Local celebrities and the Variety children shine in an unforgettable night at the Midland. (Poster courtesy of Variety)
By: Jacob Elyachar
The Midland Theatre was packed full of excitement as guests of all ages celebrated the Kansas City chapter of Variety Children’s Charity.
Before the curtain rose, guests were entertained by members of the Kansas City Juggling Club, balloon artist John Perry, who created a diverse array of creations ranging from the Little Mermaid to a bicycle, and Maxine, who mingled with the crowd and sang a couple of bars of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”
In addition, to the pre-show entertainment, guests dined on some of the best food in the city including Bonefish Grill’s albacore tuna tacos, Blanc’s pork burgers and three of Drunken Fish’s sushi dishes. While they dined, guests also had the chance to participate in the silent auction, where they bid on several items such as a bag of gourmet goodies, concert tickets and signed memorabilia from country stars Miranda Lambert, Amy Grant and Vince Gill and baseball icon Cal Ripken, Jr.
As guests made their way towards their seats, magician Devin Henderson opened the event with several tricks that involved Houdini’s handcuffs, a $100 bill and his bag of fun. One of the highlights of his act included swallowing a whole worm-like balloon that “magically” appeared in co-host Alexis Del Cid’s hand when she made her first appearance later on in the night.
The Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders warmed the crowd with two routines that included a mash-up of Chris Brown’s “Turn Up the Music” and Pitbull’s “Don’t Stop the Party.” Once the crowd settled down, Alexis and her co-host and fellow KCTV5 anchor Dave Hall introduced Olivia Sabates, who performed a beautiful cover of the King and I’s “Getting to Know You” as pictures of the Variety children flashed across the screen.
After Olivia’s performance, the show’s honorary co-hosts Peter da Silva and Missy Koonce rallied the crowd for the Fund-A-Need campaign and the Live Auction that raised over $37,000 for the charity. Following the two big fundraising activities, the Variety Show picked back up again as the Roasterie’s Bean Baron Danny O’Neil and his Roasterettes performed a tribute to coffee and Emmy-nominated comedian Brad Meehan performed a short but exciting routine.
The middle half of the show was filled of a combination of show-stopping and emotional moments including a steamy Argentine Tango from Lauren LaPointe and her partner Louis Bar, John Hunt’s powerful cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings,” which he dedicated to his brother, Scott, and Nate Muele’s collaboration with KCTV5 Sports Anchor Brad Fanning and former Kansas City Royals Jaime Bluma, Jeff Montgomery and Al Fitzmorris with a dynamite performance of Damn Yankees’ “Heart.”
The last set of performances belonged to 13-year-old Alyssa Mendoza, who won this year’s inaugural Star Search and delivered a strong cover of Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” and Vocalocity performed “Telephone Hour” from Bye, Bye Birdie. For this year’s finale, recording artist Drew Six debut his single: “We Choose Livin’” that featured all of the performers plus the Variety children that were featured throughout the evening.
For more information about Variety of Greater Kansas City, click here: http://www.varietykc.org/
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