3rd-Annual Man Cave Party and Auto Show in Kansas City

Last weekend, I was able to make a quick stop in Kansas City, so of course I had to stop at a car show along the way. This time it was the 3rd-Annual Man Cave Party and Auto Show, which was held at the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds. There was a threat of rain throughout the day, which likely had an impact on the show car count. But with live music from the Good Sam Club Band and Dead Man’s Hand, several food vendors, and bounce houses for the kids, everyone seemed to be having a great time. Here are a few notable cars.

Dale Wilch's Man Cave is the cure for winter carlessness

You’ve seen me complain about the lack of winter car stuff to do around Kansas City before.  Well, this year, I’m doing something about it.  Wednesday night I joined the ranks of swap meet merchants at Dale Wilch’s Man Cave, a 15,000 sq/ft treasure trove of car parts and other eclectic junk located near the Fox 4 Television studios.  Once a week, Kansas City’s car community converges on this eerie underground lair, buying parts, sharing stories, and just spending time in one of the only places that never gets colder than 70-degrees.

Own a piece of Kansas City's automotive history at Dale Wilch's Man Cave

I admit, I haven’t been writing as much as I probably should here lately.  My excuse is that there aren’t enough car shows and other automotive-related activities to cover this time of year.

But then my excuse gets blown out of the water when you consider that Dale Wilch’s Man Cave is open for business every Wednesday night, snow or shine.  15,000-sq/ft of vendor space is crammed full of car stuff.  And since it actually takes place in an underground cave, the thermometer always hangs in at 68-degrees no matter what’s going on in your neighborhood.

Dale Wilch's Man Cave is Kansas City's dark underground secret

If you look around at some of Kansas City’s vintage architecture, you’re probably noticed that many of the buildings, walls, and structures are constructed of limestone. That’s because there are tons of limestone deposits around here, and it makes a cheap, durable, and beautiful construction material.

Obviously, to get to the limestone, they had to mine for it underground. And an interesting side effect of that mining is that Kansas City now has a huge underground cave system. Most of these caves were carved out in such a way that now retail businesses are able to set-up shop in the strangely comforting, almost surreal lair that limestone mining left behind.