Wichita calendar fills up with food events featuring tacos, mimosas, bacon and more
Spring has arrived, and once the weather warms up, Wichita’s big food events start popping up on the calendar.
It all starts this weekend with the return of Tacos & Tequila, an event started by Xclusive Events last year, and of the long-running Mediterranean Festival at St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church.
Several big events also are lined up for June and July, including the return of Festive ICT’s Wichita Taco Fest, which has been on a COVID hiatus for two years.
Use this guide to mark your calendars:
May
Tacos & Tequila, noon-9 p.m. Saturday, Wichita Boathouse, 515 S. Wichita: This event, which made its debut last year, is returning for 2022. Put on by Xclusive Event Services, a company owned and run by sister and brother Crystal McDonald and Cody Lathrop, the event will feature tacos from more than 20 local restaurants and food trucks as well as tequila served from Xclusive’s booze truck. Live entertainment and yard games also will be part of the fun, which will take over the inside and outside of the Boathouse. Admission is free, though a $30 ticket is required for a separate tequila tasting that will last from 2 to 5 p.m. Advance tickets are available at tacosandtequilawichita.com
Mediterranean Festival, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. May 14, St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church, 344 S. Martinson: This annual Mediterranean dinner, which returned last year after a one-year COVID-19 hiatus, will again offer carryout and drive-through dinners, which cost $16 apiece. People have the choice between a meal of green beans and rice, kibbee, two stuffed cabbage rolls and a Greek salad or one consisting of grilled kafta, a Lebanese chicken kebab and a Greek salad. There’s also a $5 dessert plate option that includes one piece of baklawa, one chocolate baklawa stick and one Greek cookie. Attendees also can go inside the church and place carryout orders and shop at the Mediterranean Marketplace, which will include a selection of pastries, breads, desserts and other items. The church will donate 10% of its net proceeds to Wichita’s Littlest Heroes. For more information, visit facebook.com/medfestict.
Amber Waves, 6-9 p.m. May 20, West Douglas in Delano: This beer, wine and food tasting event, a benefit for Starkey, is back this year and will resume the walking-tour format it had before the pandemic. Participants will be invited to stop at a variety of businesses on West Douglas for samples of craft beer, wine and food from local restaurants, including Carrabba’s, Doma, Freddy’s, The Monarch, 6S Steakhouse and more. Tickets are $60 and available at AmberWavesICT.com.
Margaritas & Mojitos, 6-10 p.m. May 20, Exploration Place Festival Plaza: FestiveICT, the group responsible for Wichita Taco Fest, is bringing back this event, which it first put on in 2019. It’s open to ages 21 and over only, and it will feature samples of margaritas and mojitos provided by competing restaurants and bars. Tickets are $50 in advance and available at ritasandmojitos.com. They’ll be $60 the day of the event.
Asian Night Market, 6-9 p.m. May 28, Naftzger Park, 601 E. Douglas: The Wichita Asian Association and NAACP Wichita are among the organizations teaming up to put on this new event, which will feature food and drink from local restaurants and shopping from Asian vendors. Games and activities for the kids also will be set up. Admission is free.
June
Decant ICT, 2-5 p.m. June 5, Prairie Hill Vineyard, 3550 N. 215th St. West, Colwich: The Wichita Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food turns 30 this year, and it will celebrate with this special event. It will include a wine tasting with light hor d’oeuvres, and vendors will also be set up. The event will include a special tasting with wines poured by past AIWF chairs. Tickets are $45 for members, $50 for the public and an extra $25 for the chairman’s room. They’re available at aiwfwichita.org.
Fair Food and Tunes, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., June 25, Kansas State Fairgrounds, Hutchinson: This event will feature favorite Kansas State Fair foods plus rides on the fairgrounds’ big slide, a jigsaw puzzle contest and live music, including the semifinals of a battle of the bands competition called Rock the Fair.
Wichita Taco Fest, 3-9 p.m., June 25, Capital Federal Amphitheater, Andover: Pre-pandemic, FestiveICT’s Wichita Taco Fest was one of the city’s most attended summer food events. It was canceled amid COVID-19 concerns in 2020, and organizers also decided to hold off last year as well. But it will return for the first time since 2019, when it happened at the Old Cowtown Museum. This time, it’s moving to Andover, and it will feature more than 25 local taco vendors serving $2 tacos, chips and salsa and elote. Craft margaritas and beer also will be for sale, and the event will include “Lucha Libre” wrestling, and taco, salsa and jalapeno eating contests. Tickets, available at www.festiveict.com, are $14 in advance, $20 the day of the festival. A VIP ticket is $40 in advance, $50 at the door. Children 5 and under will be admitted free.
July
Air Capital Bacon, Bourbon & Brews, 4-6:30 p.m. July 9, Hartman Arena, 8151 N. Hartman Arena Drive: This annual event for ages 21 and over is back on the books at Hartman Arena and will again include sampling of more than 75 beers, bacon samples made by 14 local restaurants and vendors, a bacon eating contest and live entertainment. With a ticket upgrade, people also can attend a bourbon tasting. VIP tickets, which include the bourbon tasting, a private BLT bar and early admission, are $68. General admission tickets are $35. And designated driver tickets, which include bacon samples but no beer, are $20. Get tickets at www.hartmanarena.com
Mimosa Fest, noon, July 24, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., TempleLive, 333 E. First St.: This 21-and-over event will feature six flavors of mimosas, food and a DJ spinning tunes. Tickets are $15-$20 in advance at ticketmaster.com or $20-$50 at the door.
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 10:29 AM.
.jpg)