Yes, I am pimping Kansas City.

Huh, it's November, so I can actually pimp. Well, let me offer dates and prices once I have made some calls, but...prelim pimp.

Kansas City! Smack dab in the middle of the country. We have no sharks. I would be pimping mid-June, after school lets out (but before my stepson is in town, so I could concentrate on orging the F2F.)

It's easy to get cheap flights here. The airport is about 20 minutes north of downtown -- shuttles to downtown or the Plaza cost about $20, and it's a boring, but very non-confusing airport.

I would be pimping a downtown or midtown hotel, as Plaza hotels would be pricier. KC's public transpo is not awesome; however, for getting from downtown to the Plaza or Westport areas, it's not bad in the daytime, and if a couple of people are hopping a cab, it's very cheap.

Downtown boasts the fairly new Crossroads arts district, the new Power and Light bar district. We have the Plaza for shopping and restaurants, the Nelson-Atkins Museum with the new addition, the Jazz Museum, the Negro League Baseball Museum, the Boulevard Beer plant (with tours and tastings), kickass BBQ, great steaks, and lots of restaurants that would suit a diverse range of dietary needs and wants.

I have a house, where early comers could congregate and watch movies and drink and hang on a Thursday. I have a friend who could get me awesome deals on booze.

June is generally pretty decent here -- mid 80s in the daytime, 70's at night.

I will put together a prospectus with links and other more specific info on a Google doc soon, so anyone can look at it.

KC would be art, music, baseball history or a game, excellent food, booze and decent weather. Also shopping. we have some nice vintage stores.

There is also me. I am freakishly organized and an excellent cruise director. I can lay my hands on a couple of DVD players, and also offer a couch or bed or two in a smoking, cat-friendly house for any laid-back Buffistas who might not be able to afford a hotel.

Good pimping, Erin. I wasn't crazy about KC (aside from what I've heard about the steaks) but now I kinda am. Thanks for breaking the ice.

And fountains! KC has fountains!

Anne, it might be worth contacting the Moonrise Hotel over in the Delmar Loop. Its standard prices are a bit above our usual range, but a group rate, particularly if we schedule early enough to catch the off season, might make it doable. It's certainly Our Kind of Place, both in terms of the hotel itself and the district surrounding it.

Ooo, vintage stores.

And B.

Oddly enough, Matt, that was EXACTLY where I was thinking about, both in terms of hotel and location. The Metrolink will also make it easy-ish to get to downtown.

I also think that the Buffistas could easily spend an entire day at the City Museum.

Not to mention the bowling & martini lounge.

Not to mention the bowling & martini lounge.

This is so very true.

Plus, there would be a decent chance of something fun being at the Pageant.

KC is sounding better all the time.

It's St. Louis with the City Museum and martini and bowling lounge.