Things to Do in Sedalia

When it was originally built as the Riviera in 1927, The Rose Theater played host to vaudeville skits, stage acts, and feature films in opulent surroundings of murals, oriental rugs, and a ceiling decorated with electric stars and clouds. However, the stock-market crash of 1929 forced the theater’s sale, bouncing it from owner to owner until Rose Blumkin and her family saved it from a giant wielding a wrecking ball as a mace. Renovated to its former glory, the theater is now a place where professional stage productions and drama courses give children the chance to enjoy and participate in the arts of the stage.

Named by Inside Columbia magazine as the best place for yoga in 2011 and 2012, alleyCat Yoga's serene yoga sanctuary hosts daily classes for students of all ages. One of the studio's teachers, Susan Mathis, draws on the teachings of Swami Kripalu, a celebrated yogi often associated with the insightful practice known as "meditation in motion." To apply the practice, students progress through stages of relaxation, physical postures, and meditation to establish connections between the mind, body, and spirit.

The well-rounded team of certified instructors also leads classes rooted in their respective specialties, including Hatha yoga, the more intense Vinyasa tradition, and gentler yoga classes for students who've only interacted with downward-facing dogs while pet-sitting. Susan's branch of kid-friendly yoga, called Yoga to Grow, helps children as young as 20 months stretch their rapidly growing bodies and sparks imaginations with stories, games, and songs.

From June to November each year, a cast of actors, directors, and designers descends upon Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre to produce eight celebrated shows, many along the lines of To Kill A Mockingbird and The Music Man. The cozy, unassuming theater has been welcoming performers for more than 50 years, staging renowned productions and Broadway plays to the delight of theater fans and comforters that aspire to be stage curtains.

Powell Gardens is Kansas City's botanical garden, just east of KC on Hwy 50. With two cafes, a chapel, the nation's largest edible landscape + acres and acres of gorgeous gardens, it's an outing the entire family will enjoy.

Access Arts, a community-focused nonprofit, welcomes children and adults of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to discover the joy of artistic creation with 200 annual classes, earning attention from the Missourian for its work with students with special needs. During six-week sessions, experienced, compassionate instructors guide learning hands through pottery building, weaving, writing stories, and drawing, and help budding Michelangelos discover if their muses call out to them via telephone or semaphore. Classes for pupils with special needs support both children and adults with extra assistance as they knead clay or dabble in mixed media, and Access Arts’ fee waivers and scholarships enable learners from all income levels to tap into inspiration. Founded in 1971 to widen opportunities for the disabled, Access Arts is now in its fifth decade of enriching the Columbia area with classes and outreach programs that remind people that paintbrushes can be used for more than coloring dead plants a lively shade of green at the end of housesitting stints.

The Bouldering Garden presents a thriving, indoor oasis of climbing apparatuses, including a pair of copious caves, a 45-degree wall, and a large stalactite. Designed primarily for bouldering, the facility brims with training opportunities for advanced climbers, as well as learning opportunities for students of the sport. Professional instructors consistently roam the grounds to maintain a safe environment, and soft landing pads strewn across the floors absorb falls in a cushy manner that justifies their annual spot atop the Christmas lists of crash-test dummies. In addition to its rocky endeavors, The Bouldering Garden also leads zip-lining adventures, and its onsite shop stocks visitors with the latest in climbing gear.