KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Forget what the calendar says.
Forget what Mother Nature has been handing us in terms of weather lately.
Forget what the morning thermometer reads.
Today is the first day of Spring in Kansas City.
Because, today the fountains return!
Our town’s liquid legacy springs to life Tuesday morning at 11:00.
Workers were on site at the Spirit of Freedom Fountain near the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center in the chilly early morning darkness, preparing for the big moment.
This particular fountain received more than $800,000 in repairs over the course of the winter months. Most of the money for the repairs came from General Obligation, or GO, bonds voters approved in 2017. Money from that initiative goes to repairs around Kansas City. The city manager promised to have all the city-owned fountains running by Fountain Day and announced Tuesday the city achieved that goal.
The City of Fountains Foundation helps raise extra money to maintain the city's fountains.
As City of Fountains Foundation Board Member Doug Coe will tell you: when your particular favorite of the metro's 200-plus fountains isn’t working, it’s like being a little kid at the zoo, only to find all the animals have moved.
Mr. Coe said the fountains make this city extra special — as important as jazz, BBQ and baseball.
Mr. Coe also said the goal in KC is to make all the fountains function, making them part of the present and future, as well as the past.
So, today is the day.
We’ll see them.
We’ll hear them.
We’ll know it’s truly Spring in KC because the Fountains have come back to life!
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