Gaze up at the Keeper of the Plains, the iconic 5-ton sculpture of an Indian warrior that towers over the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers. The surrounding “ring of fire” is lit for 15 minutes each night at 9 p.m. during the spring and summer, and at 7 p.m. during the fall and winter.
Attend a pow-wow at the Mid-American All-Indian Center, 650 N. Seneca. See theindiancenter.org for a schedule. - Get fitted for a cowboy hat, fedora, beret or other stylish head covering at Hatman Jack’s, 601 W. Douglas, one of the biggest hat shops in the nation.
- Rack ‘em up. Wichita is a pool-playing town, from the old-school Club Billiards in Delano to the upscale Side Pockets on the west side to dozens of smaller south-side joints.
- Find the troll. South of the Keeper of the Plains, under a grate on the east side of the Arkansas River, sits a whimsical troll sculpture created by artist Connie Ernatt. Hint: it’s near the Westar building.
Eat local. Farmer’s markets run from late spring through fall. The two biggest markets are held Saturday mornings, at 21st and Ridge and in the Old Town farm and art plaza.
- Check out the big league talent at Wichita State Shocker baseball games. Winner of the 1989 College World Series, the Shockers regularly send players to the major leagues, appear nearly annually in the NCAA tourney and play in one of the great college baseball venues—Eck Stadium.
- Put your mettle to the pedal on the city’s bike paths. There are over 50 miles of paved paths and more in the process of being built. For a map of them, check out the April issue of Splurge at splurgemag.com.
- Feel young again in Old Town. The city’s premier entertainment area, converted from a warehouse district, contains more than 100 restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, hotels and other attractions along its brick-lined streets.
- Try it crumbly at Nu-Way. The city’s oldest restaurant has drawn customers since 1930 with its crumbly burgers and homemade root beer. The original is at 1416 W. Douglas. The next two oldest restaurants in Wichita are Connie’s (Mexican) and Savute’s (Italian), both on North Broadway.
Break a sweat at one of eight area YMCAs, which make up one of the best Y systems in the country, or Genesis, the area’s premier private health club with seven locations.
- Imagine you’re in another country as you roam the aisles of Wichita’s ethnic groceries. Here are three of the best to get started: Thai Binh (Asian), 1530 W. 22st; Super Del Centro (Mexican), 1770 N. Broadway; N & J Cafe and Bakery (Lebanese), 5600 E. Lincoln.
- Hoist a brew with people who love their beer. The most interesting collections of brews (and beer drinkers) can be found at the Anchor Bar, 1109 E. Douglas, and Goebel Liquor, 352 S. West, while River City Brewery, 150 N. Mosley, is the city’s only locally-owned microbrewery.
- Get a little exercise with your art by hiking around Wichita State’s campus to view the WSU outdoor sculpture collection, consisting of 75 works spread across the 330-acre campus. (And while you’re at it, pop by the original Pizza Hut building, which now sits on campus).
- Go nuts at the Nifty Nut House, 537 N. Francis St. It specializes in nuts—roasted, raw, salted or unsalted—chocolate, dried fruit, licorice and other candy.
- Play, play and play some more in the three Riverside Parks—Central, North and South. Sprawling over 118 acres are a children’s playground, interactive water fountain, Kansas wildlife exhibit, lily pond, tennis center, bike paths and much more. Nearby are Sims Park with its golf course and Oak Park with its frisbee golf course.
Stand in the tornado simulator at Exploration Place.
What could be more Kansas than that?—and enjoy all the other hands-on exhibits at the children’s science museum on the river. It’s located at 300 N. McLean Blvd.- Let Broadway come to you via Wichita Music Theater, this year presenting “Music Man” and four more productions at Century II Concert Hall. For info see musictheaterofwichita.org.
- Catch a movie in style at one of the Warren theaters, full of luxurious touches you won’t find in movie houses elsewhere. Warren’s IMAX, at 21st and Tyler, is rumored to be the world’s biggest.
