Summer Fun in Wichita

Photo credit: Visit Wichita

It seems a lot of us are anxious to hit the road this summer. I don't know about you, but I want to spend time exploring any place that is not my house! LOL! Best of all, you don't have to plan a big, expensive vacation when the fun is right down the road. In my case, it's just a couple of hours down the Kansas Turnpike to Wichita.

Starting Memorial Day weekend, Visit Wichita will launch two tours that not only allow visitors to explore the city's many sites but also some of its best brews. 

The all-new Wichita Attractions Tour allows visitors to discover the many world-class attractions and museums in the city and get entered into a drawing to win a 2022 family season pass or membership to all 12 participating attractions, as well as one Wichita Wind Surge home baseball game of your choosing. The participating attractions include Botanica Wichita, Exploration Place, Field Station: Dinosaurs, Kansas Aviation Museum, Mid-America All-Indian Museum, Museum of World Treasures, Old Cowtown Museum, Sedgwick County Zoo, Tanganyika Wildlife Park, The Kansas African American Museum, Wichita Art Museum, and Wichita-Sedgwick Co. Historical Museum.

Old Cowtown Museum
Photo Credit: Visit Wichita

To participate, you can pick up a passport at Visit Wichita's visitor's center or any of the participating attractions and museums and begin exploring from May 28 to Labor Day, September 6. Once you visit at least six participating locations, turn in your passport to Visit Wichita (in person or by mail, 515 S. Main St., Ste. 115) by September 13 to be entered into the drawing. A winner will be drawn on September 17, 2021. You can find complete details and contest rules a www.visitwichita.com/attractions-tour. 

For us beer and coffee lovers, the other tour is the return of the Wicked Brew Tour, featuring some of the city's top breweries and coffee shops. This tour started in 2016 but had to skip last year due to…well, you know why. We all know why!

You pick up a passport at any participating coffee shop or brewery and then collect at least ten stamps to complete the challenge and win a t-shirt (available on a first-come, first-served basis). 

Photo credit: Visit Wichita

Participating breweries include Augustino Brewing Company, Central Standard Brewing, Hopping Gnome Brewing Company, Nortons Brewing Co., PourHouse by Walnut River Brewing, River City Brewing Co., Sweet Allie B's Limestone Beer Co., Third Place Brewing, and Wichita Brewing Co. & Pizzeria (West & East).

The participating coffee shops are Churn & Burn (Northeast & Southeast), Cocoa Dolce Chocolates (East, West & Downtown), Fairmount Coffee Co., Il Primo Espresso (East & Downtown), Kookaburra Coffee, Leslie Coffee Co., Placeholder Coffee, Reverie Coffee Roasters, Sunflower Espresso & Food Truck, and The Donut Whole.

You turn in the completed passport and pick up a t-shirt at the Visit Wichita visitor's center Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you can't make it there before you head home, just mail your completed passport and contact information to the visitor's center to have a shirt sent to you. 

The complete details and contest rules can be found at www.visitwichita.com/restaurants/local-flavor/wicked-brew-tour. 

Photo credit: Visit Wichita

Growing up, I visited my great-aunt and great-uncle in Wichita a few times. I remember their red-brick bungalow house with its big front porch, complete with a swing, and the cherry trees in the backyard. However, we never did any of the tourist-type activities.

I'm looking forward to exploring the city and sharing what I find with you. 

Stay tuned!