Gay Guide to Kansas City
Same-sex marriage came to Missouri in 2015 with the Supreme Court's nationwide ruling. Kansas City, famous for barbecue, jazz, and fountains, has a friendly and growing gay scene spread across a few of its liveliest districts.
Most of the scene sits in Midtown. Missie B's on West 39th Street is the heart of the drag scene across several levels, Sidekicks Saloon on Main Street has done country-western and line dancing since 1990, and Woody's and Hamburger Mary's sit a few doors apart on Broadway. Sidestreet on East 33rd is one of the city's oldest gay bars, a cash-only dive, and Gael's on Troost is the queer sports bar.
Compact and easy to get around, Kansas City rewards a scene that mixes drag-forward clubs with laid-back neighborhood bars and patios.
KC PrideFest fills Theis Park in early June, with the parade from Westport to the park on the Saturday, drawing crowds from both sides of the Missouri-Kansas state line.