- Check out the world’s first electric guitar at the Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main. Okay, it can’t be definitively proven that the 1920s prototype was the first modern electric guitar, but experts say there’s a very good chance it was.
- Float the Arkansas. There’s plenty of public access, and with a safe boat and basic safety precautions, the river’s mild current poses little problem.
Drop in for a smoothie at the New Age Center Riordan Clinic (formerly the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning International, popularly known as “the domes”) on north Hillside. The center takes a lifestyle and nutrition-based approach to medicine.
- Tee it up on one of the area’s 35 public, private or semi-private golf courses. Wichita has five municipal courses; Auburn Hills is ranked among the top public courses in the country. Crestview Country Club, Prairie Dunes County Club and Flint Hills National Golf Course have all hosted nationally recognized events.
- Explore the Wichita Aviation Museum, 3350 S. George Washington Blvd. Housed in an art deco building that formerly served as the municipal airport terminal, the museum holds a collection of historic, significant and unique aircraft and aircraft engines, photographs, records and other memorabilia—all of it a fitting tribute to the central role of aviation in Wichita’s development.
- Get duded up at Shepler’s, 6501 W. Kellogg, the flagship store for one of the world’s largest retailers of boots, jeans and other western apparel.
- Beef up on a Kansas steak. As local restauranteurs will tell you, when visitors come to Wichita, what they usually want is a slab of Kansas beef. Look for Cargill’s Sterling Silver brand, distributed from right here in Wichita, in restaurants and supermarkets.
Devour a burger and cone at the original Freddy’s Frozen Custard at 8621 W. 21st. Freddie’s, which has grown to 49 locations, is the latest in the proud tradition of restaurant chains (Pizza Hut, White Castle) that got their start here.
- Visit the Wichita Public Library and discover that everything is not (yet) on the Internet. The central library, at 223 S. Main, holds four floors of books, music, magazines, genealogical materials, videos, children’s activities and more, and there are eight smaller branches across the city.
- Talk a walk in some very beautiful gardens at Botanica, 701 Amidon. More than 4,000 species of plants have been organized into themed displays like the Shakespeare, Buttlery, Sensory and Bird Gardens. A fantastical children’s garden is set to open soon.
- Roll over to Wichita Skatepark, 645 S. Francis, a quarter-acre of concrete that includes one of the deepest bowls in the Midwest.
Commute to work and feel smugly superior. After all, Wichita annually ranks way at the bottom (in this case, a good thing) in the amount of time people spend driving to and from work.
- Stroll amongst tall, tall trees at the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine. See bartlettarboretum.com for events open to the public.
- Take in a show at Intrust Arena—you won’t lack for company. The arena ranked 46th in the world in ticket sales during its first year in business.
- Sample some of the best street food you’ll find anywhere at the Wichita Asian Festival, held each October at Century II. Music, martial arts and the Miss Asia pageant are also on the bill.
- Travel back in time to Wichita’s dusty beginnings by visiting Old Cowtown Museum on the banks of the Arkansas River at 1865 W. Museum Blvd. Twenty-six historic buildings— along with costumed historical interpreters—give an idea of what life was like here in the 1880s. In the evening, a barbecue dinner and singing by the Diamond W Wranglers is offered. For more info see oldcowtown.org.
Unleash your artistic side at City Arts, 334 N. Mead, which offers classes for all ages in painting, drawing, photography, jewelry making and other media. See wichitaarts.com for details.
- Take in a concert at the Orpheum Theater, the 1922 show palace at 200 N. Broadway that’s being restored to its original grandeur. For upcoming events, see wichitaorpheum.com.
- Start each month off with a boom by attending First Friday, in which local bands stage free shows around town. For a list of venues, see wichitafirstfriday.com.
- Be a knight in shining armor or damsel in distress at the Great Plains Renaissance Festival, held each spring and fall. See renfaire.com for more info.
- See the kind of movies you won’t see anywhere else during the Tallgrass Film Festival, to be held Oct. 20-23 this year. Visit tallgrassfilmfest.com for updates as the festival nears.
