Inklings Festival planned for July 17, 18 in Wichita
A flavor of Tolkien-era English pubs, the music of Mitch McVicker, seminars by local craftsmen, locally brewed beer and scholarly talks will be part of a two-day Inklings Festival on Friday and Saturday in Wichita.
The nonprofit educational/cultural Eighth Day Institute will sponsor the event, which will kick off with a banquet on Friday, offer lectures during the day Saturday and conclude with a festival Saturday evening. Tickets can be purchased for individual events or as a package.
“The Inklings” refers to a group of literary friends – C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, Dorothy Sayers and others – who gathered weekly in the 1930s and 1940s at a British pub called The Eagle and Child to discuss their ideas and writing.
The banquet will be 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral, 7515 E. 13th St., and will include a British-themed meal, Inklings music and an introduction to the Inklings by C.S. Lewis expert and English professor Louis Markos. Tickets are $30.
Presentations on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include Kevin O’Brien’s dramatization of Tolkien’s essay “On Fairie Stories” and Markos speaking on “The Ethics of Elfland: Virtue & Vice in Narnia and Middle-Earth.” The cost is $35.
Live music by five local bands headlined by McVicker of the late Rich Mullins’ Ragamuffin Band will be part of the festival from 4 to 11 p.m. in the parking lot behind Eighth Day Books at 2838 E. Douglas. It also will include children’s activities, food by District Taqueria and Mr. Natural Soul Kitchen, beer from local brewers, an Inklings dress-up photo booth and presentations by local craftsmen including Elderslie Farm on making cheese, Reverie on coffee roasting and Cero’s on making chocolate. The cost is $20; ages 16 and under are free. Bring a lawn chair.
An all-access weekend pass is $75. For more details and tickets, go to www.eighthdayinstitute.org.
Reach Annie Calovich at 316-268-6596 or acalovich@wichitaeagle.com. Follow her on Twitter: @anniecalovich.
This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 9:50 AM with the headline "Inklings Festival planned for July 17, 18 in Wichita."