Stacey Paine, President of Crown Center Redevelopment
Host Michael Mackie sits down with Stacey Paine, President of Crown Center Redevelopment, to discuss a variety of cultural arts activities and exhibits that have been showcased at Crown Center, the impact of the KC Streetcar and World Cup 2026 on visitors to Crown Center and what is coming up in the next year including Oktoberfest and the Hallmark Christmas Experience.
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Michael Mackie: Hi everyone, it’s Michael Mackie here, coming to you from KC Studio. KC Studio and kcstudio.org are the only regional magazine and website entirely devoted to covering all arts all the time. So thanks for joining us on our second stop of our podcast, Artful Connections Along the Streetcar, presented by Arvest Bank and sponsored by Tivol. For the next year, we will feature some of Kansas City’s finest cultural arts organizations each month that are along the soon to be extended Kansas City Streetcar route that goes from the riverfront to the Country Club Plaza and UMKC. Streetcar riders will soon be able to hop on the streetcar at any of the stops and ride to and from their favorite exhibits and events throughout the year. So please take a ride with us.
Support for Artful Connections Along the Streetcar comes from Arvest Bank. Arvest Bank believes that financial confidence should be within reach for everyone. Whether you’re just getting started planning for your future or starting a new chapter, we are here to help you plan and meet your goals every step of the way. Because everyone deserves a financial partner who cares. Arvest Bank, we believe. For more information, visit arvest.com or visit one of our 20 locations throughout Kansas City.
Hi, it’s Michael Mackie again. I’m here today with Stacey Paine, president at Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation and Executive Vice President of Real Estate for Hallmark Cards. Crown Center welcomes over 5 million visitors each year to the property’s retail and entertainment attractions and two world-class hotels. Crown Center opened to the public in 1971 with the construction of the Pershing office buildings and the Crown Center shops, and the Western Hotel opened in 1973.
Crown Center has been a local treasure since its opening, but Stacey, it has been an exceptionally exciting ride for Crown Center. Crown Center has been one of the longstanding centers of the cultural arts community for the Kansas City region with arts organizations like the Coterie Theatre, Music Theatfe Heritage, Kaleidoscope, Legoland Discovery Center and the Sea Life Aquarium of Kansas City–and, of course, the new Museum of Barbecue–as mainstays, while Crown Center also hosts events and festivals throughout the year, such as festivals like Kansas City Irish Fest, the upcoming KC Oktoberfest and the second Hallmark Christmas Experience. The Kansas City Streetcar provides a convenient and free way to travel between Crown Center and other downtown attractions for residents, tourists and thousands of office workers. So, for those of you who have not experienced the Kansas City Streetcar yet, you need to do so.
The streetcar is free to ride and is funded with local funds thanks to the voter approved transportation development district. Over 5,500 people ride the route from the River Market to Crown Center every day, on average. The streetcar will open a key extension from the Union Station/Crown Center stop down Main Street, all the way to the Country Club Plaza and UMKC on October 24th. Now, the southbound expansion is just one of the projects currently underway. Construction on a line extension from the River Market to the Berkeley Riverfront Park began in 2024 and is scheduled to open in early 2026–yes, before the 2026 World Cup. Stacey, thank you so much for being here today. I love the fact that you have literally been leading the charge at Crown Center for almost well a decade, right?
Stacey Paine: Right. I’m right at 10 years.
Michael Mackie: Right. Look at you at 10 years. And I love that Crown Center just keeps adding… Gimme the laundry list. It is a list.
Stacey Paine: We do, we love to add things. Like, we keep all the favorites because people have things that they want to come and do every year, but we like to like sprinkle in some new things. Like our newest thing this year is the Museum of Barbecue. Have you been there?
Michael Mackie: I have not. That’s on me. That’s on me.
Stacey Paine: It’s so cute.
Michael Mackie: Sorry.
Stacey Paine: I mean, it was this great concept, and then when it opened and they gave us a little preview, I’m like, it’s so much better than I–there’s so much more to it. Yeah, it’s very exciting.
Michael Mackie: It’s new attractions, lots of events, but it’s not just for tourists. It’s also–I mean, locals love it too. I mean, I love it.
