KANSAS CITY, Mo — Residents across the Kansas City area were able to enjoy colorful, decorated Kansas City hearts popped up on corner stores, parks and regional landmarks for the last few months.
Like all good things close to the heart, the Parade of Hearts project came to a close on Friday.
“Yeah I’ll be sad to see them go, I’d like to see em up,” Abby Mueller, a bicyclist from Brookside, said.
Mueller made it her mission to visit every single heart; 156 locations across two states.
She originally started with the goal to see as many as she can, but as her count grew, she decided to travel over 1,000 miles to see them all.
The journey took her all over the Heartland to places she has never seen before and to people she has never met.
“It’s been fun and it’s been awesome just seeing the different people at the hearts, and I mean I love talking to people,” Mueller said. “I think it just brings people together.”
Tucker Trotter, one of the founders of the Parade of Hearts, says the project was born out of a need, but grew into something so much bigger than all of us.
“I think we needed it because there was so much division, I think we needed it because we were at home,” Trotter said. “We needed people to see other parts of the community that they have never seen before.”
To continue the legacy of the hearts, every one of them will be auctioned off online and at the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland on Friday night.
All proceeds will benefit four local organizations that serve people who were hit hardest during 2020:
- University of Kansas Health System
- AltCap
- Visit KC
- Mid-America Regional Council
Overall categories include childhood education, small and minority businesses, arts and culture, and hospitality and tourism.
“This was an opportunity for us to have an excuse to come together and prove why we’re better, and why we should set the example for other cities to follow,” Trotter said. “The part that I loved most about it is that it fulfilled its purpose, that it unified our community.”
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