Hi, my name’s Wichita and I like to party.
People come out in droves to Riverfest, Tacofest, all the fests.
Next to Riverfest, there is one organization that continues to add new events in Wichita and push the limit of what is possible here. Festive ICT.
What is Festive ICT?
Nnanna Okpara loves Wichita and he knew we weren’t living up to expectations, especially from an event perspective.
Thus, Festive ICT was born with a purpose of “creating joyful experiences in our local community and beyond”.
Nnanna has hosted events across Kansas and Missouri, but we will focus on the events in our slice of the pie.
You might recognize a few of the names:
- Wichita Taco Fest
- ICT Pizza Fest
- Margaritas & Mojitos
- I Got Sole Sneaker Fest
- Shop & Grub
- Festive Hoop Jam
Let’s dive into a few of these that are coming up, including some new ones.
Kansas SNKR Fest
Date: Saturday, March 25th, 2023 from 12pm – 5pm
Location: Charles Koch Arena (Aetna Multipurpose Center)
Sneaker culture has some of the most passionate fans out there.
It’s a melting pot of people from all demographics, all age groups, who come together for one reason: fresh kicks 👟.
Kansas Sneaker Fest will be hosted by hometown (but internationally known) social media star D’aydrian Harding who has 1.59 million YouTube subscribers and 305k followers on Instagram.
Come out and buy / sell / trade some sneakers / streetwear / vintage.
There’s also a sock drive where you can also potentially win some 🔥 kicks, shoe lacing competition, free throw contest if you think you can shoot, and much more.
Shop & Grub
Date: Kicks off April 23rd
Location: Exploration Place Festival Plaza
Shop & Grub is one of my favorite events recurring events in town. It brings together a bunch of awesome and unique vendors as well as delicious food and drinks. It was previously hosted at Naftzger Park, but has moved onto bigger pastures at the Festival Plaza next to Exploration Place (which is an awesome location adjacent to the river).
It kicks off in April and May on Sundays from 11am – 4pm before moving to Summer Night markets on Fridays for June, July, and August from 5pm – 10pm which is guaranteed to be a party.
September 17th will pair up at Century II with Open Streets ICT before closing out the year back at the Festival Plaza in October and November.
Highly recommend this one if you sell stuff, if you like local food or shopping, or if you just want somewhere to hangout for an afternoon or evening.
ICT Brunch Fest
Date: April 29th, 2023 from 11am – 3pm
Location: OJ Watson Park
You know how I said Nnanna loves coming up with new, fresh ideas?
ICT Brunch Fest is one of those and it’s coming up quick.
Come enjoy brunch bites from local restaurants, caterers, and food trucks.
Limited tickets available, so get yours today.
We are a proud sponsor of this one!
Margarita’s & Mojitos
Date: May 26th, 2023
What happens when you pair the most talented mixologists in Wichita with some of our favorite local DJ’s?
An evening to remember (or forget). I’ve gone to Margaritas & Mojitos for the last few years and it’s always fun to try the concoctions that our local vendors mix up. You can vote on Best Margarita and Best Mojito to close out the evening.
Only 250 tickets to this one!
Wichita Taco Fest
Date: June 17th, 2023 from 3pm – 9pm
Taco Fest is one of the must attend events in Wichita. Thousands of people come out for:
- TACOS, TACOS, TACOS
- Live Music,
- VIP Tequila Expo
- Lucha Libre wrestling
- and much more!
It’s so fun to see how many people come out to this event and your taste buds will thank you for allowing them to try so many tacos in the same place.
Festive Hoop Jam
Date: TBD
Last year was the first crack at this event. I had no idea what to expect, but it was so much fun.
There was an electrifying dunk contest and an awesome game that featured some legends of streetball as well as some local faces.
Keep an eye out for details on this one.
