Brrr! Can you dig it?
Either way, there’s wintry stuff to do this weekend, whether laughing in the face of freezing is your thing or doing whatever you possibly can to escape the chill is more your style.
One thing’s for sure: It’s nippy. And it’s important to keep moving. Here’s a mitten-full of ideas to embrace or deny the cold reality.
1. Winter Storm – The Pipes and Drums Concert
Take a break from the frigid elements to catch a hot show from an international assemblage of world champion pipers and drummers hailing from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada and America. Sponsored by the Midwest Highland Arts Fund, this winter storm will keep you toasty all night, including the post-concert Winter Steam Party open to all ticketholders at the nearby Marriott Hotel on the Country Club Plaza. Saturday, 7:15 p.m.; Community Christian Church, 4601 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $35, ages 5-11 $15.
2. Skull Fist, Elm Street, Night Demon and Vanlade
Bang your head and anything else that’s handy to a frolicsome evening of NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal) bands. Skull Fist? Really? On the other hand, it’s metal, so anything that sounds crazy makes perfect sense. To be totally serious (only for a second), this is one great way to keep the circulation going. Skull Fist? Sunday, 8 p.m.; Riot Room, 4048 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $10 (21 and over).
3. Eagle Days at Smithville Lake
Wildlife watchers with cameras and binoculars will be bundled up to behold bald eagles that have migrated south from Canada and the Great Lakes in this event hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Some 2,000 eagles are regularly sited during wintertime in Missouri, where they are attracted to open water and ample fish-devouring opportunities. Go to the water’s edge or check out indoor attractions, including live captive-eagle programs and exhibits. Saturday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Smithville Lake Paradise Point Golf Course Clubhouse, 18212 Golf Course Road, Smithville, Mo.; admission: free.
4. KC Weddings Bridal Spectacular
Flowers, dresses and cakes are just the start of the nuptial wonderment to be had at Kansas City’s largest bridal show. If you want that summer wedding/honeymoon, you need to plan it in the winter. If that sounds like too much of a chore, clear your mind of earthly thoughts and take in two heavenly bridal shows. Cross your fingers and you might win some of the $20,000 in prize giveaways. Ain’t love grand? Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Overland Park Convention Center, 6000 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kan.; tickets: $12.
Ah, the irony. But what better time to imagine lively spring than in the dead of winter, courtesy of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which led to riot-like conditions in the Paris theater where the avant-garde piece debuted as part of a bizarre ballet in 1913. There will be no dancers onstage when the historic work is performed this weekend by the Kansas City Symphony, although dancing in the aisle may be an option. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $28 and up.
6. Snow Creek
Let it artificially snow! No matter the conditions, skiers, snowboarders and snow tubers (who could be anyone equipped with an inner tube “sled”) have no trouble whizzing down the slopes at Snow Creek Ski Area in Weston, which is now 100 percent open. But it’s nice when the weather cooperates with the snow-making machinery. I repeat: Brrr. Open daily; Snow Creek Ski Area, 1 Snow Creek Drive, Weston, Mo.; lift tickets: $27-$44 (group discounts available).
