Wichita Life
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🌾 Wichita Jazz Festival

🌾 Wichita Jazz Festival

These are not jazz hands, THESE are jazz hands

Landon Huslig
April 20, 2026

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Wichita!

Today is a certain subset of people’s favorite holiday..

Not to judge one way or another, but you know who you are

Happy 4/20 Day! which is National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day ! Some people just love the stuff.

Let’s get to it!

-Landon

News

Wichita Jazz Festival

Wichita has a deep history in Jazz.

This includes the Wichita Jazz Festival that has been celebrating the history and legacy of jazz music since 1972!

They are also big on encouraging and developing the next generation of jazz musicians.

The 54th Annual Jazz Festival events kick off Wednesday and run through Saturday!

Together with the City of Wichita

Are you an artist interested in public art, but not sure where to start?

The City of Wichita has a toolkit available to help guide you through the process. The toolkit showcases the step-by-step process on how to submit a proposal or your interest in an upcoming public art project.

There are also editable templates for resumes, a letter of interest, and references along with short video tutorials from Wichita artists sharing how to prepare your materials and find open calls.

You can also learn about the City's public art collection, how to join the public artist registry, and how the Percent for Art Ordinance works by visiting Wichita.gov/publicart.

LOCAL BUSINESS

Opening

Culver’s - 3620 N Rock Rd - Opening Today!
Rackd (clothing consignment) - 4800 W Maple St - Now Open
The Upper Deck (double-decker mobile bar) - Now Open
David’s Mexican Grill & Bar - 120 N West St (Former Bella Vita Bistro) - Now Open
Stoner’s Pizza Joint - Naftzger Park, Suite 107 (two doors east of Eric Fisher Studio) - Opening this Summer
Utopia Modern Salon Suites - Expanding Tyler Point location with 14 additional suites - Opening end of July
Self-Service Boutique Hotel (similar to No Vacancy in KCMO) - 1211 E Douglas - Opening TBD

Delayed

A list of restaurants where openings were delayed this year - Click here to learn how to read the Eagle for Free

Anniversary

Flying Pig Improv - Celebrating 7 years!
Greater Wichita Partnership - Congrats on 11 years!
Hazel + Honey Med Spa - Celebrating 3 years!
Wild Sunflower Silver LLC - Celebrating 3 years!

What is your business or organization anniversary?

Derby Market

Did you know that Derby hosts their own farmers market?

Artemis II

Artemis II had us all looking to the skies…err our tv/ computer screens and recaptured our imagination as we look to explore the moon.

We talked bout how DJ Engineering out of Augusta played a role. A Wichita-native, Petty Officer 1st Class Laurel Lujanoalso plays da role in the recovery of the Orion space capsule!

GIFTED

Gifted

EB & Manage to Create (Jacob Clark) are back with another episode of Gifted. The guest this week is Local Flavor Restaurant!

NONPROFIT

Envision

Envision (serving the blind and visually impaired) will be expanding their Water St campus with an investment of $10-12 million. They sold their downtown building for $11.95 million to Sedgwick County.

But did you know they employ 550+ people at 16 locations?

Meals on Wheels

Despite a $70 million donation from MacKenzie Scott to Meals on Wheels of America, Senior Services of Wichita still needs help - both financially and for volunteers.

Pope Leo Village

8 homes in NE Wichita will be rehabilitated by Wichita Habitat for Humanity in honor of Pope Leo XIV. Congrats on 40 years of Wichita Habitat as well!

🍽️ Wichita Life Dinner Club 🍽️

Making new friends as an adult can be weirdly tough. So… we’re making it easier.

WE ARE TRYING SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT FOR MAY!

We will have two different options for you:

1) On Tuesday, May 12th - everyone (yes, even you) should join us!

2) On Tuesday, May 19th - per multiple requests, this one will lean a little older for those age 55+ (no, we will not ID you)

Here’s how it works:

🍽️ Take a quick quiz about your personality, interests, and food preferences.

✨ Get matched with five other Wichitans who fit your vibe (food preferences, budget, life stage, etc.).

📍 Your table of six meets for dinner on the date you choose — the exact restaurant is revealed that morning.

🥂 After dinner, all groups are invited to a casual after-meetup to keep the conversation going.

👉 Take the quiz & grab your seat ›

If you’ve been wanting to meet new people in town, this might be the easiest (and most fun) way to do it.

CIVIL

Nests on QuikTrip

There are new nests atop a downtown QuikTrip.

These bad boys are not a crows nest. These bad boys are mechanical nests (or hives) where three new crime-fighting drones will sit. These were donated by QuikTrip to the WPD and are worth ~$650k.

City Budget

Although talking about the budget for Wichita seems like it could be boring, it is also important to make your voice heard.

There is a series of budget town halls through the end of May.

LOCAL

Bald Eagle

Speaking of nests, last Wednesday, the Sedgwick County Zoo opened their arms to welcome a new bald eagle who was found injured after a suspected power line collision.

Harvester Arts 🤝 Tallgrass Film

This partnership just makes sense.

Harvester Arts is partnering with the Tallgrass Film Festival for 2026, supporting the festival’s operations while deepening its connection to the local creative community.

Tallgrass Film Festival is October 15 - 18!

Momma Harding

Momma Harding (Demetria - the mother of Youtube star and Wichita native D’Aydrian Harding) has her Autobiography Release and Birthday Celebration on April 26th at mark Arts!

The Music Man

Meredith Willson’s THE MUSIC MAN is coming to Century II next weekend!

2026 Garden Tour

On June 5th, 6th, and 7th, you can tour 6 designed private landscape for the 2026 Garden Tour.

ICT EXTRA

Wichita Life Podcast

Did you know we have a podcast? Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.