Orange Crush
It's the great pumpkin patch, Charlie Brown!
SAT 10/22
This month, a guy in Pennsylvania with a 1,469-pound behemoth shattered the record for the world's largest pumpkin. We don't expect to see anything that big at the Crown Center Pumpkin Patch, but we'll certainly find something amid the whopping 30,000 pounds of pumpkins there to plop on our porch. Visitors to the ice-terrace level of Crown Center (2450 Grand Boulevard) can bring the kids or turn their inner children loose among games, inflatable moonwalks and mountains of orange orbs. Scarecrows, magicians and a fire truck compete for attention while performers Jim Cosgrove, the Doo Dads, Berkeley Matthews and the Miller Marley Entertainers take the stage. There's also a petting zoo with monkeys and kangaroos. Admission is free, but tickets for games, rides and food are 50 cents; pumpkins cost six tickets. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. See www.crowncenter.com for details. Libby Page
Stormy Weather
Throw like a girl? That's just fine.
THU 10/20
Guys who play football: whatever. Girls who play football: total badasses. Ladies looking to represent Kansas City on our Independent Women's Football League team are in luck, because the KC Storm, which plays a ten-game season against rivals such as the Detroit Predators, wants new blood. Tryouts start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Kansas City, Kansas, Community College soccer field (7250 State Avenue). Attendees should bring the following: a copy of both sides of their insurance cards, cleats or athletic shoes, a towel and water. And a game face. See www.kc storm.com. Rebecca
Braverman