Pack into Kirby’s Beer Store, 3227 E. 17th, the bar across the street from WSU that’s known for featuring live music five or six days a week, often from bands passing through town, in a space about as big as your living room.
- When you just can’t decide between going to the the rodeo or the nightclub, combine the two at Club Rodeo, 10001 E. Kellogg, which features indoor bull-riding on Fridays and Saturdays as well as the usual dancing, drinking, flirting, etc.
- Forget about chain restaurants serving Mexican food and head instead to one of Wichita’s authentic Mexican tacquerias. The biggest number are in north Wichita, where places like El Paisa, 2227 N. Arkansas, and Palateria La Reyna, 2925 N. Arkansas, and serve up ceviche, tortas, tacos el pastor and much more.
- Race or watch motocross bicycling at Emery Park BMX, a lighted track at 2329 E. MacArthur Rd. There are classes for beginners as well. For more info see emeryparkbmx.com.
- Hummus, falafel, baba ganoush: even the names of the food served in Wichita’s Lebanese restaurants sound enticing. Byblos, 3088 W. 13th, and N & J Cafe and Bakery, 5600 E Lincoln, are sure bets.
Watch baseball into the wee hours during the round-the-clock schedule played as part of the National Baseball Congress tournament at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. This year’s tournament is July 30 - August 13.
- Pull into the Starlite Drive-In, 3900 S. Hydraulic, for inexpensive double and triple bills of first-run movies; the Starlite is a throwback that’s maintained high standards even as many other drive-ins have gone out of business.
- Fall for pho. Thanks to the plethora of good Vietnamese restaurants here, Wichitans are discovering this healthy noodle soup with the aromatic, addictive broth. Two places (out of many) to get it are My Tho, 500 E. Central, and Pho Hot Bistro, 306 N. Rock.
- Ride a horse, ride a train, ride a paddle- boat, and so much more at O.J. Watson Park, south Wichita’s gem of a park at 3022 S. McLean Blvd.
- Hike through the Coleman Museum, 235 N. St. Francis, and then stop in the outlet store to pick up gear for your next camping trip.
- Get the blues at the spring and fall Blues Crawls held in Old Town, when $5 gets you in to see a dozen acts. Details can be found at wichitablues.org.
- See the curtain go up on local theater productions at the Crown Uptown, Cabaret Old Town, and Mosley Street Melodrama.
- Make the one-hour drive up 135 to Lindsborg, where the town’s Swiss heritage predominates in shops, restaurants, galleries and events.
Shake your booty or simply tap your toes to live music in dozens of Wichita nightclubs each weekend. From Old Town patios to south-side dives, local musicians put their own spin on rock, country, blues and more. Check out the Wichita Eagle’s Gig Guide for a fairly complete listing of who’s playing what and where.
- Cheer on hundreds of high school athletes giving their all at the state wrestling and track meets held each February and May, respectively, in Wichita.
- View the spectacular religious mosaics at St. George Orthodox Cathedral, 7515 W. 13th. Tours are offered during the church’s Lebanese food festival each September.
- Join Kansas’ longest-running jam session, held in front of the Emma Chase Cafe in Cottonwood Falls each Friday night. While you’re at it, check out the Chase County Courthouse, said to be the most photographed courthouse in the state.
- Celebrate the industry that shaped Wichita into what it is during the annual Wichita Flight Festival, scheduled for Aug. 20-21 at Jabara Airport. Aerial events, concerts and the rest of the schedule will be announced as the festival approaches.
- Laugh ‘til it hurts at The Loony Bin, 6140 E. 21st, Funny Bone, the city’s only comedy club. See loonybincomedy.com for upcoming shows.
- Count yourself lucky not to be in the jalapeno-eating contest at the Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff, scheduled this year for Sept. 24. After all, you’re going to be full from sampling all that chili.
Spike up your sports viewing by attending a match of the Wichita State women’s volleyball team. The program has blossomed into a Missouri Valley powerhouse under coach Chris Lamb.