Stacey Paine: Everybody loves it. And obviously I love it, but I will say we work really hard to make sure that there is something there for everybody. And actually, my staff–it might be cheesy–we have this credo. Because we tried to figure out, because everybody has such different jobs, we do so many different things for different people. And so our credo is we make Crown Center the place people want to be. And we think that covers everybody. Because we have a lot of offices on campus, so we have a lot of employees that are there every day. We have people staying at the hotels. We have airline pilots who stay overnight there on the regular. We have people who bring their families in when they come to Kansas City with people that only come at Christmas time. So it’s one of those things. You have to figure out how you’re going to meet all those different expectations when people come and, yeah, we like to–we do like to believe there’s something for everybody.
Michael Mackie: I joke that Crown Center is like the mothership calling me home. So when people come to Kansas City, that is a mandatory stop. When my friends come in from out of town, that is a mandatory. We just do the loop. We go Union Station, right over to Crown Center and then right back Union Station, back to Crown Center.
Support for Artful Connections Along the Streetcar comes from Tivol. For more than a century, Tivol has helped Kansas City mark treasured moments and create cherished memories with fine jewelry of the highest quality. Visit us at our Country Club Plaza or Hawthorne Plaza locations or online at tivol.com. Tivol is proud to be a sponsor of this special podcast and to celebrate our city’s vibrant arts community.
Stacey Paine: Yeah. So when I first came back to Crown Center like 10 years ago, like I said, we were doing some work in some surveys. And one of the things that we heard from people that we interviewed was that everybody feels like Crown Center belongs to them. Like, there are parts of Kansas City that are very neighborhoody, right? You’re a South Plaza person, right? You’re in Northland, you’re Johnson County. And one of the things that we grabbed onto was people said Crown Center belongs to everybody. We all bring family in. Like when people come in or friends come into town, we all come down and do this thing at Crown Center. It’s just part of–it belongs to all of us. And so we love that, that we’re kind of in the heart of people for Crown Center.
Michael Mackie: No, agreed. And because you are the literal international home of Hallmark Cards, do you feel… I mean, you are like a cultural juggernaut down there. So do you feel like this sense [00:07:00] of pressure or longing to bring events and attractions?
Stacey Paine: I think we do. I am trying to decide, is it pressure? Is it duty because of who we come from and why we’re there? Because Crown Center is clearly the vision of the founding family of Hallmark that has so much respect and belief in what art does for people, right? Helps the people connect, right? That’s, that’s the story of greeting cards, right? The mixture [00:07:30] of image and editorial that helps people stay connected. And it was that respect and passion for arts that led to the way that Crown Center was designed. And so we really, we do have this kind of like deep and abiding belief that we have to honor and respect that in how we take care of the place and what we bring to it.
Michael Mackie: Oh, facts. What I wanna know is how has the streetcar, how has that sort of brought growth and success to you guys? Has it been sort of instrumental in the process?
Stacey Paine: You know, I would say that it’s been part of the growth story. I don’t know that it’s been, you know, like a huge change. I think it’s just part of our organic growth. I think one of the biggest things, the biggest groups that’s noticed it, are hotel guests. Because it is right across the street, and it’s super easy for people to get around the city now. And there was one convention group that I remember pitching to. It was right when the streetcar was pretty new. And in my position on Visit KC, so Crown Center adjacent, we were talking to, it was an educational convention that was relocating to another city. And they did end up coming to Kansas City. But they bring groups of middle-aged school kids. And I was talking about the streetcar and, you know, one of the things that I think as locals we struggle with a little bit is that it’s a line that goes two miles one way, there and back. It’s just a straight line. And when I was telling them, I played it up to their advantage, right? If you miss your stop, stay on, you can come right back and you’ll be there. It’s not confusing. You’re just gonna ride up here and get off here. And they loved it. So I think it is great for hotel guests. And then, you know, we have a lot of I said office tenants at Crown Center, right? And depending on kind of the age and demographics of the office, we have one office who shared with us after they moved in that only about half of their employees drove cars to work. We have like a gazillion garages and garages under our buildings and everything.
Michael Mackie: We’ll talk about that in just a minute, but yeah.
Stacey Paine: Okay. But they said that they had a variety of employees. I mean, we are on a bus line, we’re on the streetcar line. We’re very accessible with bikes. And so they just said their employees were really surprised at how many different ways when they moved to Crown Center, like all of a sudden people were using more transit options to get there. So I thought that was really fascinating. And it just shows a little bit that when you’re located in the heart of things–and Kansas City is changing, like different, you know–there’s more transit options than there used to be. So it really does serve a variety of people, right? There are obviously the weekend visitors that come downtown just to ride the streetcar. As their activity, that’s what they’re there to see.
