Mark your calendars for a Main Street block party that will be held Aug. 21 in connection with Third Thursday, the monthly street fair in downtown Joplin.
The block party will kick off at 4:30 p.m. in the 900 block of South Main Street. Businesses in that block, along with the Downtown Joplin Alliance and Spiva Center for the Arts, will host the party.
The main event will be a Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony for Guru Marketing, which is now open in the new Moss-DeGraff Building at 906 S. Main St. The block party will feature music, raffle giveaways, lawn games, and a bounce house.
Kate Moss DeGraff, founder of the marketing agency, said in a recent text that commercial space is now available in the building, along with three lofts on the second floor.
The Moss-DeGraff Building is the first new building to be constructed in Joplin’s historic district in some time. It has been more than five years in the making. Completion of the project was delayed by the pandemic. The building is the first of two planned for the site. Each will have lofts on top, commercial spaces at street level, and parking at the rear of the buildings.
The site at one time was home to two significant commercial buildings that survived from the earliest days of Joplin — the 1900 Rains Brothers Building and the 1914 Carl Adams Building. The first was destroyed by fire in 2012. The second collapsed a short time later.
The Moss-DeGraff Building is part of a long-term revitalization of the 900 block of South Main. The Willard Hotel in that block has been restored and transformed into lofts. The Pub Bar, also on that block, is undergoing restoration.
Indoor playground opens
Kids City Museum, a place for children to engage in interactive exhibits and hands-on activities, has opened in a 5,000-square-foot space on the second floor of Hafeez Plaza, 2613 S. Main St.
Children will be able to pick a profession or occupation to role-play. A ticket for children ages 1 through 12 is $10. With no time zones, the ticket is good all day. Party packages are available. For details, rules, and answers to questions, visit kidscitymuseum.org.
Hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
ArtWalk resumes
The First Thursday Artwalk will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at several venues in downtown Joplin.
The Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex/Spiva Center for the Arts, 212 W. Seventh St., is presenting “Behind the Mask,” an exploration of the many masks worn to cover secrets, and “Authenticity Between Presence and Projection,” an interactive exhibit. Also featured is “Joplin’s East Town Legacy Revealed” by Sonie Thompson Ruffin.
Joplin Avenue Coffee Co., 506 S. Joplin Ave., will feature “Through the Lens,” the works of 13 local photographers. In the backroom, artisan market will be works by Hannah Doherty, Shawn Riley, Addison Hobson, and Sarah Trayer. Music will be by Eric and Erica French.
At 411 S. Main St., Ron Erwin and Thao Nguyen will show their photos from around the world.
The Urban Art Gallery, 511 S. Main St., will feature “Feathers and Florals” by painter Sydney Byers. Music will be by Tough Luck Chuck.
Club 609, 609 S. Main St, will present Sydney Amato in her first solo show. At 611 S. Main St., an artisan market will feature Tia Hall, Rachel Cabral, Misty White, and others. Music will be by Bill Goodwin.
