Parade of Hearts returns for biggest year yet
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The first heart unveiled this season. Photo: Abbey Higginbotham/Axios
A towering chrome heart with angel wings landed outside the Loews Kansas City Hotel on Monday, marking the first installation of the 2026 Parade of Hearts.
The big picture: The project will bring 150 sculptures to the Kansas City area as the city prepares for global attention during the 2026 World Cup.
Context: Parade of Hearts launched in 2021 in KC with just over 120 sculptures and has since expanded into a bi-state public art project built around KC's "Heart of America" identity.
Driving the news: Artist Trew Love unveiled "There's No Place Like Chrome," an 18-by-9-foot heart with angel wings that Parade of Hearts says is the largest sculpture in the project's history.
- The reflective chrome finish, designed to mirror the city, changes with the light throughout the day.
- Love said the interactive surface was inspired in part by Chicago's "Cloud Gate," giving people a way to see themselves in the piece.
- The sculpture took about four months to build, using materials such as steel, fiberglass and vinyl.
Zoom in: This year's artists are also designing with visitors in mind as KC hosts the World Cup.
- "There may be people traveling over here that don't speak English or may feel too awkward to ask someone else to take their photo, so that's why I did the mirror in the middle," local artist Nathan Bennett tells Axios.
- His design uses vintage postcard-style graphics so people can create what he calls "a modern-day postcard" to share online.
What they're saying: "I feel like a heart with wings, letting love take flight, is a perfect way to welcome all the people who are going to be staying here," Love told Axios. "Let them know what Kansas City love is truly like in physical form."
State of play: This year marks the project's biggest investment yet, including $375,000 in artist stipends.
- The sculptures will be displayed through August across more than 60 communities in Kansas City and surrounding areas on both sides of the state border.
What's next: Installations will continue over the next two weeks, with the sculptures on display for four months before being auctioned off in September.