A Missouri family is very upset with local water park Summit Waves Aquatic Facility. The family says they paid for a private pool party for 250 people, however, when they arrived, they were told the event was canceled.
The Evans’ family paid $2000.00 to celebrate their son’s 17th birthday. When they arrived Saturday night with their guests, they were turned away by the pool manager. There was video captured showing the pool manager saying she felt “uncomfortable” by the party and was not going to allow them inside. Chris Evans, the father of the teen, believes the incident had everything to do with race.
@kansascitydiscover Kansas City youth denied access to summit waves a water park in Lee Summit, Missouri due to their skin color. Yesterday a youth age private party was canceled on his birthday because summit waves owner said she “ didn’t feel comfortable “. She proceeded and told the group “ that they didn’t represent summit waves”. She told the group that she’d refund them their money and proceeded to shut the pool down. However guards have been caught making racist slurs on Snapchat towards the group since being outed.#racism #sadstory ♬ original sound - KC Discover
Summit Waves Aquatic Facility has released a statement saying that the party was canceled because they saw it being promoted on social media, and that raised a concern “about the safety of party guests and the possibility the event would grow beyond the capacity of staff,”. The press release claims the company attempted multiple times to reach out to the Evans’ family to discuss the concerns, but “the only recourse” was to cancel the event.
Summit Waves Aquatic Facility
A teen party rental scheduled for the evening of August 6 at Summit Waves was canceled by Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation after it became aware of social media posts advertising the event. This raised serious concerns about the safety of party guests and the possibility the event would grow beyond the capacity of staff.
After multiple attempts to reach the renter in advance of the event to discuss safety concerns, a connection was not made until the hours leading up to the event. At that point, the only recourse was to cancel the event. Despite the cancellation, approximately 500 teens arrived in the Summit Waves parking lot.
Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation is committed to ensuring the safety of all patrons and will continue to work with the renter.
On Monday protesters stood outside of the water park’s doors calling for a change.
“I had seen what had happened, and I live 10 minutes up the street. I’m biracial, but my husband and my son are Black, and to think we could have a family outing and be discriminated against in our own neighborhood,” said protester Lauren Logan.
The Evans family held a press conference today, where Lee’s Summit Mayor William Baird urged the city’s Parks and Recreation to “re-evaluate their approach”.
“What are you scared of, Lee’s Summit?” asked Chris Evans, who had organized the event that was to take place Saturday. “Why are you uncomfortable?”
According to the Mayor, an investigation has been launched. He say the comments made by the pool manager were “inappropriate and insensitive”.
“We must intentionally embrace a culture that is welcoming and inclusive, and we must continually denounce any urge or impulse to exclude,” he said.
“The comments were appalling and not condoned by Parks and Recreation, and are inconsistent with the culture I know the City of Lee’s Summit strives to reflect.”
WebCelebDaily will continue to follow this story, and provide updates on the outcome.
