Community Calendar

ONGOING

The second session of the Live Healthy Leawood Challenge! runs through Aug. 21. The program is designed to educate children about the importance of physical activity and nutrition in their daily lives in a fun and encouraging way, and to provide opportunities for participants 5 to 13 years old to complete one hour of physical activity per day, four days per week for eight weeks. Participants will be given a log book to record daily activities, and they will receive a free stopwatch and a reward at the completion of the program. Registration is free. To sign up, call 339-6700, ext. 154.

JULY 1

Shawnee Mission Express Care in Hy-Vee at 6655 Martway, Mission, now provides walk-in care services from physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Residents are invited to stop by the grand opening celebration July 1-3 for a chance to receive a free first aid kit. Shawnee Mission Express Care requires no appointments and is open seven days a week. Health care providers offer care for minor illnesses, skin conditions and general health concerns for patients 18 months and older. Most insurance plans are accepted, as well as cash, checks and credit cards.

Heartstrings Community Foundation honors veterans, firefighters and police officers with its eighth annual All-American Celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Metcalf 103 courtyard, 7086 W. 105th St., Overland Park. The event includes music, shopping, prizes and free lunch. For details, call 649-5700 or visit www.heartstringscf.org.

Chef Renee Kelly welcomes Paul Kirk, Kansas City baron of barbecue, to compete for the people’s choice award in a friendly grilling challenge at 6 p.m. at Renee Kelly’s at Caenen Castle, 12401 Johnson Drive, Shawnee. For price information, call 631-4100 or visit www.chefreneekelly.com.

Wonderscope Children's Museum of Kansas City, 5700 King St., Shawnee, offers Every Child Ready to Read at 7 p.m. The one-hour workshop, presented by Carrie McDonald and Helma Hawkins from the Kansas City Public Library, is for parents and caregivers of infants, toddlers and preschoolers to learn how to prepare their children for success in reading. For cost information, call 287-8888 or visit www.wonderscope.org.

JULY 2

During Storytime Plus at 2 p.m. at Wonderscope Children's Museum of Kansas City, 5700 King St., Shawnee, guests can meet the Gentle Giant Octopus and help make a large octopus to hang in the museum. Free with admission. For details, call 287-8888 or visit www.wonderscope.org.

An art exhibit featuring mixed media from the Northland Exposure Art Gallery opens with a wine and cheese reception from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Irene B. French Community Center Art Gallery, 5701 Merriam Drive. The exhibit is on display through July 25. For more information, call 322-5550 or visit www.merriam.org/park/Gallery/.

JULY 3 

Downtown Overland Park offers an early holiday shopping experience, Christmas in July, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday. Shoppers will find products such as children's clothing, jewelry, wheat soap, Christmas tree ornaments, handbags and wallets under the farmers market pavilion. Some merchants will set up tables on the sidewalks. Weather permitting, shoppers also can enjoy live music. For details, visit downtownop.org or call 642-2222.

The U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America "Shades of Blue" Jazz Ensemble presents a free concert from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 80th and Santa Fe Drive as part of downtown Overland Park's Clock Tower Music Series. The 15-piece big band, comprised of active duty Air Force musicians from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, will perform swing, bebop, modern jazz and American patriotic music, and feature jazz vocalist Staff Sgt. Albert Williams. For information, call 642-2222.

JULY 4 

Author Suzanne Arruda leads a meeting of the Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime at 11 a.m. at I Love A Mystery Bookstore, 6114 Johnson Drive, Mission. The free event is open to the public. For information, call 432-2583 or visit www.iloveamystery.com.

During Splash 4 Cash from noon to 2 p.m. at the Roeland Park Aquatic Center, 4843 Rosewood, groups of participants age 2 to 12 can dive in and collect as many coins as possible from $100 in change located in different areas of the center's main pool. Normal admission costs apply and admission for ages 2 and younger is free. For more information, call 432-1377.

