Free Ride to Powell Gardens

Take a Free Ride to Chapungu at Powell Gardens

Be green and see green! Leave your car at home and take a free shuttle to Powell Gardens to see springtime in full flower. On select weekends from May through September the botanical garden offers free shuttle service from the Plaza area. The first shuttle runs on May 10-11 and coincides with Mother’s Day weekend and the opening of a contemporary African sculpture exhibit, Chapungu: Nature, Man & Myth.

The shuttle service, funded by a grant from the Sprint Foundation and Joan and Bert Berkley, leaves from Kauffman Memorial Garden, 4800 Rockhill Road at 9 a.m. and noon and departs from Powell Gardens at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Shuttle riders must make reservations at 816-697-2600 x 225 or lburton@powellgardens.org.

Free shuttles also will run on June 14-15, Father’s Day weekend; August 8-10 and August 15-17, Festival of Butterflies; and August 30-31, Labor Day weekend. The Chapungu exhibit will remain on display through Nov. 2.

The exhibit includes more than 50 hand-carved stone sculptures from Zimbabwe that have been on tour throughout the world and are making their first stop in the Kansas City area. Special Mother’s Day weekend activities will be guided tours, live music, stone-carving demonstrations by African artists, and discovery packs for children.

The café will be serving a special Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday (reservations are required) or visitors can call ahead to order a picnic pack. The gourmet version is $15 and includes gourmet cheeses, housemade crackers, fresh fruit and Christopher Elbow chocolates. The box lunch picnic is $9 for a choice of ham, turkey or chicken salad croissant sandwich, chips and a cookie. Beer, wine, water and soft drinks will be available for purchase on site, as well as grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwurst.

The Chapungu exhibition is included in regular Garden admission of $8 for adults, $7 for seniors 6o-plus and $3 for children ages 5 to 12. Civic, community, church and other groups can request in advance a limited number of free passes for constituents who cannot afford the admission fee. To request an application for the free passes, contact Linda Burton at 816-697-2600 x 225 or lburton@powellgardens.org.

Chapungu is presented by Bank of America, with additional support from the Sprint Foundation.