. The finale is two minutes all by itself.

Bill Wald, the man in charge of the operation, says just about the same number of shells are fired in the finale that are fired in the other 10 minutes of this show.

But it’s more than a fireworks show.

“Bringing the community together in a fun atmosphere we have music, there’s food and everyone is talking to one another – a big a family,” one person attending said.

“This is the event I think everybody is looking forward to,” Karis Erwin with the National World War I Museum and Memorial said.

With music more than 20 local vendors, activities for kids and more, it’s something for everyone in the community to enjoy.

The fun does not stop there, over in Prairie Village, at the city’s fest gathering Thursday, organizers not caring about what Mother Nature would do, determined to let the show go on.

“It’s fantastic, love the Fourth of July, love to see everybody come out bringing all the kids, all the activities that we got – as I say all we need is a nice day,” JD Kinney with the City of Prairie Village said.

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