Michael Mackie: Because brunch. Priorities.
Stacey Paine: But there are people who use it as transportation too. So I would say those are the maybe the big groups that hit it. It’s visitors, hotel guests and office workers.
Michael Mackie: And people always ask, what about parking? And you were just mentioning, because you have many multi-level parking garages. Your parking has parking. So, does that help benefit the people who want to come and maybe have lunch or dinner and then hop on the streetcar and take the… I’m guessing it does, because–
Stacey Paine: It does, right? It does. And you won’t see this coming. I’m going to marry your first question about design and parking now.
Michael Mackie: Oh, okay.
Stacey Paine: So, one of the fascinating things about Crown Center, and because design was so important when they were envisioning it, is a lot of our parking is underground. It’s hidden. So that main square where you see all the stuff happen, whether it’s Irish Fest or all the big stuff, there’s parking garages underneath that. So, one of the things that we have to make sure people understand is how easy it is to park at Crown Center. And so, we have actually been doing some wayfinding and things like that because people are using it differently as there’s more things around. But yeah, we have parking. We have parking for people that are riding the streetcar, parking for people that are coming to the theater, office tenants, all those things. But we have garages and we have surface lots too that get used for a lot of different events.
Michael Mackie: And you have plenty of it. But are there plans for expansions or remodeling of the parking garages? How does that look for 2026, 2027?
Stacey Paine: Well, I will tell you that we’re like everybody in town working really hard not to be doing big construction projects in 26, because there’s some soccer games going on this summer…
Michael Mackie: Really?
Stacey Paine: Right? But generally we are always doing some kind of maintenance projects for our garages, and that continues. We right now have enough parking to serve what we see as the need, but the work that we’re doing, we’re always working on, like I said, taking care of our concrete. There’s been a lot of concrete projects.
Michael Mackie: Talk, concrete talk.
Stacey Paine: There’s been a lot of concrete talk in Kansas City recently, right? So I have got, like, super smart structural engineers who take good care of our concrete forest. And so, we’re always doing projects. We’ve added wayfinding to our garages to try to help people find their way through it, and we’re in the process of modernizing even our parking systems for people to speed the in and out. Because over the last few years we have had the privilege of being around things that draw a lot of people, like drafts and parades and all that kind of stuff.
Michael Mackie: You think?
Stacey Paine: So, we’re really like building our muscles on how can we make that experience even better. But I think people are getting more familiar with all the parking options that we have.
Michael Mackie: And you’ve become kind of a–and I wanna make sure I get all this because it’s a laundry list–you have become sort of a cultural mecca of sorts because you’ve got musical Music Theater Heritage, and they produce countless shows every–
Stacey Paine: They do. And they have so many season ticket holders. I mean, so many people come to their shows.
Michael Mackie: Really? I did not know that. Good for them. And then, because they’re well known in the sort of American musical theater genre. And you’ve got the Coterie. Tell me a little bit about the Coterie.
Stacey Paine: Oh, The Coterie. I should be able to go back to the year, and I can’t tell you for sure the Coterie has been around. Let’s just say forever.
Michael Mackie: Okay, forever, I feel like it has.
Stacey Paine: And it is just such a well-respected children’s theater. And they do great work summer camps, they do great shows throughout the year, they have a steady stream of, I will say, school buses, school children and families that come and buy the tickets for the Coterie events. And so, yeah, we’re thrilled to have Coterie at Crown Center. We just think it’s such a great program. And again, you know, it really shows that dedication that we’ve always had to the arts. Right? And so, having people kind of find their spot and believe that’s a really important part of what we do at Crown Center.
Michael Mackie: Okay, you have Music Theater Heritage, you have the Coterie Theatre, and here’s one that not a lot of people might not know about, is the Ruby Room. What’s the story there? I am not that familiar, nor have I been there. Again, that’s on me. But tell our viewers a little bit about the Ruby Room.
