Why Botanica decided to end its popular bloody mary event — and what it’s doing instead
One of Wichita’s most anticipated and well-attended annual events has come to an end, but its organizers are replacing it with something new that their patrons say they want.
Blooms, Brews & Bloody Marys — an event that always packed the gardens at Botanica, 701 Amidon, with local bars and restaurants competing to make the best bloody mary — is noticeably absent from this year’s calendar. Last year, it happened in September, though throughout its 10-year history, it usually was scheduled in May.
The event, which was first put on in 2012 as a way to celebrate Botanica’s 25th anniversary, was indeed a favorite among patrons, said Jamee Ross, Botanica’s director of development. But since COVID-19, organizers have been noticing a problem: The event was becoming a strain on the competing restaurants and bars, who would have to set up booths and feverishly prepare enough bloody marys for the whole crowd to sample. Last year, the event drew 11 restaurant competitors, most locally owned businesses like The Belmont, The Rusty Nail and Social Tap.
“While so successful and fun and loved by many, it is an extreme amount of work for the restaurants, and restaurants nowadays, they just don’t have the staff,” Ross said. “We just recognized that the restaurants were struggling with staffing, and it’s a big job to provide bloody mary samples for 1,200 to 1,500 people.”
Botanica has come up with another event to replace Blooms, Brews & Bloody Marys, though, and it’s one Botanica’s staff conceived by listening to feedback from patrons, Ross said.
The new event, called Haunted Hops, is scheduled to happen from 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12. It will be an event for ages 21 and over and will allow people to stroll the gardens admiring the more than 1,000 carved pumpkins that are part of Botanica’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular while sampling more than 15 “spooky-themed” craft beers and hard ciders made by local and regional breweries.
People who buy tickets, which are $45 for members and $50 for nonmembers, will get unlimited samples of beers, cocktails and mocktails as well as “small bites” of food that will be set up throughout the grounds.
The new event was created after last year’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, which younger Botanica patrons said they liked but could like more if they could enjoy it for at least one night without throngs of kids around.
“We did a survey of 20- and 30-somethings, and they said they wished there was a night for adults only,” Ross said.
The event will have a similar feel to Blooms, Brews & Bloody Marys but will be easier to pull off, both for Botanica and for the local businesses participating.
“It’s hard to give up an event that was still in the successful mode,” Ross said of the change. “But we just recognized the needs of the community, and we wanted to support our local restaurants by not asking too much of them.”
Haunted Hops also will feature music by Annie Up and DJ Carbon, and Botanica will set up several places where people can watch the Chiefs vs. Broncos football game scheduled for that night.
Tickets for Haunted Hops are available a botanica.org/haunted-hops
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