Waldo Spring Fling gives shoppers a festive pop-up experience

Creating a place for vendors and artists to showcase and sell their work, the Waldo Area Business Association is hosting the 2nd Waldo Spring Fling on Saturday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

The outdoor festival will be focused on supporting the local community with a pop-up experience in the parking lot off Gregory & Wornall Rd. The experience will feature businesses and artists in a walkable area, plus food trucks and space for neighbors to visit, shop and support local businesses, all in one-destination. 

The pop-up Spring Fling Festival event will feature a variety of Waldo businesses and makers from across Kansas City from food to clothing, accessories, and specialty services and artists, giving the community a variety of shopping and experiences, all in one destination. 

Food trucks chosen for a variety of tastes from Vee’s BBQ to Kona Ice will be available along Brookside Boulevard and Gregory Rd. Plus, there will be a free bounce house for kids and other activities to enjoy. The event is free to the public.  All participating businesses will be listed on waldokc.org. 

“Waldo is proud to be a destination for local businesses. Introducing a spring festival is a great way to showcase all of the talent in our community,” said Natalie Nelson, Director of Operations. “We saw success in hosting a similar style of outdoor festival this past fall that offered a mix of Waldo businesses and local artists and want to continue to create a safe and fun event for the community to experience everything that Waldo has to offer.”

A few of the vendors you can meet at the Waldo Spring Fling include Breathe the Wellness Society, Cocoavino, KC Paws, Kona Ice Truck, Love Layne Designs, Made on McGee, Maypop, The Plaid Badger, Pistachios, The Purple Palette Face Painter, and more. 

The Waldo District, stretching along Wornall Road from Gregory to around 85th St., is home to around 300 businesses including some of Kansas City’s favorite restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and services. A few new businesses that have opened in Waldo in 2023 include KC Movement Lab, Presence Chiropractic, It’s Elemental Spa, Front Range Cafe, Green Utopia KC, Brookside Ceramics, and Create Space KC.