Stacey Paine: You know, I would say that Musical Theater Heritage does a variety of different things in their space, and I would direct you to their website to help you with what’s going on in the Ruby Room for them right now. But they do have a variety of different spaces that they do different kinds of shows. Including during parts of the year, they even help to showcase Quixotic at Crown Center. Like, they’re there during certain months. They’re not there year round. But Quixotic even does shows at Crown Center. So lots of variety. I mean, we do have a lot of theater at Crown Center.
Michael Mackie: Theater! Ruby Room is kind of nightclubesque, nightclub light. Then you have obviously Legoland Discovery Center, Sea Life of Kansas City and,, of course your favorite that you just hyped the new Museum of Barbecue. So out of all of those, what is probably the most popular? And is it just a constant parade of tourists?
Stacey Paine: I would tell you that we think of it like an ecosystem.
Michael Mackie: That’s perfect!
Stacey Paine: Because they really do build on each other. Part of the beauty of why you come to Crown Center, whether it’s you bringing, like, friends that are coming in town, or whether you’ve got family that comes with small kids, is you can come down there and there’s a little bit of something for everybody, right? Like, if the kid–like if you’re going to Museum of Barbecue, I like that because that gives us maybe something that’s not just family oriented to do while you’re there, right? But hey, if you promise the kids you’re going to go eat at Fritz’s and watch the train deliver your food afterwards, that keeps everybody like, keeps everybody happy. So, I think part of the beauty is the variety, right? One of the things that I am super proud about, and you’ve probably heard me say it before, but our shops and restaurants are all local. And I am also super proud of the fact that we hardly had anybody close during COVID. I can’t say it’s none, but, you know, we lost a couple. But we have stayed almost fully leased that entire time. And I think part of the reason people come, don’t you love to go places where you see stuff that’s different? Than where you go everywhere else?
Michael Mackie: Facts.
Stacey Paine: And so, I think when you come to the Crown Center and you see, hey, there’s both a Best of Kansas City shop and a Shop Local, who both have Kansas City stuff, but very different takes on it, right? So there’s just a variety of different things and shops that you can see. And I haven’t even gotten to Halls.
Michael Mackie: No.
Stacey Paine: Which, I mean, is part of what we do on our own, right? It’s our luxury department store. But we also run a Crayola store and kiddo there. So, I think to get back to your question was kind of what makes it work? Like, what draws people? It’s that it’s the variety of what we do. There is a little bit of something for everybody to keep them happy. So I think it’s different things, and it can be different depending on your trip, right?
Michael Mackie: Support for Artful Connections along the Streetcar comes from Arvest Bank. Arvest Bank believes that financial confidence should be within reach for everyone. Whether you’re just getting started planning for your future or starting a new chapter, we are here to help you plan and meet your goals every step of the way. Because everyone deserves a financial partner who cares. Arvest Bank, we believe. For more information, visit arvest.com or visit one of our 20 locations throughout Kansas City.
Can we dish, can we talk, can we gab? What do you have on the horizon in terms of–I mean, well, we got that big soccer game coming…
Stacey Paine: We do.
Michael Mackie: What is on the horizon that you guys are planning to, you know, showcase our lovely region to many, many, many international visitors?
Stacey Paine: Well, I was gonna say… So, two part question. The next thing that’s going to open, I believe, will be a Tim Horton’s.
Michael Mackie: Okay.
Stacey Paine (18:05): At Crown Center.
Michael Mackie: Oh, I will need an invite to the day of opening. Oh, I could sustain life on donuts. I would weigh 400 pounds, but I could do it. Oh, I love donuts.
Stacey Paine: Yep. And people have said, but you have a Starbucks. I’m like, you know what? There’s an insatiable need for coffee and breakfast food at Crown Center, because when we are busy, we are busy. Right? There are times of year when it’s just really busy there.
Michael Mackie: Oh, Tim Horton’s. I just had a, like, Pavlovian response there.
Stacey Paine: So, that is coming and another store that we’re not quite ready to announce, but it’s another like little Kansas City jewel that we’ve got coming. But I would tell you that we’re not ready to announce what our plans are, but we are working up what is going to happen for World Cup to make sure that everybody wants to come to Crown Center and get a little taste while they’re there.
Michael Mackie: I love that. Speaking of, what sort of impact do you think the streetcar is gonna have for future visitors? You know, world Cup visitors, just ongoing. I mean, that Streetcar is just kind of parks right there. How convenient is that?
