The summer season is nearly here with less than two weeks of school left. Everyone is already beginning to plan what their summer will look like. 

The summer can quickly become boring without many things to do; either alone or with friends. However there are plenty of things everyone can do to occupy the time in the Kansas City area, and in Gardner, as well as things that can be done at home. 

The Kansas City area has a lot of things planned for the 2023 summer season. Festivals such as Vaile Strawberry, Future Stages, Heart of America Shakespeare, WaterFest, Festival of Butterflies and multiple more. To find more information go to VisitKC. 

There are also more local places to go during the summer season. There are movie theaters, mini golf, escape rooms, and many more. My go-to movie theater is the AMC Theater in Olathe. Mini golf is also another fun option: there is Blackbob Batting Cages and Hall of Fame Putt Putt Golf in Olathe, Howl in One Mini Golf in Kansas City, Smiley’s Golf Complex in Lenexa, and Craft Putt in Overland Park. Then there are also escape rooms: there is the Tick Tock Escape Room in Overland Park, Enigma 68 Escape Room in Louisburg, Mastermind Escape Games Kansas in Overland Park, and many more. 

A few big movies that are going to be released this summer include Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on June 2, The Flash on June 23, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on June 30, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One on July 12, Oppenheimer and Barbie on July 21, Haunted Mansion on July 28, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem on August 4.

There are also multiple things to do in Gardner. There is the Gardner Aquatic Center as well as the Johnson County Fair on July 16-22. We also have the Gardner Golf Course and multiple food places to go to. 

Another great and cheap option for fun are the numerous parks we have in Gardner. A few of the best parks are Celebration Park and Veterans Park. Going and watching the sunset at either of these is guaranteed to be fun and relaxing. 

A great option to stay organized this season is to create a bucket list with any adventures or goals for the summer. Then, as each thing is completed, there is evidence of all that was accomplished. There is so much time to get everything done this summer; skies the limit.