816 Day is preparing for its biggest year yet

It started with a simple question: Why doesn’t Kansas City celebrate its own area code?

“The first time it was brought to my attention was actually through a Facebook post,” 816 Day founder Brian “Bizzy” Benton says. A friend wondered why Kansas City didn’t have an official area code celebration like cities including St. Louis and Detroit. So in 2017, he made it happen.

The inaugural 816 Day celebration was a gathering at KC Juke House in the 18th and Vine District, where a couple hundred people showed up wearing Kansas City gear. The following year, Benton transformed a four-story building at 10th and Broadway into a celebration of local culture, dedicating each floor to something different, from jazz and poetry to DJs, clothing vendors and dance performers. By year three, 816 Day had grown into a full-fledged street festival. Today, it spans an entire weekend and draws thousands of people every year.

“It just kind of grew into the beast that it is now,” Benton says. “I never had any major plans for it.”

This year’s 816 Day festivities will begin Thursday, August 13 and continue through the weekend with events at venues including Vine Street Brewing, Rock Island Bridge, The Combine and In Good Company before culminating in the free festival on Sunday at Power & Light.

The main event on August 16 will have a 100-plus vendor market, food trucks, a kids zone, dance competitions and live performances from Stranded in the City, Marcus Lewis Big Band with Brass and Boujee, Back Alley Brass Band and the Go Hard Band. The festival’s theme this year, “Everyday People,” inspired the lineup. “These people have regular day jobs, and they just happen to be awesome,” Benton says.

Benton says the festival has grown alongside KC itself. As the city has expanded—with new businesses, new neighborhoods and more people putting down roots—so has 816 Day, adding new venues and community partners to be part of the celebration. And with the city riding on the momentum of a World Cup summer, Benton hopes 816 Day reminds everyone that our city’s energy doesn’t disappear when the spotlight is gone.

“It’s a beautiful city,” he says. “We were able to host such a massive event just to let people know what can be. This can be done on the regular.”

Benton still has big dreams for 816 Day, his biggest being a future where neighborhoods across the area code, from Lee’s Summit to the Northland, host their own celebrations under one shared banner. 

Still, for Benton, 816 Day has never been just a date on the calendar but a year-round celebration fueled by the community. That said, his favorite moment is every year at exactly 8:16 pm on August 16, when the crowd raises a toast. 

“I get to really relax and just encompass all the greatness of not just what we’ve been able to put together but what the city has to offer.” Visit 816day.org for the schedule of events.

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