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The Crossroads Arts District is expanding its signature First Fridays event into a full weekend experience for five straight weekends during the FIFA World Cup.
Its new Night Market kicked off Friday and will run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until July 12.
Bethany Alzanadi, who runs a pop-up artist marketplace called Art Garden KC, will be at Night Market all month.
"We're running First Friday energy for five weekends straight," Alzanadi said.
Vendors will sell jewelry, ceramics, T-shirts, baked goods, paintings, 3D printings and more.
Organizers have also increased security for the events. Titan Protection officers began patrolling the neighborhood in May and will have a visible presence throughout the five weekends.
"Dramatically increased budget for security. We'll have Titan officers down here, lots of them, and then police presence, EMS, lost and found. All of that's been considered," Alzanadi said.
At Border Brewing, manager Mark Garringer was on a ladder hanging flags Friday, getting ready to welcome World Cup fans through his doors.
"We love hosting other people," Garringer said.
Garringer added the neighborhood is prepared for the influx of visitors, even with more work still to do.
"This street kinda looks out for itself," Garringer said.
When the World Cup ends, the Crossroads hopes to hold onto its new soccer identity alongside its long-standing reputation for art, music and craft beer.
Night Market schedule:
- June 12 through 14
- June 19 through 21
- June 26 through 28
- July 3 through 5
- July 10 through 12
Night Market hours:
- Fridays from 5 to 11 p.m.
- Saturdays from noon to 11 p.m.
- Sundays from noon to 11 p.m.
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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