What to do in Wichita this weekend: Automobilia returns, WAM turns 86, music & food fest
It’s another busy weekend in Wichita, which will be filled with events like Hartman Arena’s Air Capital Bacon, Bourbon & Brews festival and Botanica’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of its Downing Children’s Garden.
If you aren’t going to those, or if you have time in between, there are lots of other big events to choose from this weekend. Among them:
The return of Automobilia
4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Douglas between St. Francis and Hydraulic
The annual Automobilia Moonlight Charity Car Show & Street Party was scheduled for last July — but at the last minute, the city pulled the event’s permit over COVID-19 concerns. The annual event returns for its 27th installment this weekend, though, and it will feature bands, food trucks, vendors and more than 1,000 cars lined up on Douglas from St. Francis to Hydraulic. The event, which lasts from 4 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, is free for spectators. Visitors will find live bands, kids activities, a model car contest, a bicycle contest and more. Wichita drivers should be aware that several downtown streets will be closed starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, including Douglas from St. Francis to Hydraulic, Mead from Douglas to Waterman, and Rock Island from Douglas to Waterman. In the past, the event has drawn as many as 20,000 people.
Happy Birthday, dear WAM
10 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd
The Wichita Art Museum is celebrating its 86th birthday with a Summer Birthday Bash on Saturday. Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets and pick a spot on the lawn in front of the Paula and Barry Downing Amphitheater and to take in a performance by the Pan ICT Steel Band. Two food trucks, Bread Sled Cafe and Wheat Street Dogs, will be serving, and the party will include many other activities like lawn games, chalk art and a community art project. The Wichita Wagonmasters will also be there handing out wrapped ice cream sandwiches. The party is from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd. Admission is free.
Food, music, drinks, yadda yadda yadda
4 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday, OddFellow Hall, 930 W. Douglas
The owners of OddFellow Hall, the new venue above Leslie Coffee Co. at 930 W. Douglas., are putting on a food, drink and music festival this weekend to celebrate the conclusion of Season 1 of “The Yadda Yadda Yadda Show,” a local-interest series that highlights the artistic side of Wichita. Yadda Fest, scheduled for 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, will feature nine bands including Rudy Love Jr., The Plains, The Cavves and more plus food made by local chefs and cocktails from local mixologists. General admission tickets are $25 at oddfellowhall.com.
Breakfast with Paw Patrol
8, 9, 10 and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean Blvd.
Paw Patrol fans have the chance to eat breakfast with their favorite pups at Exploration Place’s Pancakes with Paw Patrol events on Saturday and Sunday. The events will include all-you-can-eat pancakes and sausage as well as orange drink, water and coffee, and visitors will be able to take pictures with Marshall, Chase and Skye. They’ll also get unlimited time in the Paw Patrol Adventure Play area as well as in the rest of the Exploration Place exhibits. Tickets, which must be reserved in advance, are available for 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. time slots at exploration.org. They cost $15 for children and $20 for adults. Exploration Place members receive 15% off.
Native art market
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Mid-America All Indian Museum, 650 N. Seneca
The Mid-America All Indian Museum, 650 N. Seneca, is putting on an Indian Art Market on Saturday where visitors can purchase art from local native artists and explore the Bring the Bosins Home exhibit, which features the work of Blackbear Bosin. The market is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free.
‘Office Party’
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 1, Kechi Playhouse
The Kechi Playhouse, 100 E. Kechi Road in Kechi, just opened a new comedy called “Office Party,” and showings continue through this month. The show, which follows a trio of inept friends who start a business, starts at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays through Aug. 1. Tickets are $15 on Fridays and Saturdays and $14 on Sundays. Call 316-744-2152 to reserve tickets.
Italian opera with Friends
7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Alumni Auditorium, Davis Hall, Friends University
Friends University students this weekend will be putting on a summer opera presentation of Motzard’s “La Clemenza di Tito,” the final opera Mozart wrote. The students, who have been attending virtual coaching sessions with Italian partners to work on Italian pronunciation, operatic style and technique, will perform the show in Italian, though the performance will feature supertitles. Admission to the shows is free, and performances are at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at Alumni Auditorium in the Davis administration building on the Friends University campus, 2100 W. University Ave.