Since 2014, Future Stages Festival has showcased thousands of talented local youth performers. Every June, the Kauffman Center welcomes the community to experience a vibrant display of a variety of art forms and cultures.
The goal of Future Stages Festival is to spotlight the next generations of artists, which aligns with the Kauffman Center’s vision of enriching the lives of everyone in our community through extraordinary and diverse performing arts experiences. For the past 11 years, Future Stages Festival has had more than 6,000 talented youth grace the Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall stages, as well as the Saint Luke’s Outdoor Stage and the Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box, with groups presenting a myriad of cultural disciplines and genres of performance arts from aerial and dance to powerhouse vocalist, musical ensemble, poetry and so much more. Last year’s performers at Future Stages Festival included Cathy’s Creative Dance School, Chinese School of Greater Kansas City, Gurukul Dance Company, Harmony Project KC Wind Ensemble, O’Riada Manning Irish Dance, The Barton Street Band and Traditional Music Society – Little Africa, to name a few.
In addition to the performances, festival attendees can participate in interactive activities presented by the Kauffman Center and community partners that regularly include The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Mattie Rhodes Center, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Public Library and more.
On Sunday, June 15, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Future Stages Festival returns for its 12th year. Hundreds of local performers aged 5 to 18 will take to the Kauffman Center stages at this free community event. Future Stages Festival is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but attendees are encouraged to RSVP to receive the latest event updates and performance schedules. Visit kauffmancenter.org/futurestages to RSVP and learn more.
Future Stages Festival is presented by Premier Partner Saint Luke’s Health System. This event is also supported by PNC Bank, Missouri Arts Council, Hearst Foundations, Evergy, JE Dunn Construction, Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank, Trustee and the Frances Swinken Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
– Keyonna Steele
