The Current Online

Waldo Pets is having a going-out-of business sale that includes animals (Lindsay Bozek/The Current).

by Lindsay Bozek

Come mid-April, a well known local pet store will close its doors for good.

Waldo Pets, located at 8011 Wornall Road in the Waldo neighborhood, will shut its doors due to foreclosure.

The business first opened Feb. 1, 1987 and is run by Cheryl Snyder, her husband Gary Snyder and son Danny Snyder. The couple attempted to keep their beloved business open by working other jobs, but foreclosure has finally caught up. [...]

The Kansas City Ballet performed at Longview's Cultural Arts Center (Adeel Cheema/The Current).

by Lindsay Bozek

The Kansas City ballet put on special performances March 19 and 20 in the Longview Cultural Arts Center. A class was offered to students on March 19, followed by a public performance by the ballet. Donations for the performance were accepted to benefit Hope House.

A free performance was open to Longview students and staff on March 20.

The events were “a community outreach to help people experience the ballet kind of up in your face”, said Linda Martin, Kansas City Ballet Director of Community Programs.

The ballet showcased 11 of its 26 members in this all female company, who performed excerpts from dances such as “Cakewalk,” which mimics old high society, and “Paquita,” which was first performed in 1846 in Paris. “We pulled from repertoire that we know that would be suitable for women,” Artistic Director William Whitener said.

“I really love dance, so I loved this,” said Longview student Lori Weigel.

The Kansas City Ballet work constantly to prepare their bodies for shows and tours. Dancers work Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting with a ballet class.

Upcoming events in the ballet’s future include Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. Shows run May 7-10 at the Lyric Theatre. Rush tickets are $12 for students and educators with ID at the door.

Slideshow

by Lindsay Bozek

BilLy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan in "Watchmen" (MCTCampus).

Watchmen is based on the award-winning graphic novel illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics, set in an alternative 1985 America where we are at war with Japan and tensions are rising between us and the Soviet Union. The Doomsday Clock is set five minutes to midnight. While the rest of America looks on, one of the masked heroes is murdered in order to cover up an even bigger devious plan. [...]

by Lindsay Bozek

The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre hosted a free performance of “Poets of the Plains” to students and staff of Longview, Friday, Feb. 27. A group of five performers graced the stage of the studio theatre at Longview’s Cultural Arts Center as they showcased artists from the midwest, such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Shel Silverstein and Gwendolyn Brooks. [...]