photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

An acrobat with Voler Aerial Artistry performs in downtown Lawrence on Friday, May, 24, 2024, as part of the annual Lawrence Busker Festival.

Two Lawrence organizations will combine an excitement for soccer this summer with some of the city’s signature events, pairing Lawrence’s unique culture with free watch parties for the the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The organizers of the Busker Festival and The Granada Theater will host six events alongside viewing parties in downtown Lawrence for World Cup matches throughout the summer thanks to support from Score Lawrence, the group helping organize the city’s preparations for the World Cup.

Busker Fest and The Granada will both host three of those events, with the first being a World Cup Fan Fest Kickoff Party hosted by The Granada on June 12. Emily Taylor, the director of marketing and development for the venue group, told the Journal-World the event would close down the 1000 block of Massachusetts Street and feature local food and craft vendors, live music and kids’ activities throughout the area.

Taylor said all of that will build up to a World Cup viewing party on an outdoor screen in the block that will include the U.S. national team’s first match that day — against Paraguay at 8 p.m. — and the event will “try and recreate the energy” of similar fan fests in Kansas City.

The event on Friday will pair well with the events The Granada already helps host like the Kaw River Roots Festival that takes place throughout the weekend. Taylor said that event, which runs from June 11 to June 14, normally happens around that time of year, but they wanted to line it up with the “once in a lifetime” opportunity of the World Cup to add more buzz with the events.

“We’re really trying to capitalize on how many people will be in town and draw more people into the city around the events (we already host),” Taylor said.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

A crowd gathers on Massachusetts Street for the Brass on Mass Block Party on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.

Richard Renner, the organizer of Busker Festival, will host “mini Busker Fests” that will build the excitement and energy before watch parties as well. The first watch party, which they are calling a “Score Lawrence Soccer Celebration,” will center around the Algeria vs. Argentina match on June 16.

The festivities will happen on Seventh Street between Massachusetts and New Hampshire Streets starting at 3 p.m. and will include live musical acts, food trucks, beverages from Free State Brewing Company and “freestyle soccer performers,” who perform with a combination of “breakdancing, acrobatics and soccer,” Renner said. The watch party will take place at 8 p.m. at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St.

Renner said the other events organized by Busker Festival will be similar in nature, but at different locations. The next event will be on June 25 in front of the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St., with the watch party of the U.S. vs Turkey match taking place inside. Renner said he was “focused on partnering with community groups” for the events like the arts center and Lawrence Music Alliance. Renner also said the third celebration will take place in South Park on July 11, with the watch party of the quarterfinal match going on at Maceli’s, 1031 New Hampshire St.

The two other events the Granada plans to host will take place on Monday, June 22, which will be for the Algeria and Jordan match at 10 p.m. Taylor said plans for that are not finalized because of the late night hours. The other event, dubbed “Vivo en Masse,” will take place Saturday, June 27 in partnership with the Free State Festival ahead of the two matches that night.

Taylor said the hardest part about scheduling the events was figuring out “how to cram all the programming in” during June with the Lawrence Pride festival, Juneteenth celebrations and live music events. On Friday, June 26, Taylor said they are “piggybacking” on the Midsummer Night on Mass happening that day to host another “Live on Mass” event featuring local brass bands, which will lead into the “Vivo en Masse” event that puts a focus on Latino culture and food and music vendors in celebration of the Argentine team.

All six nights will celebrate soccer and visiting countries and their cultures, but Taylor is excited to add Lawrence’s own special spin to them.

“It’s not just about embracing and showing what all the visiting nations and cultures are all about but highlighting … (what) we do best,” Taylor said.