Planning your date night can be a great way to strengthen your relationship while creating joyful memories. With a combination of charm, culture and entertainment, you’ll find countless things to do in Kansas City for couples.
The City of Fountains caters to every type of couple, ensuring memorable date nights all throughout the year.
Start With the Arts
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts sets the stage — quite literally — for thrilling live entertainment from the world’s finest performers, internationally acclaimed artists and one-of-a-kind shows.
Browse our performances and events to find the right arts experience for your date. From thought-provoking to awe-inspiring, you can enjoy exceptional concerts, shows, presentations and more.
Along with the tickets, you and your partner can enjoy the Kauffman Center’s architectural beauty as the backdrop for a romantic evening, creating the perfect place to capture memorable photos.
Make it a night to truly remember at the Kauffman Center with any of the following performances.
Trailblazing Talks
Our Trailblazing Talks five-part speaker series features award-winning photographers, explorers and other intrepid documentarians. In these captivating presentations, they share stories you won’t hear anywhere else — stories of solving intractable problems and bridging the distances between us all, sharing insights about the world around us.
We illustrate each one-hour event with stunning imagery and gripping video footage shown on the Kauffman Center’s massive 40-foot-by-22.5-foot screen in Muriel Kauffman Theatre. After the presentation, you can sate your further curiosities during a brief audience Q&A session.
From following in the (photographic) footsteps of Marco Polo, to heading into outer space in search of life, these talks will entertain you, engage you and give you and your date plenty to talk about for the rest of the night — and beyond!
Performing Arts Sampler
Show your date you’re smart, artistic and thrifty when you purchase the Performing Arts Sampler. This affordable introduction welcomes you to explore the magic, wonder and splendor of the arts.
Photo by thawks
As the Kauffman Center’s most flexible ticket package for things to do in Kansas City for couples, the Performing Arts Sampler helps you save on regular single ticket prices for productions from our resident companies: Kansas City Ballet, Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Kansas City Symphony as well as one Trailblazing Talks lecture.
That’s 4 single tickets for as little as $100 — equaling $25 per ticket! Buy 2 packages, and you both save.
Yoga at the Kauffman Center
When looking for things to do in Kansas City for couples, yoga at the Kauffman Center gives you a healthy and fun way to connect.
Presented by Premier Partner Saint Luke’s Health System, our yoga sessions take place quarterly in Brandmeyer Great Hall. Come together to activate the mind, body and spirit while enjoying sweeping views of the Kansas City skyline.
Local artists provide live music for each class, incorporating the performing arts into the yoga practice.
Yoga dates consist of two 60-minute sessions, one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 10:30 a.m. Each session begins with a short presentation by a Saint Luke’s medical professional, followed by a mindful practice led by an experienced yoga instructor.
Intermediate-level yoga flow will be featured at the 8:30 a.m. class. If either or both of you are beginners, the yoga foundations class at 10:30 a.m. might be your best option.
Kauffman Center Presents
As a unique and distinct series of curated performances, Kauffman Center Presents has presented some of the most accomplished performers and standout performances worldwide to Kansas City.
Some of those performers include:
- GRAMMY-winning musical artists
- Iconic guest speakers
- Live family entertainment
Each of our hand-picked performers push the boundaries of what’s possible, creating electrifying experiences for things to do in Kansas City for couples.
Kauffman Center Presents is made possible by the John N. and Marilyn P. McConnell Foundation.
Side note: If you’re going out with other couples, the Kauffman Center also offers these performances at discounted rates for large groups and specially recognized ticket buyers.
Dinner and a Show
So, you’ve gotten your tickets to a Kauffman Center performance. You and your date are in for a treat! However, how do you fit in a delicious dinner before the show, maybe some wine or cocktails and have parking already secured?
Instead of rushing and worrying, RSVP at the Founders’ Lounge for a gourmet experience that’s only steps from your seat. The dining team at the Founders’ Lounge offers elegant dishes, seasonal craft cocktails and a diverse selection of wines and spirits — all while you feast your eyes on sweeping views of Kansas City.
For a truly relaxing experience, plan for 90 minutes of dinner service to fully enjoy the menu, and we highly recommend making a reservation. The Founders’ Lounge is open for dinner most evenings when a performance is scheduled and can also accommodate patrons who aren’t seeing a show.
This makes the Founders’ Lounge a great choice for your evening at the Kauffman Center, or as the dinner destination to start your list of things to do in Kansas City for couples.
Related topic: Discover Kansas City Attractions for Couples
Beyond the Kauffman Center
Our vibrant Kansas City arts, dining and entertainment scene means you’ll have your choice of things to do in Kansas City for couples. Always check about requirements for reservations, as our communities are renowned for their in-demand experiences.
The possibilities are endless. So, we’ve canvassed our staff, our volunteers and our performers to come up with some top-shelf choices.
Memorable Experiences
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts recommends our area’s multitude of art galleries, which offer a vista-expanding assortment of things to do in Kansas City for couples, families and friends alike. Here are just a few options:
H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute
Established in 1999, the Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute presents innovative exhibitions, conversations, public programs and commissioned projects. These curated presentations let you and your significant other fully explore the art and the artists making bold and often beautiful statements of our time.
