Briarcliff Trails of Our Community recently signed a contract with Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation to adopt the Briarcliff Greenway and the non-residential part of Briarcliff Parkway. Under this agreement, we are responsible for picking up litter, clearing away brush and preserving the natural beauty of the area. The city's Adopt-A-Trail program encourages businesses, organizations, communities and even individual residents to keep the city's trails clean and accessible. Several years ago, Briarcliff Trails of Our Community signed an agreement with the Missouri Department of Transportation for their Adopt-A-Highway program, and has picked up more than 340 bags of trash to date. We felt it only made sense to extend our efforts to the trails along Briarcliff Parkway and the Greenway. For more photos and information, go to our Adopt-A-Trail & Highway page. 

Dog lovers and their furry friends gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony of the brand new off-leash dog park in North Kansas City. The City of Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation partnered with the City of North Kansas City to construct a 4-acre dog park at 32nd and Swift, just south of Water Works Park and minutes away from Briarcliff. The dog park will have two separate fenced in areas, a shelter, drinking fountain and a crushed stone trail. This park is one of three in Kansas City and is the only one north of the river. The opening is scheduled for 2014. 

If anyone knows how to set a good example of leading healthy and active lifestyles, it's Briarcliff Elementary. Every fall, the students, faculty and staff celebrate International Walk to School Day by doing just that: walking to school. Only the kids and parents decided to go the extra step and make this day into a large community event.  

The school invited the North Kansas City High School drum line and cheerleaders to formally lead their march from Briarcliff Village all the way up to the school. They were joined by hundreds of neighbors, families and businesses supporting their efforts to recognize the importance of walking to school. We would like to thank GreenAcres Market for generously donating bottled water for all the walkers, Latte Land for providing hot chocolate, the Kansas City Police Department for traffic control, North Kansas City High School for their entertainment and marching support and all the parents, kids, families, staff and businesses for their support in this event. 

Check out the event page for more details and a look at the 2013 Gallery. 

It's a wrap! We cannot say thank you enough to all of our sponsors and supporters for making our Outdoor Movie Series a big hit of the summer. We are excited to announce that this season had the biggest crowds to date! Each movie averaged 194 attendees and some movies had more than 400 guests! We sincerely hope all families, kids, teens and adults had a wonderful time. Part of our mission is to give back to our community, and every year we look forward to providing fun and free nights of entertainment for people of all ages to enjoy. Many guests were from the Briarcliff community, but word about our series continues to spread as we saw many people from all areas of the Metro.

We especially want to thank Dr. Burleson and his team at Burleson Orthodontics. To say that he is a community advocate is a huge understatement, because his team's efforts go above and beyond giving back to the community. We also want to thank Briarcliff Village for all their support in making these outdoor movies possible. There are so many things that happen behind the scenes, and the Village has been there for us every step of the way. 

Thank you again to everyone who came out for a Saturday night under the stars! We're already eagerly planning next year's season, and we welcome feedback to make our events even better! Please check back for more community news and events. We have some exciting things planned for fall!

The last outdoor movie of the season has unfortunately arrived, but we thought we would end the summer with a bang. A FREE showing  of the ever popular blockbuster hit, "The Hunger Games" (2012) PG-13 will be shown this Saturday, August 10 at 8:45 p.m. at Mulberry Lake across from Briarcliff Village. Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her sister's place in The Hunger Games - an annual televised event in which two teenagers from each of the twelve districts in Panem are chosen at random to compete and fight to the death. 

"The Hunger Games" is part one of a trilogy adapted from the best selling novels. Adults and teenagers fell in love with this brilliantly thought out story of survival, loyalty and hope. The much anticipated sequel, "Catching Fire" will be released in theaters on November 22, so this is a perfect opportunity to catch up on the first film with friends and family.

As always, don't forget to bring blankets, lawn chairs and snacks! The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous, so enjoy the movie!!

Returning to the big screen at Briarcliff is a western spin-off favorite. Bring the whole family out to enjoy a FREE showing of "City Slickers" (1991) PG-13 on Saturday, August 3 at Mulberry Lake across from Briarcliff Village. Billy Crystal stars in this hilarious comedy about a city native and his friends having a mid-life crisis and taking a vacation to the Wild West while driving cattle. The City-goers meet crazy cowboy Curly, who not only teaches them how to become real cowboys, but also about life in the open air of the west. 

School is starting up in a few weeks and only two more movies remain in the season at Briarcliff. Right now there is no rain in the forecast, but please check here for any cancellations. Also, don't forget to bring blankets, lawn chairs, snacks and friends! The more the merrier! 

Enjoy a FREE showing of "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012) PG at 8:45 p.m./dusk on Saturday, July 27 at Mulberry Lake across from Briarcliff Village. A video game villain is tired of being the bad guy and wants to be the hero for a change. He sets out to fulfill his dream of being a good guy, but his quest brings havoc to the entire arcade. Families will fall in love with this ingenious comedy as they recognize many video game favorites. 

Shark Week on the Discovery Channel is almost here, so why not kick off the season with this classic shark tale! Enjoy a FREE showing of "Jaws" (1975) PG at 8:45 p.m./dusk on Saturday, July 20 at Mulberry Lake across from Briarcliff Village. The peaceful island community of Amity is being terrorized by a Great White shark. After numerous deaths and a drop in tourism, the police chief, a marine scientist and a grizzled fisherman set out on an adventure to stop it. 

This classic, summer favorite is sure to deliver plenty of excitement and thrills, regardless of how many times you may have seen it. We expect an older crowd to attend, but we hope to see some brave younger kids as well! As always, be sure to bring blankets, lawn chairs and plenty of snacks! 

Take the kids out to a FREE showing of "The Little Rascals" (1994) PG on Saturday, July 13 at 8:45 p.m./dusk at Mulberry Lake across from Briarcliff Village. Members of the He-Man Woman Haters Club find out that one of their members Alfalfa has fallen in love with Darla...a girl!! Now, his pal Spanky has to set him straight before Alfalfa's love jeopardizes the club's chances of winning the big go-kart race. 

This classic comedy is perfect for families, especially kids and anyone who grew up in the 80's or 90's who remembers watching this over and over again! Mother Nature has blessed us with another perfect night of weather so come early, bring some snacks or a picnic dinner and don't forget blankets and chairs! 

The minions are back! Enjoy a FREE showing of "Despicable Me" (2010) PG on Saturday, June 29 at 8:45 p.m./dusk at Mulberry Lake across from Briarcliff Village. A criminal mastermind named Gru develops a plan with his army of little yellow minions to steal the moon. His plan is interrupted when he encounters a trio of orphan girls who look at him and see him as a potential dad. This comedy is extremely popular with the kids and adults so don't hesitate to bring the entire family!