Stacey Paine: It parks right there and, you know, it goes two miles to the north, and it’s about to go three miles to the south. Right? So, it’ll be a five mile trip. And I just think, I think everything we can do, we always hear–again, part of my, you know, Visit KC rule–we always hear from people once they come, oh my God, I didn’t expect this, Kansas City’s great.
Michael Mackie (19:25): Support for Artful Connections Along the Streetcar comes from Tivol. For more than a century, Tivol has helped Kansas City mark treasured moments and create cherished memories with fine jewelry of the highest quality. Visit us at our Country Club Plaza or Hawthorne Plaza locations or online at tivol.com. Tivol is proud to be a sponsor of this special podcast and to celebrate our city’s vibrant arts community.
Stacey Paine: And I just think the streetcar is one of those things that we’ve done really well. It’s such a great experience when you get on it that whatever you can do to make people’s visits to the city leave a great impression, those people leave and then they go home and talk about how great Kansas City was. And I think to the extent that we can make it more worthwhile, I always, you know, say the streetcar is free to ride. It does take those of us that are in the district, all of us pay a little extra property tax and sales tax to make it go.
Michael Mackie: But so worth it.
Stacey Paine: So the fact that it’s going to be extended makes it more worth it, right? It makes it more valuable to hotel guests. It makes it more valuable to Kansas City families that use it. So, I’m really excited about the extension because I think it makes it an even more valuable part of what Kansas City’s offer is.
Michael Mackie: And because fall is looming, let’s talk about Oktoberfest and also the Hallmark Christmas Experience, which is Thanksgiving through…?
Stacey Paine: I mean, be careful because I could do a podcast just about Hallmark Christmas Experience.
Michael Mackie: Okay, let’s start baby steps. Let’s start with Oktoberfest and what that brings to the table, because that is more imminent and then the Hallmark Christmas Experience.
Stacey Paine: So, I’ll put you on the spot. Have you ever been to Oktoberfest at Crown Center?
Michael Mackie: Yes.
Stacey Paine: At Crown Center?
Michael Mackie: Yes.
Stacey Paine: Fantastic.
Stacey Paine: So, Oktoberfest is put on by KC Bier, so we love that it’s really authentic, right? They want it to feel like as much, as they can, make it feel like Munich. And so, we love that that’s what they wanted to bring. So, when they wanted to make their Oktoberfest bigger, they came to Crown Center and we were thrilled. And it has just grown every year. So, it’s getting more and more popular. And it is of course a beer festival. And, you know, there’s things that you would expect to find like Stein-holding contest and, you know, there’s the tapping of the keg.
Michael Mackie: It’s a whole thing.
Stacey Paine: There’s people standing on picnic tables and singing and there’s music. It is just a fun time in the heart of Kansas City. And those are the kinds of things that we love that come together at Crown Center.
Michael Mackie: It’s the literal only time of the year that I get to break out my lederhosen. And yes, I do have a pair of lederhosen.
Stacey Paine: I love that. And there’s lederhosen contests, right? There’s actual contests.
Michael Mackie: I don’t think I’ve ever entered. Maybe this is the year.
Stacey Paine: This is–it’s your opportunity.
Michael Mackie: This is the year.
Stacey Paine: It’s your opportunity.
Michael Mackie: And then followed–you get a month reprieve in November, and then right around Thanksgiving, the Hallmark Christmas Experience. When? Tell me about that. And that is a whole other thing altogether.
Stacey Paine: That is, and I’m going let you down because I don’t know the date, but the other, the other event that’s coming this fall that is one of my personal favorites that I have to share is the Hall Market.
Michael Mackie: Wait, what? I have never heard of–is this new?
Stacey Paine: No, it is not new. But it’s like a hidden secret.
Michael Mackie: Oh, okay.
Stacey Paine: I mean, like, we advertise it, but it’s kind of this lowkey event. But Hall Market is, it’s kind of an art fair, but it’s smaller and easier. You don’t have to plan for a day around it. But all of the exhibitors are Hallmarkers. So, you have to be a Hallmark employee or Hallmark retiree to show your wares, but in this great twist, you don’t have to be a Hallmark creative. So, I walked through there one year and one of my employees who–none of my employees are the creative folks–was actually exhibiting his photography. He had a whole side hustle and hobby that I was unaware of. That was fantastic. So, there are a lot of artists, let’s be serious. A lot of of them are artists that, but it is all Hallmarkers. So, it’s an art fair that is specifically, you know, Hallmark employees or retirees that have tents on the square. And it’s just a fun free event.
