Maurice Watson

Big news from Bloomstock! We are VERY excited to announce that Maurice Watson will serve as Bloom’s honorary chairperson this year.

Maurice is chairman-elect of the Husch Blackwell law firm here in Kansas City and is dedicated to many different causes in our community, both personally and professionally.

In his work capacity, Maurice represents public school districts, private schools, education associations and children’s hospitals. He speaks across the country on the legal rights of students and school employees.

Outside of the office, he is, it would appear, tireless in his continued contributions to Kansas City. He has served on the Board of Trustees for The Barstow School, the Children’s Mercy Hospital Foundation, the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, the Kansas City Art Institute and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals. Maurice has also given his time as a member of the Board of Directors of Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City Ballet, and The Learning Exchange. He has worked with FOCUS, the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the Heart of America Community AIDS Partnership.

He currently serves on the Community Advisory Council of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, the beneficiary of the annual Bloom party. The purpose of Kansas City Free Health Clinic is to promote health and wellness by providing quality services, at no charge, to people without access to basic care.

The Bloomstock chairs, co-chairs and planning committee are humbled and honored to have Maurice Watson serve as our honorary chair this year. His commitment to Kansas Citians in need – whether in the education or health care realms – over the years is inspirational.

Please join us in welcoming and thanking Maurice for serving as Bloomstock’s honorary chairperson!

Mark your calendar for Friday, April 13th, 2012!

Bloom becomes Bloomstock!

Bloomstock will be a hip, one-of-a-kind celebration of the free spirit and commitment to community that was – and is – the foundation of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. The passionate dedication to providing quality free healthcare that drove our founders to create the Clinic 40 years ago is alive and well today.

Before you dig out the tie-dye, just know that Bloomstock isn’t a retro party, a costume party or a throwback. We’re celebrating the free spirit and passion of the era in which the Clinic was founded – but not necessarily their wardrobes! Stay tuned here and on the Bloom Facebook page for our ideas on what to wear to our over-the-top, bohemian Bloomstock experience…

All the party details, sponsorship and ticket information is coming soon. Can’t wait!

Bloom 2012

Starlight Theatre

Friday, April 13, 2012

Details coming soon!

Looking for an excuse to get out of Kansas City for a getaway? Look no further than the silent auction at Bloom Hits South Beach this Friday night!

Check out some of the travel-related items up for auction this year:

• Three nights at a Breckenridge, Colorado vacation home, donated by Mike and Paula Casey (valued at $2,000)

• One-night stay in a luxurious Parlor Room at Hotel ZaZa in Dallas, with dinner for two at Dragonfly restaurant, donated by Bishop-McCann (valued at $750)

• Two-night stay in a suite at the Omni Chicago, with dinner for two at the 676 Restaurant, donated by Bishop-McCann (valued at $750)

• One-week stay in a private condominium in Laguna Beach, California, donated by Kelly Cole and Charles Shrout (valued at $4,000)

• Scottsdale weekend for 2: Round-trip airfare for two to Phoenix on Delta Airlines; two-night stay for two at Scottsdale’s Intercontinental Montelucia Resort & Spa; dinner for two at Prado, donated by Bishop-McCann (valued at $1,900)

What will YOU be bidding on this Friday night?

Very special thanks to Mike & Paula Casey, Kelly Cole & Charles Shrout and Dan Nilsen at Bishop-McCann for their generosity and continuing support of Bloom and the Kansas City Free Health Clinic.

Joe Bellinger from the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and Kurt Knapstein, co-chair of this year’s Patron Party, took a few minutes last
Saturday to talk about the Clinic and Bloom on the NBC Action News morning show.

Take a look:

The most-asked question about BLOOM each year is, undoubtedly, “What should we wear?!”

The suggested dress for BLOOM Hits South Beach? White hot, effortless and chic.  We asked stylists at Halls on the Country Club Plaza how they would interpret that.

So here’s their spin on South Beach chic:

If you feel like shopping after that (and who wouldn’t?!), here’s the scoop on each outfit in order of appearance:

1.  On the ladies:

Floral dress by Aidan Mattox, sandals by Gucci and jewelry by Amanda Sterett.

Purple dress by Hervé Leger, shoes by Jimmy Choo, earrings by Amanda Sterett.

Print dress by Alberto Makali, bangle by Anna Beck, shoes by Marc by Marc Jacobs.

2.  On Ian: Turquoise shirt by Hugo Boss, Polo belt, Diesel white jeans, Prada flip-flops and Makins Hats fedora.

On Stephen: Ted Baker striped shirt, Theory tie, Polo belt, Levi’s Made & Crafted jeans and Ferragamo shoes.

On Curtis: Hugo Boss jacket with JZ Richards pocket square, Dolce & Gabbana floral shirt, Armani pants and Penguin shoes.

3.  On the ladies:

Leopard dress by Dolce & Gabbana, fashion stack bangles and Gucci shoes.

Blue dress by Catherine Malandrino, Alexis Bittar necklace and ring and Stuart Weitzman shoes.

Print dress by Muse, white flat sandals by Stuart Weitzman with Tory Burch cross-body bag.

4. On Ian: Shipley & Halmos jacket and pants, Ferragamo pocket square, Lacoste shirt, Victorinox belt and Sperry shoes.

On Stephen: Moods of Norway blazer, Theory shirt, Naked & Famous bowtie, Rag & Bone jeans, G Star belt and Hush Puppies shoes.

