Wichita Asian Festival is October’s big foodie event. This year, it’s $5 to get in.
The big Wichita Asian Festival — an annual October event that foodies never skip if they can help it — returns this weekend to Century II and will fill both the Convention and Exhibition halls with dozens of food vendors as well as cultural performances, craft vendors and a Miss Wichita Asian Festival scholarship pageant.
This year, though, organizers are instituting a big change: For the first time, they’ll be charging for admission and attendees ages 11 and older will pay $5 at the door. Half of that amount will go to scholarships for students in the community.
The change, said Wichita Asian Association President Taben Azad, was one that organizers decided was necessary to keep the popular festival going and growing.
“We really wanted to begin diversifying how we get revenue, and we’ve just noticed that every festival very similar to our own charges an admission fee,” he said. “We want to continue to innovate and expand the scope of the festival, so we really wanted to build a revenue stream — one that’s profitable and will make us able to keep expanding.”
Organizers also have upped the number of vendors at the festival. In past years, the event drew between 30 and 40 vendors, Azad said, but this year, it will have 57 — the most the festival has ever had. Many of those will be food and drink vendors, but booths also will be offering art and other merchandise.
Another big change at this year’s festival: For the first time, attendees will be able to buy alcoholic beverages from a cash bar.
Food is the big attraction at the festival, and the lineup this year includes a whole lot of boba tea. Six different boba shops will be serving on Saturday, including Feng Cha, Boba Zone, Joy Tea, ICTea, Kung Fu Tea and Leaf Teahouse.
More dessert vendors also have signed up for this year’s festival, including the popular Komugi Japanese Bakery as well as Mi No Bakery, a Vietnamese food business that specializes in pastries.
And as always, several restaurants, churches, student groups and other local organizations will be selling savory items like banh mi sandwiches, egg rolls, Filipino dishes and more. Also on the list of vendors this year: one selling Mediterranean fare like gyros and shawarma.
This will be the 41st installment of the festival, which last year drew 14,000 people. The organizers are not sure if the new admission fee will cut into attendance numbers, but they’re hoping for 10,000 people.
Attendees are encouraged to bring cash, though many vendors will accept cards. Those who want to skip the lines and enter the festival an hour early can buy a $30 VIP pass.
The festival lasts from 5 to 9:30 p.m. This year, organizers are also putting on a health fair from 2 to 5 p.m. that will offer free basic screening and testing services. The first 100 people through the doors for the health fair will get in free.
Asian Festival map
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 10:52 AM.
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