Michael Mackie: Is that a weekend event? A full weekend?
Stacey Paine: Yeah, it’s a Saturday event.
Michael Mackie: A Saturday event. Okay.
Stacey Paine: It’s Saturday only event, and I just don’t know. I should’ve looked up the date so that I knew it, but it’s usually in September.
Michael Mackie: Okay.
Stacey Paine: So, that’s coming this fall too. And so then that leads into Hallmark Christmas Experience, which is giant.
Michael Mackie: It is giant.
Stacey Paine: So last year we had the very first Hallmark Christmas Experience. It does run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And it is so much. It’s so big.
Michael Mackie: From your mouth to God’s ears.
Stacey Paine: Right? But I think what a lot of Kansas Citians saw is the square. So we have the big mayor’s Christmas tree on the square. And last year we had a market set up around the Christmas tree and food and beverage stations and fun little festive bites and sips and bars set up around that. And we had a lot of local vendors and some not local vendors that came in for it. And all of that was free. So part of part of Crown Center’s tradition is that we are where Kansas City comes to celebrate Christmas, right? We have tens of thousands of kids come to get their pictures taken with our Santa every year.
Michael Mackie (24:48): Tens of thousands.
Stacey Paine: Tens of thousands.
Michael Mackie: That is a lot of children.
Stacey Paine: It rounds up to six digits. It’s a crazy number. We sometimes get videos from families that show us when they came to sit on Santa’s lap and then they’re coming back and bringing their kids. So it really is–
Michael Mackie: Multi-generational.
Stacey Paine: It is multi-generational. We’ve been around that long. So, there’s so much to do. There was a great big tent on the square that had Hallmark merchandise in it, right? That was for the Hallmark Christmas Experience. But here’s the fun twist that I think was big to the people that travel in for it. I’m not sure all of Kansas Citians understood that a big part of Hallmark Christmas Experience is that we bring in Hallmark movie stars every weekend. So, every weekend between 10 and 12 Hallmark movie stars actually travel in, spend the weekend in Kansas City and are doing things. They’re out on the square. Some of them are ice skating. And then they’re also in the ballrooms in the hotel, actually participating in panel discussions or playing games. And some of them, these are actors by nature, they’re hilarious.
Michael Mackie: Right.
Stacey Paine: And they’re great, like doing impromptu little games on stage. And so people could buy tickets to those events. They could buy tickets to get a special photo op with all the stars there that weekend. And we had people buy–
Michael Mackie: It’s like Hallmark Con.
Stacey Paine: It is like–it is.
Michael Mackie: It’s like Hallmark Con.
Stacey Paine: It is. With just a little bit more special, because that’s how Hallmark does things, right? We want to bring our own special touch to it.
Michael Mackie: You’re zhuzhing it up.
Stacey Paine: We zhuzh it up more than a typical con, we like to think. But we had people buy tickets from all 50 states.
Michael Mackie: Wow.
Stacey Paine: In 24 countries. 24 countries. It was crazy. Some people were like posting, I met somebody from Paris. Oh, I was there from Australia last weekend. Like the Facebook groups are wild.
Michael Mackie: Do you ever get, do you ever get starstruck? Because, I mean, I interview–
Stacey Paine: Yes.
Michael Mackie: I interview celebrities for a living, and I still get starstruck.
Stacey Paine: Absolutely. So, the first–I’ve worked at Hallmark, I told you, forever. I don’t typically work with the Hallmark movie stars, right? So the first weekend–I will let him go unnamed–but he was one who said on his break–like, God, I love the Hallmark movie stars. So, you know, they’re like on stage and doing things for their, you know, assignments. When he had his break, he said, could I go ice skating? And I said, man, did you ask the right person. Yes.
Michael Mackie: The answer is yes.
Stacey Paine: The answer is yes, what size skate would you like?
Michael Mackie: Also, where are my social media people at?
Stacey Paine: He had his social media people.
Michael Mackie: Oh, he had his own social media. Really?
Stacey Paine: That’s why why he’s the star.
Michael Mackie: I sense yes.
