Things to Do in Lenexa

Dynamic golf duo Robin and Mark Nigro help golfers develop optimal swings at Robin Nigro Golf Academy's full driving range, pro shop, and academy. The pair first joined forces when Mark began teaching golf to Robin, then 23, who thrived under Mark's deft training and, in two short years, ascended the ranks from late-starting beginner to a competitor on the Futures Mini Tour. Recognizing their undeniable chemistry, the two joined forces and now foster successful golf skills with lessons tailored to golfers of all stripes, often enlisting technological teaching aids to enhance their swing diagnoses and placate the club's supercomputer overlord.

Those looking for solo practice sessions can take to the outdoor driving range, where clubbers launch balls off of astroturf hitting mats out into a zoysia-grass valley peppered with multiple target areas. With covered, heated hitting bays, the range lets pin hunters work on their power draw or high fade while safely protected from rainstorms or predatory hot air balloons.

There is plenty to see, hear, and smell inside Ceramics & Coffee House @ Paint, Glaze & Fire. Here you’ll see rows of clay-colored mugs, vases, plates, pictures frames, and figurines next to bits of colored glass for fusion projects. Overhead a mosaic of tiles painted by customers creates a colorful ceiling, and up front an espresso bar grinds PT's coffee beans and steams milk for lattes.

Debbie, a Paint, Glaze & Fire co-owner, especially likes seeing dads painting pottery with their kids. Debbie says that while a father and his children might not talk too much while painting, they're still communicating and sharing a lot more than if they were silently sitting in a movie theatre. Plus, after painting, glass fusing, or canvas painting this family will have a something to show for it.

While fun for the whole family, Ceramics & Coffee House @ Paint, Glaze & Fire focuses on cultivating the creativity and curiosity of children. Kids' parties and summer camps actively engage youngsters, as do the bimonthly Paint Me a Story sessions, where a favorite children's book is paired with a pottery painting activity. With space to house 30 to 40 adult-size imaginations, the studio can also host corporate team-building events, girls' nights out, and other celebrations.

Fine Arts Theatres’ four venues surround moviegoers with classic silver-screen ambiance as they present the latest independent and mainstream film offerings. Lovingly refurbished neighborhood movie palaces such as the early-20th-century Rio Theatre now boast surround-sound digital audio, high-backed rocker seats with arm-mounted cup holders, and movie trailers acted out by gregarious ticket takers. In addition to flicks opening each week, Fine Arts Theatres hosts screenings for the annual Kansas International Film Festival, voted the Best Local Film Festival by readers of The Pitch in 2011. The group also holds a Jewish Film Festival each spring and a Latin American Film Festival every September.

Now in its 51st year, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church's festival once more celebrates the rich history and culture of Greece with live dance, traditional food, and Hellenistic arts and crafts. Visitors can watch displays of traditional dancing as troupes of costumed performers whirl and leap to folk tunes. Open-mouthed onlookers can snack on souvlaki, gyros, and baked pastitsio or shout out traditional Greek exclamations such as "Opa!", "Yassou!", and "Don't drop that Olympic torch!"

Church tours introduce festivalgoers to the stunning gilded iconography of Annunciation's sanctuary, and also give them a brief lesson on the symbolism, teaching, and history of the Greek Orthodox Church. Outside, kids get their faces painted, play games, and bounce inside a moonwalk, while adults stroll through the gift shop area, which attempts to tempt them with colorful wares imported from Greece, including fisherman's hats, gold jewelry, and worry beads.