Wichita OKs 41 days of food trucks and street drinking downtown; here’s where, when
In a sign of the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Wichita has approved a long list of outdoor activities at the Brickyard and the WaterWalk for this year and next, including a four-day party during the women’s March Madness basketball tournament next year.
In each case, streets will be closed to accommodate crowds, food trucks and the outdoor sale and imbibing of alcoholic beverages. All 41 events were approved by a single vote of the City Council this week.
“We want to come together again,” said Mayor Brandon Whipple. “We deserve it after what we went through last year,” when most public events had to be canceled to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Now, effective vaccines are available and the Centers for Disease Control has lifted its cautions on outdoor activities for the fully vaccinated.
On June 1, the council is planning to vote on extending the Open Air ICT program for five years, Whipple said.
The program allows private businesses to encroach on the public sidewalks to offer outdoor table dining and drinking, as long as they don’t impede pedestrian traffic too much.
Originally a pandemic stopgap to reduce public exposure to the coronavirus in more hazardous enclosed spaces, it seems to have caught on with a lot of businesses and the dining public, Whipple said.
“We’re really promoting the outdoor events,” he said. “It’s the safest way we can get together right now.”
Expanding alcohol sales into a street, alley or public parking lot still requires a special event permit.
But the city now allows businesses to apply for multiple street-closure permits up to a year in advance, instead of having to make a separate application for each event as in years past.
At the Brickyard
For the Brickyard, a bar and event venue at 125 N. Mead, the city will allow the full or partial closing of Rock Island between Douglas and First Street, and the alley between Rock Island and Mead, 21 times between now and this time next year.
The first closure will be an Art and Ale event on Sunday, with the street closure running from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on-street alcohol permitted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The other dates that Brickyard will rule the street this year are May 28, June 4 and 5; July 2 and 30; Aug. 6 and 27; Sept. 3, 4, 5 and 24; Oct. 1 and 29; and Nov. 5.
Closure dates next year include March 24-27, the period when the women’s NCAA basketball tournament will be in Wichita at the nearby Intrust Bank Arena. The Brickyard will also have run of the streets on April 29 and May 6.
For each of the events other than Sunday’s Art and Ale gathering, the Brickyard-adjacent streets will be closed from 8 a.m. to midnight with outdoor alcohol sales allowed from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
At the WaterWalk
For the WaterWalk, the city approved 20 event permits: six dates each this year for Final Friday, Friday Night at the Fountains and Food Trucks at the Fountains events; plus a two-day run for ICT Yoga Fest.
The Friday Nights at the Fountains will start this Friday and run on June 18, July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 10 and Oct. 15.
Food Trucks at the Fountain dates will be May 30, June 27, July 25, Aug. 29, Sept. 26 and Oct. 31.
For all those events, South Water Street and Waterwalk Place will be closed within the WaterWalk to accommodate about 20 food trucks and a booze truck.
For Friday Night at the Fountains, the street closure will run 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with alcohol for sale from 6 to 9 p.m.
For Food Trucks at the Fountains, the streets will close from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. with booze for sale from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Final Friday events at the WaterWalk will be May 28, June 25, July 30, Aug, 27, Sept. 24 and Oct. 29.
On each of those nights, South Wichita Street will be closed between the fountains and the Boathouse from 4 to 11 p.m. to accommodate about five food trucks. Liquor sales will run 6 to 10 p.m.
The Yoga Fest will also shut down Waterwalk Place and South Water, from 4 to 10 p.m. on Sept. 17, for four food trucks and a temporary bar serving from 6 to 9 p.m.
The activity will continue Sept. 18 with street closure from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and alcohol sales from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 4:17 AM.
