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Despite city-sponsored watch parties being canceled, Kansas City, Kansas, businesses and venues are still rolling out the welcome mat for World Cup visitors with watch parties and community gatherings.
Kansas City, Kansas, has a long history of Croatian heritage in its Strawberry Hill neighborhood — and the World Cup is bringing that community pride to the surface.
St. John Catholic Club Manager Kenny Yarnevich said the energy at the club's Croatia watch parties is hard to miss.
"First of all, Croatians know how to party,” Yarnevich said with a laugh.
Yarnevich is a staple in KCK's Strawberry Hill neighborhood, which has a high Croatian population.
But he said the watch parties are open to everyone.
"Strawberry Hill's a neighborhood community for everybody,” Yarnevich said. “We have to be, because we're right off the highway."
Just minutes from St. John's, Chicago's Bar on Sixth Street also felt the wave of World Cup excitement.
"It felt like Chiefs Sunday, kinda, down here, in the middle of the week," Chicago Bar's Kyle Ratliff said.
Chicago's is surrounded by a handful of other small businesses eager to welcome World Cup visitors.
Ratliff said those businesses need the support during and after the World Cup.
"Those are the people that still have to find a way to make it, even though they're not being promoted as a Power and Light and Fan Fest,” Ratliff said. “And those things are great, but every dollar counts down here."
Strawberry Hill borders Memorial Hall, where Visit KCK and the Unified Government held their World Cup watch parties.
They recently canceled their remaining events due to low turnout and suggested people visit the Rock Island Bridge to watch the matches instead.
Rock Island Bridge Creative Director Crissy Dastrup said the venue has been welcoming visitors with open arms.
"We really wanted to make this a welcoming place,” Dastrup said.
The Rock Island Bridge is hosting World Cup watch parties for each match, with DJ's every match day and the day before.
Dastrup says she's excited about the amount of music and events that will be available all the time on the bridge
It sits at the point where Missouri and Kansas meet along American Royal Drive.
"The idea is just for everyone to have an access point to something uplifting, creative, cultural and free," Dastrup said.
St. John’s says doors open at 2 p.m. Friday for Croatia’s 4 p.m. match on Saturday, June 26.
Chicago’s and the Rock Island Bridge plan to show the games on their TVs on match days.
Another KCK option closer to the Village West area is at Sporting KC’s Soccer Capital Summer watch parties.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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