Stacey Paine: So we go over there and he’s Canadian, so he just skates like he walks, right It’s just natural. But yeah, he just, he walks around and, honestly, he like glows a little bit. He’s just, yeah, no– So starstruck, yes. And I’m honestly just going, there is something just a little bit like special and magical. But it was also just fun watching him, you know, sit in what we call our pro shop, where you pick up the ice skates to go ice skating. He was just sitting on the bench next to the–I will forever remember this family who told him they were from Belton. And they were there to skate and they were shocked. And he was just, he went out on the ice with them and they were videoing and he was posting stuff to the Gram. Yeah, so anyway, Hallmark Christmas Experience, there’s so much to do down there, so much to do. And then we also decorate some of the hotel rooms.
Michael Mackie: Oh.
Stacey Paine: Yes. How fun is that? Because it’s Hallmark, right?
Michael Mackie: Well, I mean, I would expect no less.
Stacey Paine: So last year, one of the super fun things was, you know, Hallmark has stylists that just do photo stuff, right? Not just do photo stuff, but that’s, they’re really good at it. They designed the way we decorated the hotel rooms in the Westin in a way that was consistent with the Hallmark Christmas Experience outside.
Michael Mackie: Wow.
Stacey Paine: So you could get a room that had a view of the tree with your own Christmas tree in it decorated in the same colors and fashion as everything else. And there was like special artwork in the room that was, you know, Hallmark curated art. So it was beautiful. And those rooms sell out too. So it’s a pretty fun experience, but we do love, right? The whole magic of Hallmark is how people connect and watching people come into town and hearing stories. There was a story about…there were two women who happened to sit next to each other on a flight, and one of them said, what are you going to Kansas City for? And she said, I’m going for Hallmark Christmas Experience, but I’m going by myself and I don’t know anyone. And the other one was too, and they spent the whole weekend just buddying up and going to stuff together. So it’s like a Hallmark movie story.
Michael Mackie: It’s a literal Hallmark movie story.
Stacey Paine: A literal Hallmark movie story. I know.
Michael Mackie: I’m gonna put you on the spot. Can you drop any names that may be appearing this year? Any famous names? I know you haven’t announced it yet. That’s why I’m putting you, that’s why I’m saying I’m putting you on the spot.
Stacey Paine: There are… Some of your very favorite names are out there. Yeah. Lacey Chabert is one of the queen of the channel. She will be there.
Michael Mackie (29:57): Okay.
Stacey Paine (29:58): Jonathan Bennett will be there. Some of our favorites. There’s a whole list, but yah. Yeah, it’ll be super fun.
Michael Mackie (30:03): I think I was there for the very first one when Jonathan Bennett was like the host of the whole thing.
Stacey Paine (30:08): Well, that was, that was weekend one last year, I believe.
Michael Mackie: Right.
Stacey Paine: He might’ve been the person I was talking about that was out skating with his own social media person following him.
Michael Mackie: It’s very on brand, Jonathan.
Stacey Paine: So, you know… Yeah, he was. You know, one of the other things that I think was really great was a lot of the stars brought along family. It was the holiday season, right? But we also loved, because I was there all weekend, every weekend, I would get to meet some of their families. And I just love that we were the kind of event that they wanted to bring their mom to.
Michael Mackie: Oh…
Stacey Paine: Or they wanted to bring their mom and their sister. And it was just funny. Like, I met one of the star’s sisters, and she was hilarious because she was like, I don’t know why everybody thinks he’s so great.
Michael Mackie: The novelty is worn off of Jonathan, so…
Stacey Paine: So it was fun. But yeah, it was great to kind of bring that to people that watch them on TV and just watch the excitement and honestly just see how much the Hallmark stars really want to interact with some of their fans.
Michael Mackie: In the last 10 years, can you name one thing that really sticks in your core memory? Like a highlight or something that of your time at…the really resonates with you, that just is like, this is why we do what we do?
Stacey Paine: Hallmark Christmas Experience is actually it. I mean, when I think back at… We had been bouncing this idea around for a few years. It takes a little bit to get something this big off the ground.
Michael Mackie: You think?
Stacey Paine: And it’s not an insignificant investment, right? So, it took all kinds of parties working together to kind of believe in this and pull it off. But I think it really has been fascinating to watch all parts of Hallmark like come to life in a bigger way. Because part of what’s unique, like you said, it’s like a Hallmark con, right? And I said it is, but it’s more because part of the reason we can do what we do, like to take over the hotel…
Michael Mackie: You turn it up to 11.
