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Mayor's Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Mayor's Christmas Tree all lit up!

Choir and audience 

Janelle Monáe Speaking

Mayor Sly James Speaking

Janelle Monáe and Mayor Sly James

Janelle Monáe and Will Gregory

Paige Smith, Janelle Monáe and Sarah Cascio

This Thanksgiving, WGPR had the honor of being the chosen PR firm of the 2011 Mayor's Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony! Although this wasn't our first rodeo, we took great pleasure in working on this event with Mayor Sly James and his staff. 

We invited American R&B/soul musician, Janelle Monáe (of Kansas City), to be the celebrity guest "light flipper" and had the best time before and after the ceremony chatting with her. This girl's style is just as amazing as her voice and performance skills! 

The Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund would like to thank Ameristar Casino, Brady Enterprises, Burns and McDonnell, Cosentinos, Isle of Capri Casino, JE Dunn, Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Spinkler Fitter Local Union 314 for their contributions!

For more information on the Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund please visit their Facebook page here. 

Photo Credit: First five photos were taken by Eric Bowers.

Behind the Buzz: Will Gregory featured in 435 South Magazine!

If you haven't already, you MUST go pick up the December issue of 435 South Magazine! Kimberly Stern wrote an awesome article about the top PR gurus in Kansas City and featured Will Gregory.

“Square one in my business: build relationships and get involved.” -Will Gregory

 Check it out online here... Thank you Kimberly!

WaterFire Kansas City on Brush Creek

Late last month we attended the 5th annual WaterFire Kansas City are instillation on Brush Creek on the Country Club Plaza.  WaterFire Kansas City is a unique public art installation that uses the powerful combination of water, fire and music to build community and bring people together.

So, starting at dusk, a crowd of excited onlookers got ready to witness the lighting of 55 floating bonfires on Brush Creek.  Mayor Sly James was there to light the torches, which initiated the boats to make their way down the creek.

There was a vast variety of live performances ranging from KC Swing and Tango Dancers to Quixotic Performance Fusion to Nathan Granner (tenor).  The instillation was amazingly beautiful and it was such an amazing night.

Thank you to all who helped make this night so spectacular.

Photos of the night used in this post can be found here


-WG

Junior League of KC at Skyline Salon

A few weeks ago we had our Junior League of KC event at Skyline Salon.  


Ladies of Junior League enjoyed appetizers from Blanc Burgers and wine from Cellar Rat.  They also were given a class on holiday hair, tips on make-up and fashion from the hair and make-up stylists at Skyline Salon, and clothing from Clique Boutique, Banana Republic, and Standard Style Boutique.


The models looked stunning and the fashion tips were fantastic.  What a fun night!

-WG

Grünauer's 2nd Annual Oktoberfest

 Live music, traditional food, and beer!

This past weekend was Grunauer's 2nd Annual Oktoberfest.  This year the event was sponsored by Baron BMW, Hofbrau, Stiegl, and Ink Magazine. 


The event was kicked off with a tradition keg tapping and the newly renovated biergarten was tented and operated as the food hub, which featured traditional Oktoberfest fare from bratwurst to pretzels to apple strudel and more.


During the day the music tent had live acts ranging from authentic German Dancers, polka bands and other family-friendly entertainment.  At night there was a variety of Kansas City's notable jazz and rock performers including Miles Bonny, Mark Lowery with Drums, the Beachnutz, Festhaus-Musikanten, and Nauthatch 47.

The beer was amazing and the weekend was a great success.

Both tents served a full lineup of beers from Hofbräu, including their 2011 Oktoberfest brew.

This year Grunauer even had a brand new shotski. 

What an amazing weekend.

- WGPR

Dead Poultry Society at the American Royal BBQ

As most of you may already know, this past Friday was the American Royal BBQ, and of course the place to be was at the Dead Poultry Society party benefiting Young Variety - the children's charity.

There was a buffet of amazing barbeque and other foods provided by Will Jenny's and Blanc Burgers + Bottles, a complementary full bar, a state of the art mechanical bull with flashing red eyes, 120 cases of Red Bull, and DJ Mike Scott.  We also had smoked Bourbon from The Rieger and Bombora cocktails.

This was definitely the place to be at the American Royal BBQ.

Thanks to all of our other sponsors who helped make this the biggest and best party of the year.

Thanks to Ink Magazine for providing us with such great pictures of the night.

-WGPR