Not only does the Artspace provide access to art, it serves as a teaching museum in alignment with the mission of the Kansas City Art Institute. It introduces both students and audiences to important contemporary art and artists, while understanding what it takes to put on a gallery presentation.
The goals of the H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute include:
- Adding value and diversity to the artistic advancement of the city
- Creating meaningful collaborations that benefit regional artists and audiences
- Fostering engagements that explore innovation, experimentation and knowledge
- Fomenting a greater cultural understanding
Blue Gallery
Blue Gallery showcases a range of work from emerging, local and national artists. Their sleek space in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City offers original works unique in narrative, execution and medium.
Not only can you enjoy one of the award-winning Blue Gallery’s six formal shows and several informal shows — you can purchase artwork to take home. If you’re looking to add to your original art collection, the Blue Gallery’s “Wonder Wall” features works priced at $500 or less.
National World War I Museum and Memorial
For couples interested in seeing history from a new point of view, and seeing Kansas City from an entirely new perspective, the National WWI Museum and Memorial delivers on both fronts. The Museum and Memorial is America’s leading institution dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the Great War and its enduring impact on the global community.
In addition to the museum itself, you can purchase tickets to ascend the Liberty Memorial Tower for a truly breathtaking 360-degree view of Kansas City. Take an elevator, followed by 45 stairs, to the open-air observation deck 217 feet above the ground. At night, a Flame of Inspiration, created by steam and lighting effects, is emitted from the top of the tower, visible from miles away.
Situated on a hill overlooking Union Station — which ran up to 271 trains a day moving troops and supplies to the East Coast during the war — the monument received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2006 and recognition from Congress as a national memorial in 2014.
Arabia Steamboat Museum
When steamboats ruled as transportation, Kansas City served as an important loading and unloading point for the push westward. Prior to the introduction of railroads, more than 400 steamboats sank in the Missouri River alone.
You may think that would leave the river bottom littered with the remnants of these boats. Yes… and no. Before the Army Corps of Engineers worked to control the flow of the Missouri River, flooding would change the river’s course. It brought in silt, covering whatever lay at the bottom and literally moving the flow to cut new channels elsewhere.
And here’s where the Arabia Steamboat Museum became one of the many fascinating things to do in Kansas City for couples.
A popular Kansas City attraction for more than 25 years, the Arabia Steamboat Museum came to be when a Missouri family mapped out where this steamboat, laden with a hold full of goods, hit a snag and sank in 1956.
132 years later, after digging down over 45 feet into a farmer’s cornfield, they found the Arabia Steamboat. Though not the first intrepid explorers to find the boat, they were the first to fully excavate it. They brought thousands upon thousands of household tools and goods to daylight after over a century in the soil, and to this day are still restoring these artifacts.
Voted “Favorite Kansas City Hidden Gem” by Visit KC, the museum is one of Kansas City’s most popular attractions.
On the Trail of Cocktails
In downtown Kansas City, you’re only an Uber/Lyft/Taxi or KC Streetcar ride from some of the best hand-crafted potent potables in the Heartland.
Photo by Anna Petrow
You might try some of these mixology masterpieces for things to do in Kansas City for couples.
Green Lady Lounge
Amongst the city’s robust heritage is a legacy of jazz and blues music, which still reaches audiences to this day. With an active, energetic live music scene offering many things to do in Kansas City, for couples seeking a new destination, Green Lady Lounge offers a unique experience.
Centrally located on Grand Boulevard in downtown Kansas City, Green Lady Lounge serves food, drink, special cocktails and fresh jazz from Kansas City musicians. You won’t find televisions lining the walls here. Instead, you’ll enjoy an alluring, intimate place to focus on music, atmosphere, conversation — and each other.
The Mercury Room
Taking cues from the planet closest to the sun, the Mercury Room offers “celestial classics” for cocktails, served behind floor-to-ceiling glass walls offering romantic views of the Kansas City skyline.
Along with these masterful drinks, you can order delectable small plates, including caviar and oysters. The 14th-floor Mercury Room location features plush seating areas and a sleek cocktail bar, delivering an urbane upgrade for tasting and toasting.
Swordfish Tom’s
Just like the speakeasy of old, the door isn’t well marked, it’s down an alley and it’s a hidden gem. The basement location of Swordfish Tom’s still hosts the mechanicals for the old building. You can sip gourmet, hand-crafted cocktails that transcend time, play cards, laugh, talk and soak in a pre-prohibition vibe that’s as delicious as it is authentic.
They don’t take reservations, so when you traipse the stairs to their waiting room, you may have a short wait. That first cocktail will make it worth your time.
Related topic: Support the Arts and Your Career With Theater Arts Internships
Find More Things to Do in Kansas City
For couples, for groups, for families and for friends, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts rises with bold and beautiful colors to help sculpt the Kansas City skyline. Our goal stands firm: to make excellence in arts available to all! Purchase tickets to world-class performances and presentations, book a reservation at the Founder’s Lounge and make it a date to remember.
About the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Along with providing amazing, state-of-the-art facilities for performances, the Kauffman Center also makes performances affordable for a wide range of diverse Kansas City populations. Contact us for special ticket pricing and to book a tour for your group.
From pop performances to classical concerts, Broadway to ballet, opera to presentations, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is truly where art and community meet.
