Boulevardia is a 3-day music, food, and beer festival held in Kansas City's West Bottoms. This year's festival focused on sustainability and recycling efforts. Volunteers helped sort waste into proper bins and various organizations provided information about environmental initiatives. The festival featured over 40 musical acts on multiple stages. A variety of food trucks and vendors offered food, drinks, and souvenirs. Attendees enjoyed the music, beer, and atmosphere of the event.

1. 11/15/15, 8:31 PMBoulevardia combines three days of beer, music, food and fun - The University Daily Kansan: Arts And Culture
Page 1 of 2http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/boulevardia-combines-three-days-of-…-food-and-fun/article_fb7e945e-1884-11e5-9376-73fc77f34dde.html?mode=print
Boulevardia combines three days of beer, music,
food and fun
By: Madi Schulz | @Mad_Dawgg and Garrett Long | @garrettkenlong | Posted: Monday, June 22,
2015 6:00 am
Boulevardia kicked off last weekend in Kansas City’s
West Bottoms with music, vendors, food and, of course,
beer.
The festival, named for Boulevard Brewing Company in
Kansas City, Mo., featured a wide range of Boulevard’s
choice beer lineup as well as other brands, including the
Lawrence-based Free State Brewing Company.
This year’s festivities brought a renewed focus to
recycling and a plan to have a zero waste event by 2018,
meaning that all waste is planned for reuse, compost or
recycling to some extent. For example, next year vendors
are required to use compostable napkins, plates and
utensils at the festival. As part of its push for sustainability, Boulevardia dubbed a section of the festival
“Greenville.” Greenville featured stands displaying visual and interactive displays about recycling and
minimizing environmental impact. Volunteers stood at the 20 waste, recycling, and compost stations
throughout the entire event to ensure materials made it in the right bins. Various sustainability agencies in
the Kansas City area, such as Habitat for Humanity and Better Block KC, lent a hand to the sustainability
efforts and provided further information about their agencies.
A festival with so much emphasis on the environment was bound to bring in equally passionate
volunteers. Volunteer Cristian Miranda said he wanted a cleaner world by doing rather than just talking.
“I just want to be a part of the solution,” Miranda said.
David Johnson and Leanne Breiby, who graduated from the University in 1995 and 2006, respectively,
represented Better Block, a nationwide movement looking to improve neighborhoods block-by-block.
Recently, Better Block has worked on integrating more protected bike lanes in Kansas City.
Johnson and Breiby handed out chalk and encouraged festival-goers to write on the large blackboards
behind them that read “What would make your block better?” Responses ranged from light-hearted to
Boulevardia 4
Hearts of Darkness performs on the
Boulevardia main stage Sunday afternoon
in Kansas City. Heart of Darkness got the
audience and off their feet with funky beats
that made it difficult not to dance.

2. 11/15/15, 8:31 PMBoulevardia combines three days of beer, music, food and fun - The University Daily Kansan: Arts And Culture
Page 2 of 2http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/boulevardia-combines-three-days-of-…-food-and-fun/article_fb7e945e-1884-11e5-9376-73fc77f34dde.html?mode=print
serious. Ideas such as “more ping-pong parties” focused on fun, while comments like “less judgement”
concentrated on underlying issues.
Boulevardia approached Better Block to take a “forgotten area that no one would use and change it to a
place that people would want to hang out in,” Johnson said.
“We basically brought in lights and plants down here and our sponsor made a stage,” he said.
Forty-three bands and artists provided the music for Boulevardia. Headliners for the festival included
Mayer Hawthorne, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, J Roddy Walston and the Business, Atlas Genius,
MS MR, and the Mowglis. The stages spread across the grounds and varied in size.
Large tents of vendors offered various souvenirs ranging from t-shirts to hand-crafted jewelry.
Tad Carpenter Creative sold posters, books and prints. Tad Carpenter, the business’ owner, is also a
graphic design lecturer at the University.
Boulevardia approached the company, and Carpenter was more than happy to participate in the event.
“[Boulevardia] curated very specifically; they wanted a wide range [of vendors],” Carpenter said. “We
were honored they reached out and asked if we wanted to show for the weekend.”
Along with traditional graphic design clients, Tad Carpenter Creative also serves multiple clients that are
musicians, production companies and bands. The company sold some of its clients posters in its booth.
Carpenter said he was happy to attend a festival held in Kansas City, a city he feels passionately about.
“I’m very proud of Kansas City, and I think there’s a lot of people in Kansas City who do a lot of cool
things,” Carpenter said. “It’s just cool that our city has a festival like this. This kind of thing couldn’t
have happened 10 years ago, and I think that everyone feels that our city is on a major upkick, and it’s
awesome.”
There were also plenty of options for the food and beer lovers who came to Boulevardia. Food trucks and
drink stands lined the streets offering a variety of options for attendees.
McCartney Payton of Wilma’s Real Good Food said Wilma's stayed busy all weekend and Boulevardia
worked closely with all of the food trucks to take care of any potential problems.
Attendees Tiffany Bell and Eilene Myers, of Kansas City, Mo., came out to celebrate Bell’s birthday.
When asked what they were looking forward to at the festival, Bell replied, summing up Boulevardia’s
appeal: “To listen to good music and drink some good beer.”