- Voyage to one of three lakes within a half- hour drive of Wichita—El Dorado, Cheney and Afton—to enjoy camping, boating, fishing and more, including stargazing at the Lake Afton Observatory.
- Fly into the Beaumont Hotel (about 45 east miles from Wichita in the Flint Hills) for breakfast, lunch or dinner, using the hotel’s grass airstrip for landing. Don’t worry: customers who come by car or motorcycle are also welcome.
- Take in touring musical acts like Jimmy Vaughn, Snoop Dog and Cross Canadian Ragweed (to name a few recent performers) at the Cotillion, 11120 W. Kellogg, the kind of groovy medium-size venue that’s in short supply.
Stroll through Delano, the city’s oldest neighborhood (west of the river along Douglas) and find an eclectic array of shops and restaurants. Lose track of time? Consult the artful clock tower in the roundabout.
- Who’d guess that Wichita boasts the 18th largest zoo in the country? It’s no surprise after you view all the the gorillas, penguins, triggers, elephants and other wildlife housed at the Sedgwick County Zoo, 5555 W. Zoo Blvd., which also happens to be the state’s largest tourist attraction. For more info see scz.org.
- Admire notable architecture, including the Allen-Lambe House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Scottish Rite Center and old City Hall (now Sedgwick County Historical Museum) designed by Proudfood and Bird architects, and several beautiful bridges spanning the Arkansas River.
- Pull into the Starlite Drive-In, 3900 S. Hydraulic, for inexpensive double and triple bills of first-run movies; the Starlite is a throwback that’s maintained high standards even as many other drive-ins have gone out of business.
- Camp out at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield for a week’s worth of outstanding acoustic music each September. “Winfield,” as the event is known, has really evolved into two festivals—the scheduled performances taking place on a half-dozen stages, and the week-long party/jam session in the campgrounds.
- Take a seat in the stands at historic Lawrence-Dumont Stadium for the Wingnuts, who play in the 14-team American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. The team’s season runs from May through August.
Rediscover Riverfest, the city’s largest and longest-running annual festival. New times, locations and events—plus a renewed emphasis on utilizing the Arkansas Riverfront as a backdrop—have injected life into this week-long celebration starting June 3.
- Head to north Wichita for a south-of-the-border experience in the city’s historically Hispanic neighborhood. Centered around the new NOMAR plaza at 21st and Broadway, the area is home to many restaurants, groceries and shops where English is the second language.
- Nurture your love of nature at Great Plains Nature Center, bordered by K-96 but seemingly a thousand miles away from the city’s bustle.
- Hail an ice cream truck or bicycle-driven cart. The city still has several that cruise neighborhoods with their music blaring whenever the temperature tops 70 degrees.
Hitch a ride to Hutchinson, where the Kansas State Fair takes place each September. You don’t want to miss the carved butter sculpture, grandstand acts and incredible variety of food-on-a- stick. The Kansas Cosmosphere and Salt are year-round attractions in Hutch.
- Try to figure out “Dreamers Awake,” the monumental sculpture by Tom Otterness that sits in front of the Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd. Inside are works by Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and many more.
- Consume enough garlic to ward off a slew of hunky movie vampires by ordering garlic salad, a dish apparently invented (and once nearly ubiquitous) in Wichita. Made of chopped lettuce, mayonnaise and LOTS of garlic powder, it’s still served at a few places like Doc’s Steakhouse, 1515 N. Broadway.
- Soak up African-American culture during the Black Arts Festival, held each September in McAdams Park.
- Enjoy art, food and live music during the city’s newest major festival, Autumn and Art at Bradley Fair, scheduled for Sept. 16-18 this year.
Treat your taste buds to the one-of-a-kind donuts at the Donut Whole, 1720 E. Douglas. Flavors include root beer float, maple bacon and fluffernutter. At night, the Hole hosts live music and poetry readings.
