Kansas City’s celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) started with a bang on Monday night – the banging drums of Schlagle High School’s Marching Stallions, to be exact.

Hundreds of people watched as the band roared into Union Station’s Sprint Festival Plaza. They were all there for the local kickoff ceremony for Global Entrepreneurship Week, an international entrepreneurism festival with Kansas City ties. (The Kauffman Foundation helped launch the program more than seven years ago.)

Monday’s get-together was part pep rally, part update on Kansas City’s local business ecosystem as groups from the Crossroads, Startup Village, Lee’s Summit, the Northland and other areas took turns cheering about the great things happening in their corner of the metro.

Didn’t make it out to Monday’s party? Now through Nov. 22, there will be dozens of events in Kansas City, all of them designed to celebrate entrepreneurs and to encourage and educate aspiring business owners. Highlights include:

Seven Lessons for Entrepreneurs // Henry W. Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, sits down for an onstage chat with his son, Tom, for lessons drawn from the elder Bloch’s career. 6 – 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the Kansas City Public Library’s Central Library

eKC Explained 2014 // Some of Kansas City’s most fascinating and inspiring entrepreneurs will take part in a panel discussion on the state of Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community. 10:30 a.m. – Noon Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center.

KCnext Reverse Pitch // Eight of the city’s best and biggest companies pitch business ideas to a room full of startups. 3 – 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, at Union Station

Against the Odds // Gail Worth of Gail’s Harley-Davidson, Belinda Waggoner of hr-haven, and John Yerkes and Matt Rider of Zoomin Market talk about how they have succeeded in small business despite tough odds. 3 – 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Lenexa.

For more information about these and other events, visit this website.