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Kansas City marks Fountain Day by turning on Loose Park rose garden fountain
Summary
Mayor Quentin Lucas, parks board leaders and volunteers turned on the fountain at Loose Park's Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden, praised the city's parks and cited recent foundation-backed repairs and summer fountain tours tied to World Cup visitors.
Mayor Quentin Lucas, Parks and Recreation Board members and volunteers gathered at Loose Park to mark Fountain Day and activate the fountain in the Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden.
"We've been doing this tradition now for over 40 years," said the event emcee, a representative of the City of Fountains Foundation, opening the ceremony. Mayor Quentin Lucas called the city's parks and boulevards "among the greatest" and said fountains are a central part of civic life: "We are proud to be a city beautiful." The mayor also encouraged residents to learn the histories of individual fountains and said he plans to "adopt" the Women's Fountain at 9th and Paseo as his tribute this year.
Beth Hayden, president of the Parks and Recreation Board, thanked parks staff led by Director Chris Cotton and deputies Brad Clay and James Wong and highlighted the system's scale: "You may know that we have 222 parks, 115 playgrounds, 48 fountains, and 122 monuments and sculptures in our city's park system," she said. Hayden told the crowd the board passed a resolution the previous day approving funding from the City of Fountains Foundation to address ongoing fountain repairs.
City Manager Mario Vasquez linked the fountain program to tourism plans tied to the World Cup, saying the city will showcase public spaces for visitors. Organizers also announced a series of guided fountain tours and on-site merchandise sales to support the foundation's work.
Speakers repeatedly framed the activation as the result of long-running partnerships among the City of Fountains Foundation, the Kansas City Rose Society, Kansas City Parks and Recreation and private donors. The emcee said restoration work on the rose garden fountain combined a city council distribution of sales-tax funds from District 6, foundation support, Rose Society giving and private fundraising.
The ceremony concluded with music and the activation of the fountain; organizers encouraged visitors to take part in summer fountain tours and other events tied to the city's World Cup hospitality plans.