The July 4 Stilwell Community Parade starts at 6 p.m. along 199th Street, followed by a fireworks display at 9 p.m. at 199th and U.S. Highway 69. Also, Stilwell United Methodist Church, 19335 Metcalf Ave., will hold a family carnival from 4 to 6 p.m. on the south lawn. The event includes free food, music, carnival games and inflatable games. For information, call 897-2101.

Fairway Parks & Recreation Department and the city of Westwood sponsor a fireworks display around 9:30 p.m. at Bishop Miege High School, 5401 Reinhardt Drive, Roeland Park. Admission is free. Rain date is July 5. For more information, call 262-0350, ext. 5300.

JULY 5 

Free Music in the Park continues with a performance by the Overland Park Civic Band at 7 p.m. in Santa Fe Commons Park, 81st Street and Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park. For information, call 642-2222.

JULY 6

Storyteller Patricia Howe shares her funny, scary, serious and goofy stories with children of all ages at 10:30 a.m. at Tomahawk Ridge Community Center, 119th and Lowell streets, Overland Park. The event is free and open to the public. For details, call 599-4884.

Johnson County Park and Recreation District's 50 Plus Program sponsors an eBay Intro to Selling workshop at 1 p.m. at Roeland Park Community Center, 4850 Rosewood. Participants will learn how to list, price, sell and ship unwanted items on eBay. Some internet and e-mail experience is recommended. To register, call 826-3160.

Get ready for the upcoming release of newest "Harry Potter" movie with the popular Harry Potter podcast, "PotterCast," a live event held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park. The event features performances by popular wizard rock bands The Remus Lupins and The Whomping Willows. Costumes are welcome. The program is free and open to the public; no registration required, but space is limited and attendees will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Johnson County Summer Reading Club participants also may turn in their reading logs and receive a free book. For information, visit www.jocolibrary.org/pottercast.

JULY 7 

The Fifth Annual Young Writers Camp sponsored by the Kansas City Writers Group will introduce students in grades four to eight to the creative writing and editing process for poetry, fiction, nonfiction and personal essays. Mary-Lane Kamberg, author of "The I Love To Write Book," will guide participants as they learn to enhance their creativity and write with color and clarity. Session I meets July 7-10, session II meets July 14-17, and session III meets July 21-24 from 10 a.m. to noon at 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission. For information, call 764-4950, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.kansascitywriters.com.

The Kansas Small Business Development Center at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, presents two seminars: Meet the Tax Man: Your Tax Responsibility to the State of Kansas from 1 to 5 p.m. and Sales and Use Tax Information for Construction Contractors from 6:30 to 9 p.m., both in Regnier Center room 175. To register, call 469-2323 or go to www.jccc.edu.

July 7 is the registration deadline for the following classes of the Johnson County Park and Recreation District's 50 Plus Program: Watercolor, 1 to 3:30 p.m.; Ballroom Beginning, 3 to 3:50 p.m.; Flamenco, 2 to 2:50 p.m.; and Beginning Line Dance, 2 to 2:50 p.m. Each class begins July 14 and has seven sessions, held at Mass Ross Community Center, 8101 Martway, Overland Park. To register, call 642-6410.

JULY 8 

Herbologist Lenora Wuattoux-Ray offers Herbs for Beautiful Skin - The Recipes from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, 8909 W. 179th St. Participants will learn to make bath salts to keep skin soft and flexible, salt glows to exfoliate skin, and seaweed bath elixirs to re-mineralize skin. To register, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 685-3604.

Explore quick, easy and healthy snacks sure to please even the pickiest children from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 6 to 8 p.m. at Renee Kelly’s at Caenen Castle, 12401 Johnson Drive, Shawnee. For reservations, call 631-4100 or visit www.chefreneekelly.com.

Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, hosts a videoconference discussing the creation of a nuclear-free world from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Hudson Auditorium of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Yoshiko Kajimoto, an A-bomb survivor in Hiroshima, and Steve Leeper, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation chairman, will present their views and answer questions via live video. Kansas Citians, including PeaceWorks KC board members, will pose means for verifying the dismantling of nuclear weapons throughout the world and ending nuclear threat. The event is free and open to the public. For information, call 375-0045 or 342-0587.

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