Stacey Paine: Yeah. Is that we own the hotel. And so our hotel staff was like part of the planning session for how can we like, take this over the top and how will we, you know, how will we have like the special drinks and snacks like we did. We did special snacks and put cute little labels on them. Like they came from the Hallmark bake shop. I mean, everybody was like super involved in taking this over the top. So I would say it was like such a proud moment for me to watch like all the best parts of Hallmark come to life. Like in, you know, 3D and then also to see us bring so many people to Kansas City, because like so many Kansas Citians, I’m so stinking proud of how we are right now. Like, this is our moment. Right?
Michael Mackie: Preach, preach, preach.
Stacey Paine: I always say, I mean, it’s the draft, it’s the World Cup. It’s the Chiefs of it all. And I can’t lie, it’s the Travis and Taylor of it all, right? I mean, I understand the glow. The glow will eventually move on. So we have to make the most of what we’re doing right now. But to be able to, in the middle of that, bring people to Kansas City and really introduce them to how great this is. And the number of people that I had tell me, who didn’t know who I was or what my job was, they would say–I would be like helping people to the right line for something and they would say, do you work for Hallmark? And I would say, yes, I do. And they’re like, oh, I love that I got to meet somebody that works for Hallmark. I just, I love that. And then they would go on to tell me how nice everybody was and how helpful everybody was. And it’s the world that we walk in every day. We know that people in Kansas City are nice and we help each other out and we smile and we ask people if we can help them find things, if they look lost. But just watching people experience that and knowing that we were part of why they came to Kansas City, it was just like a really–it made us proud to work for Hallmark and it made us proud to have Kansas City to show off. So I would say that. If I had to pick a runner up moment, I would tell you having World Championship parades down in the neighborhood, like–
Michael Mackie: Right there.
Stacey Paine: It’s always a lot, and we get better at it every time. But it’s just fun to be in a city that celebrates like we do.
Michael Mackie: And we know how to celebrate. What else, what else have we not talked about that is germane to this conversation?
Stacey Paine: What else have we talked about? think we’ve hit on events on the square. Oh, here’s something we haven’t talked about–
Michael Mackie: Hit me.
Stacey Paine: –That might be germane to your audience.
Michael Mackie: Yes.
Stacey Paine: Keep an eye out at The American, which as you know, doesn’t run as a restaurant, but we do do special events there. So we do popup events called the American Concept Series. And we have a James Beard event coming up this fall.
Michael Mackie: Ooh, nice.
Stacey Paine: So if you’re interested in that keep a lookout on that website.
Michael Mackie: Foodie alert. Foodie alert.
Stacey Paine: It’s a foodie alert. And it’s always, it’s always super fun. We have done a variety of different things over there. There’s always a theme that go that goes into it. We did a Day of the Dead one that was like unexpected, you know, because people, some people think that The American has to be stuffy and it turns out it doesn’t have to be stuffy.
Michael Mackie: No.
Stacey Paine: You can have a foodie event that’s super fun. And so we are, you know, trying to bring a variety of things to that. So that’s something we haven’t talked about that.
Michael Mackie: And that’s this fall?
Stacey Paine: That that’s this fall. There’s another one this fall. And then I can always talk about, don’t forget Kaleidoscope. You know, since we’re talking about design and art and all those things, Kaleidoscope has been free to kids from around the region for a long time. And it’s there and, you know, all that stuff.
Michael Mackie: I love it. Oh my gosh. Stacy, thank you so much for being on our second Artful Connections Along the Streetcar podcast. I appreciate you so much taking time out of your busy schedule and I can’t wait to see all the things you got going on this fall. I’ll be there with bells on.
Stacey Paine: It was super fun.
Michael Mackie: I’ll call you.
Stacey Paine: Come any time. Call me when you’re there.
Michael Mackie: I’ll call you when I’m there. Thanks. Appreciate you. Thanks so much to Stacey Paine at Crown Center for joining us today at our second stop of the Artful Connections Along the Streetcar podcast presented by Arvest Bank and sponsored by Tivol. You can find this podcast and our future stops wherever you find your favorite podcasts and at kcstudio.org.
