One of J.C. Nichols’s greatest accomplishments in the success of the Country Club Plaza was creating a sense of community. He achieved this not only by building a unique shopping experience and installing art and courtyards that embraced people-oriented activity, but also with the celebration of holidays, events, and traditions. A few of these traditions date back to the early establishment of the Country Club District while some were created to promote the shopping center during the Great Depression. Many have endured years of patronage and others have been long forgotten.

PLAZA LIGHTS

Every year on Thanksgiving night, the Plaza Lighting Ceremony kicks off with performances and celebration. At 6:52pm the switch is flipped, simultaneously turning on the colorful lights strung around every building, then concludes with a concert and fireworks display. The lights shine nightly through mid-January. 

Dating back to 1925, the plaza lights tradition started at the Suydam (now Mill Creek) Building, the first building erected for the Country Club Plaza. Plaza leasing manager Charles Pitrat hung a single, 6-foot strand of lights above the building's doorway while shop owners part of the Plaza Merchants Association lined the sidewalk with small Christmas trees. The first year the Plaza featured continuously strung outdoor lights was in 1928 on the newly opened Plaza Theater and its accompanying 72 foot tower. However, it wasn’t until the following year when colored bulbs lined all of the buildings on the Plaza, showcasing their unique architecture and starting the annual tradition of the Season of Lights. The first lighting ceremony took place in 1930 and since has turned into a 15-block holiday spectacle. The only year the lights have not been in operation was in 1973 when President Nixon called for the reduction of Christmas lights as to limit energy usage during an oil crisis. 

Starting after Labor Day, workers start to hang the colorful lights. They are lifted up with special trucks and scale the buildings using ropes and climbing shoes. As Thanksgiving approaches, midnight test-runs are performed to ensure all of the lights will turn on simultaneously, with a final test the day prior to the ceremony from 2:00-6:00am. Throughout the season, workers replace each burnt out bulb as needed, and the spent bulbs are turned into ornaments and giftable items available through local merchants. When the season ends the lights are carefully taken down, checked, tied up, and cataloged for storage; a process that typically takes until March. 

PLAZA ART FAIR

Started in 1932 by the Plaza Merchants Association, the Plaza Art Fair has become a top-ranked annual event. As an unofficial kickoff to the fall season, the 3-day event is put on at the end of September, typically the third weekend after Labor Day, to celebrate local art, food, and music. More than two hundred merchants showcase a variety of art which is available for purchase for the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Many restaurants and musical performances are also part of the event. 

During the Great Depression, the Nichols Company started promoting their shopping districts to increase foot traffic and raise the spirits of the patrons. The first event was held on a single, then-vacant lot at the southwest corner of Nichols Road and Central, with a few vendors and paintings ranging from $1 to $10. Within a couple years, nearly 90 local artists were in attendance. The event moved around to various locations and has grown to encompass multiple city blocks. The only year the art fair did not take place was in 2020, due to widespread business closures and social distancing mandates from the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the devastating flood on September 12, 1977, mass cleanup efforts allowed the event to transpire just ten days later.

EASTER BUNNIES

In celebration of spring, every year around Easter for about a month, a set of nine human-sized rabbits are placed around the Country Club Plaza. They were first displayed in 1922 at the newly opened Crestwood Shops, located in a Nichols subdivision just south of the Plaza. They were added to generate foot traffic and were the first annual tradition that led to other events throughout the year such as the midsummer sidewalk sales and Halloween festivities. When the Great Depression struck, the Nichols Company began promoting their shopping centers with the intent to increase business. The bunnies were dispersed from Crestwood to other Nichols' shopping districts in 1931, in which they quickly became the seasonal tradition for the Country Club Plaza.

Each bunny has a name (Amy, Bess, Brian, Ellyn, Kate, Lee, Nicholas, Peter and Sue) which is painted on their statue; the jacket collar of the boys and the egg basket of the girls. Originally there was a fifth boy, Joe, who was stolen in the late 1990s and never replaced. Additionally, Amy was originally named Flo but her name was changed for the daughter of one of the maintenance personnel. In 1970, the other Wonderland Animals were added and in 1971 each bunny received a fiberglass coating to ensure their longevity. The bunnies also previously featured red lightbulbs in their eyes but were removed in 2001 to make them appear less frightening and create a more positive experience for patrons, as they continue to be enjoyed today.

PLAZA FIESTA

The Plaza Fiesta was a promotional summer event in the 1930s created by the Plaza Merchants Association with the help of Eleanor Nichols, daughter of Country Club Plaza developer J.C. Nichols. Perhaps in representation of the Spanish-themed shopping district or in honor of the transitioning relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, on July 7, 1936 the Country Club Plaza was transformed into a Spanish marketplace for the first annual Plaza Fiesta. The two-day event featured festive decorations, merchants dressed in Spanish-themed attire, an upscale food court, entertainment, and a mariachi band. One of the entertainment highlights was a tap dance by Señor Oliver Messmer to the tune of Goofus, originally a 1930 American instrumental. The price of admission was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children with an estimated crowd of 5,000 in attendance, including many notable Kansas Citians.

The event was known to happen again in 1938, this time with increased entertainment and a crowd upwards of 20,000. Patrons experienced a four and a half hour show titled "Fiesta Follies" with local singer Lois Swaney as the headliner performing a rendition of the musical comedy Rio Rita. Due to limited documentation and photographic evidence, these are the only two years of occurrence.

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is one of the lost traditions on the Country Club Plaza. It was celebrated as early as 1932 and possibly through the 1950s, although photographic evidence only dates through the mid-1940s. The first known decorations in the early 30s were a giant jack-o-lantern and a witches shack that were accompanied by bundled corn stalks, located in an empty lot between Nichols Road and Ward Parkway. A 1937 photo shows a larger-than-life, grotesque witch figure and in 1945, small, flat “cut-out” figures were added atop buildings. 

This tradition may have become lost due to the transition of the holiday from community-based gatherings to a neighborhood activity. However, while decorations are no longer installed in celebration of the holiday, some local merchants offer trick-or-treating for children (and dogs) the day of Halloween.

DOG MART

Possibly a one-time event, the Plaza Dog Mart was hosted by the Plaza Merchants Association on September 22, 1934. A giant tent was put up in an empty lot at Ward Parkway and Central, the future site of the Plaza Medical Building, for breeders to showcase their dogs. One of the events photo bears a caption that offers a bit of insight which reads, “Country Club Plaza merchants sponsored a dog mart where people interested in buying a dog could see and inspect almost every breed of dog.” There is no documented evidence that this event occurred again, however, the Merchants Association later hosted dog shows at the Knabe Building auditorium.  

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