- Send each month off with a bang by attending Final Friday, in which galleries, museums, restaurants and shops stay open late to display work by local artists (often accompanied by snacks and wine). It’s all free, including a trolley that runs between stops. For a map of participating venues, see downtownwichita.org.
- Who said barns and classical music don’t mix? They do at Prairie Pines, 4055 N. Tyler, which hosts Wichita Chamber Music at the Barn in June and July. See prairiepines.com for the schedule.
- Be a part of what national broadcasters call one of the most raucous college basketball crowds in the country when the WSU men’s basketball team takes the court at Koch Arena. It’s only likely to get louder now that the Shockers are defending NIT champions.
- Experience the feel of an old-time neighborhood in historic College Hill. Home to many of the city’s grand older homes, this area east of downtown has a genuinely neighborly feel, a park, community theater and even its own newspaper.
- Learn to dance like Fred, Ginger and Javier at one of Wichita’s dance studios. Old Town Ballroom, 630 E. Douglas, I Care To Dance, 1019 W. Douglas, teach everything from swing to the latest salsa moves.
Go on mini-safari to Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, home to several hundred animals, many of which you can directly interact with. Visit tanganyikawildlife.org for more info.
- Stay the night or weekend at the stately Castle Inn Riverside, 1155 N. River Blvd., or one of many other area B&B’s. For a list, see bedandbreakfast.com/wichita-kansas.
- Experience classical music on a beautiful Kansas prairie when the Symphony in the Flint Hills rolls around each spring. But get your tickets early, as the concert quickly sells out.
- Score big-time fun on go-carts, bumper cars, miniature golf courses and more at All Star Sports, 8333 W. 21st, and All Star Adventures, 1010 N. Webb.
Punch your ticket to Hartman Arena for games by two professional sports teams—the Wichita Wild arena football team and a new indoor MISL soccer franchise—as well as concerts and other events.
- Thrill to the roar of engines and smell of burning rubber at 81 Speedway, 7770 N. Broadway. A schedule of races is available at 81speedway.org.
- Settle into a folding chair in the Farm and Art Plaza for one of the KEYN Summer Concerts. Look for the schedule to be announced soon.
- Wander the Museum of World Treasures, 835 E. 1st, displaying fossils, mummies, military and much more in a converted warehouse in Old Town.
- Give thanks for church dinners staged by area faith organizations to raise money. The food—ranging from Mexican to Lebanese to chicken-and-noodles—is usually homemade, reasonably priced and delicious. Watch the newspaper for dates.
- Shows don’t get much “wilder” than the Sedgwick County Zoo Concerts. Check scz.org for the lineup of touring acts playing the zoo in June and July.
- Savor smooth tunes under the stars at Bradley Fair during the Summer Jazz concerts held Thursday nights. Check bradleyfair.com for the schedule.
- Lace up your skates and throw a couple double Axels whatever the time of year at the Wichita Ice Center, an indoor rink located west of the river at 505 W. Maple.
Bone up on your knowledge of the state’s greatest athletes at the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Boathouse at 515 S. Wichita. Wilt the Stilt, Barry Sanders, Jim Ryun and many more get their due.
- Make a splash at one of the area’s water parks. Rock River Rapids in Derby and several area YMCAs offer water, slides and more to cool off during the summer months.
- Pick up a copy of Splurge! Magazine the first of each month. Where else can you get the latest party pics, fashion tips, fascinating articles and great lists like this?
MUST-DOS MEASURING STICK
So how many of these essential Wichita experiences have you crossed off your bucket list? Add ‘em up and see where you fall on the scale below.
25 and below. Couch Potato. Nothing personal, but you really need to get out more!
25-50. Old Faithful. You’ve found some favorites experiences, but you might be stuck in a rut.
50-75. Up-And-Comer. You’re getting out and seeing what the city has to offer. Just a few more and you’ll be a...
75 and above. Man/Woman About Town. You’re taking advantage of all the city has to offer (and probably have a few must- do’s of your own that didn’t make our list).
