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!

THANK YOU, KANSAS CITY!

Bloom 2011 committee members Kurt Knapstein, Bill Pile, Kate McKinney, Scott Kaiser, Ryan Holmes, Anya Holmes, Bill Hans, Kiran Ross, Jen Greenstreet, Amy Jo Wimmer, Stacey Lukas, Joe Bellinger

Thank you all for making Bloom Hits South Beach such an amazing party. Crazy fun as always!

The Bloom 2011 committee (that’s a good portion of the committee in the photo above) met last week to review the final numbers from this year’s event. And we are ecstatic that $210,000 was raised as a result of this single event!

A record-setting $133,000 was collected in sponsorships, $10,250 from patrons and $30,700 in ticket sales.

$18,073 was raised during the silent auction, $13,850 was collected during the fund-a-need auction during the party and $4,325 was donated by folks who couldn’t attend this year (we call them “darn” donations).

A very solid six-figures will be going to the Kansas City Free Health Clinic as a result of YOUR generosity – and we couldn’t be happier.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all sponsors, vendors and party-goers!

See you next year!

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.

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!

“What should I wear?!” One of the most popular questions we get about Bloom.

Bloom is Studio 54 is about the pulsing music, the visual overload, the exclusivity, the outrageousness that defined Studio 54 in its heyday. But it’s NOT a 70′s or 80′s party. Bloom is Studio 54 will transport you to the world’s most notorious nightclub as if it opened in Kansas City, at Starlight Theatre, in 2010.

What would you wear to history’s most infamous party? Here are a few suggestions:  (Click on the images for a closer look!)

And don’t forget to buy your tickets! Certain ticket options are already SOLD OUT!

Dan Nilsen

This year’s Bloom honorary chairperson, Dan Nilsen, has been a longtime supporter of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic – and of Bloom. In fact, he co-chaired this event in 2007. A huge thanks goes out to Dan for years of dedication to the Clinic and to Kansas City.

Dan and his company, Bishop-McCann, have graciously donated SIXTEEN hotel stays at some of this country’s most amazing hotel properties to this year’s Bloom silent auction.

Get your checkbook and your frequent flyer miles warmed up – because you won’t want to miss out on these decadent digs:

• Two night stay at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square with dinner for two at the Urban Tavern restaurant

• Two night stay at any Millennium, Copthorne or Kingsgate Hotel worldwide

• Two night stay at the Intercontinental San Francisco with breakfast for two daily at Luce

• Two night stay at the Fairmont Dallas with dinner for two at the 4-star Pyramid Restaurant & Bar

• Two night stay in a one-bedroom suite at the Saddlebrook Resort near Tampa with a round of golf for two on one of two championship courses

• Two night stay at the Hyatt Regency Kansas City with breakfast for two daily at The Terrace

• Two night stay in an Executive King Peabody Guestroom at the Peabody Orlando with two spa treatments and dinner for two (two separate two-night stays available for auction)

• Two night stay with deluxe accommodations at JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes

• Two night stay at the Fairmont Scottsdale with breakfast for two each morning at LV Bistro

• Two night stay at the Fairmont San Francisco in standard accommodations

• Two night stay at the Fairmont Chicago and $50 gift certificate for the Aria Restaurant

• Two night stay at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina in standar accommodations

• Two night stay in a Mediterranean Suite at the Riviera Resort & Spa in Palm Springs with breakfast for two each day in the Circa 59 Restaurant

• Two night stay at the Marriott Downtown Chicago Magnificent Mile in standard accommodations

• Two night stay at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills in deluxe accommodations

Each hotel package ranges in value from $350 to $700.

You can’t win if you don’t play! Click here to get your tickets online – and don’t delay because tickets are going fast! Hope to see you at Starlight on April 9th!