As Kansas City prepares for the FIFA World Cup, this year’s Parade of Hearts is displaying 150 hearts curated by local artists.
The World Cup is expected to attract an estimated 650,000 visitors to Kansas City, and the 2026 Parade of Hearts aims to display Kansas City’s potential. This year’s event has been expanded greatly compared to previous years.
“Getting to have a piece of my art be selected to be a part of the whole Parade of Hearts this year is just an unbelievable experience. The whole world and many people who have never been to Kansas City get to come and see my artwork,” says 27-year-old artist Ana Calomino.
Calomino’s piece, In The Key of KC, is an homage to the city’s rich history in jazz culture. Her heart features portraits of local jazz legends, a piano at the base, and a saxophone in the center.
“It’s just something that I wanted to pay respect to and bring a lot of attention to as all of these people are coming into Kansas City,’’ said Calomino.
UMKC also has its very own ties to this year’s parade, with sophomore studio art and art history student Annabelle Crappell and her father, Courtney Crappell, who is Dean of the conservatory, collaborating on a heart this year.
“Our heart speaks to so many people,” said Annabelle Crappell. “It was such an awesome process to get to work on it with my dad because we got to collaborate on different disciplines.”
Crappell said that her experiences at UMKC helped her to approach this project.
“The actual arts department is pretty small, but the professors are fantastic. I drew on my previous conversation with them about collaborating with other people, and just the different communications you need to have during the creative process,” said Annabelle Crappell.
50-year-old artist Ken Dela, who is participating in the parade for the fifth time, says that he wanted to emphasize the excitement surrounding Kansas City hosting World Cup matches in his artwork this year. He says he hopes visitors can connect with his work.
“If this touches somebody who lives across the ocean to be able to look at my stuff, and maybe they have a moment where they’re like, hey, I’ve been there. And it brings back either a memory or it’s something they can take back home,” said Dela.
Laila Monet, a 16-year-old artist participating in this year’s parade, said she wanted to stay true to this year’s theme: Unity. Monet’s heart pays tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.
“I felt like it was really important to pay homage to him and put him on my heart, because he was an inspiration, and he’s one of the reasons why I was even able to get this opportunity today,” said Monet.
Many of this year’s hearts are displayed near campus, and others are accessible through the streetcar. Students can also participate in Heart Hunters and join the leaderboard to find the most hearts.