All available from Halls on the Plaza.

Hope that helps inspire your BLOOM outfit this year! (And that remix in the video? By Miami DJ Joe Maz – who will be spinning at BLOOM Hits South Beach on April 8th!)

**Thanks so much to everyone at Halls – Kelly, Carnie, Jennifer, Joey and all of the models!

Everything about South Beach is hot. The weather is hot. The clubs are hot. The bodies are hot. The cars are hot. Smokin’ hot. White hot. HOT.

When BLOOM Hits South Beach on April 8th, it will be no different. (Except, well, maybe the weather. We’ll say a little prayer…)

This party is going to be hot – in large part, due to the amazing line-up of entertainment.

If you’re planning to start the evening with us at the VIP Patron Party, you will enjoy the Latin-infused sounds of DJ Shaun Duval while being entertained by some very unique performances by members of Quixotic Fusion.

The main event will kick off with the beats of DJ Brent Tactic – and you will absolutely be drawn to the dance floor. The man knows how to start a party. After Brent, the stage belongs to live, classic hip-hop band Dolewite. And if you’ve never seen Dolewite, I don’t know that I can describe them any better than FUN. Flat-out fun.

And closing out the night is DJ Joe Maz, appearing at BLOOM from Miami. Joe usually spends his weekends playing in South Beach’s hottest clubs – Rok Bar, Gansevoort Pool, Mokai and Arkadia to name a few. But, on April 8th, he’ll bring a little South Beach to us, here in Kansas City. And you will very likely dance. A lot.

(Go to about 2:00 in this video to avoid some nausea-inducing camera work!)

Anyway, my point? When BLOOM Hits South Beach? It’s gonna be pretty freakin’ HOT. Hope to see your hot self there.

The Aluminum Show - Harriman-Jewell Series at the Folly - May 5, 2011

Items for the always-fabulous and always-successful silent auction are starting to roll in. We’ll try to give you a little sneak peek here on the Bloom blog between now and April 8th.

Glancing down the current list, we noticed that there are a lot of cultural events, attractions and experiences in this year’s auction. What better excuse for a date night?!

So, how about a bid or two on:

• Heartland Men’s Chorus Music Package donated by Heartland Men’s Chorus – Two tickets for any concert of the 2010-2011 season; Two CD recordings; One DVD documentary / concert video. Starting Bid: $56

• Kansas City Ballet tickets donated by Kansas City Ballet – Two (2) tickets for Saturday matinee on May 7, 2011. Starting Bid: $35

• Kemper Museum Family Membership donated by Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art – Family membership to Kemper Museum of Comtemporary Art and a gift certificate to Cafe Sebastienne. Starting Bid: $43

• Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre Tickets donated by Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre – Two (2) tickets to The Who’s Tommy – May 19 thru June 5. Starting Bid: $35

• Powell Gardens passes donated by Powell Gardens – Two (2) passes to Powell Gardens. Starting Bid: $10

• Tickets for The Aluminum Show donated by Harriman Arts Program of William Jewell College – Voucher for two tickets to The Aluminum Show, Thursday, May 5, 2011 7:30pm at the Folly Theater. Starting Bid: $53

• Unicorn Theatre Tickets donated by Unicorn Theatre – Two tickets to one regularly scheduled 2011-2012 season performance. Starting Bid: $40

Stay tuned for more silent auction items! (If you would like to donate to the silent auction, please email Joe Bellinger at joeb @ kcfree.org for information and a donation form.)

Bloom 2010 was bigger than big. The biggest crowd yet. The biggest fundraising total yet for the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. BIG. So, how do we top that?!

Don’t worry your pretty little heads about it. It’s going to happen. The planning committee for Bloom 2011 has been hard at work for many months to make sure that BLOOM Hits South Beach will take your breath away, knock your socks off, blow your hair back and, yes, be the BIGGEST Bloom yet. Big room, big crowd, big style, big sound, big fun.

The 2011 committee chairs met again last night to go over the plans for this year’s event (Friday, April 8, 2011 at Starlight Theatre). Kurt Knapstein and Terry Bax brought everyone up-to-date on the VIP Patron Party plans, which will move this year to a larger space at Starlight due to increased Patron Party attendance.

Scott Kaiser and Bill Pile walked the other committee chairs through the event timeline and the party space to give a sense of what Bloom looks like when it hits South Beach! From start to finish, it will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before in Kansas City! So excited! Tickets will be available for sale VERY SOON.

This year’s Honorary Chairs are Rita Cortes and Mary McLean. Bloom 2011′s Event Co-Chairs are Anya & Ryan Holmes and Jen Greenstreet & Bill Hans.

The 2011 Bloom Committee is: Terry Bax, Katie Campbell, Melissa Cooper, Carol Conrady, Carly Farrell, Sheri Gormle, Alicia Hutching, Anne Hyvrard, Scott Kaiser, Kurt Knapstein, Kathryn Lewis, Stacey Lukas, Kate McKinney, Leah Masonbrink, Bill Pile, Carla Powers, Kiran Ross, Bernard Shondell, Dennis Sweeny, Joe Sweeny, Erika Sword, Leah Vomhof, Dan Walsh and Amy Jo Wimmer.

Leading this motley crew, as usual, is Joe Bellinger, Special Events coordinator at the Kansas City Free Health Clinic.

Stay tuned here, on Facebook and on Twitter for more and more BLOOM info as we get closer to April!