Wichita Weekend

The Independent Living Resource Center has long served the Wichita community with a wide range of service designed to help people with developmental disabilities. The Covid-19 pandemic has created an even greater need for the services ILRC provides. Wichita Weekend visits with Cindy Unruh, ILRC Executive Director, about MERN, the Medical Equipment Recycling Network, the upcoming 14th ILRC Golf Cla...

February is American Heart Month, and National Wear Red Day is February 4th. It’s a time for all of us to educate ourselves about our risk for heart disease and stroke. We visit with Heather Smart, Senior Director for the American Heart Association, and Jillian Forsberg, a Heart Association volunteer. We discuss a variety of heart-related topics, and Jillian shares her personal connection to heart...

This edition of Wichita Weekend is all about Special Olympics. So get ready to plunge! Polar Plunge fundraising events return to Kansas for 2022. We visit with Taylor Obersteadt, the Unified Champion Schools Manager for Kansas Special Olympics about upcoming local Polar Plunge events, and other exciting ways to get involved in 2022. Plus our friends Abbi and Tyler Griswold, local Special Olympic A...

Put a little island chill in your holiday celebration. Catch Jason Mraz, Live and Acoustic, Tuesday night, December 14th at Wichita’s historic Orpheum Theater. ‘Mister A to Z’ himself calls into the I Heart Studios for a visit in advance of the show. Get your tickets now at Select A Seat or call 855-755-SEAT.

It wouldn’t be the holidays without The Nutcracker. Ballet Wichita celebrates its 47th Year of performances of this family favorite December 10th, 11th, and 12th at Century Two Concert Hall. Ballet Wichita’s Resident Artistic Director David Justin, and Executive Director Sandy Wolter stop by to tell us all about it. Get your tickets now at wichitatix.com

A Wichita holiday tradition has a brand-new name. The former ARC’s Lights on Saint Paul is now Lights at Ability Point. Treat your family and friends to the 25th Annual Drive-Through Holiday Lights Extravaganza! It’s open nightly from Thanksgiving through December 28th. Admission is just $10 per carload on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Donations accepted all other nights. Ability Point Executiv...

Get your Thanksgiving Day off on the right foot. Be a part of Grace Med’s “Say Grace Race.” Wichita Weekend visits with Dr. Julie Elder and Chad Sanford of Grace Med about this fun 5K run, walk, or stroll through Midtown Wichita. Come start your turkey day with some exercise and then enjoy your favorite holiday treats guilt-free. Sign up now at https://gracemed.org/get-involved/say-grace-race

It’s a Wichita Holiday Tradition. Illuminations returns to Botanica, now through January 1st. Wichita Weekend visits with Cathy Spillman, Botanica’s Director of Special Events, about what is sure to be the most exciting year for Illuminations ever.

The holidays, wonderful as they are for so many people, can be a difficult time for foster families – kids and parents alike. Wichita Weekend visits with Pastor Nathan Paulus of Radiant Church and Foster Family Advocate Jill Ayres about the current need for fosters, and about the “Hope and a Future” Celebration for all foster families, December 15th and Wichita Sports Forum. For more information a...

Breast Cancer awareness should be at the top of every woman’s mind this fall. Wichita Weekend visits with Rachel Cheek of Health Core Clinic about the importance of screenings and early detection for all women.

The American Heart Association’s “Kids Heart Challenge” is a great way for students to get active and keep their hearts and brains healthy, while they raise funds for the health of all hearts. We visit with Heather Harrison from Discovery Intermediate in Goddard, one of last year’s Top 10 KHC fundraisers, and Charlotte Driskill of the AHA about the program and how you can get involved.

Fall festival season has arrived in Kansas! In addition to its annual Fall Fest, October 1st and 2nd, the Goddard Education Foundation has added an “Alumni Homecoming Event.” We visit with Goddard alums Claire Gallegos, Todd Winter, and former Goddard teacher Jim Lester about the upcoming festivities. Plus, Teri Mott of Wichita Festivals calls in with an update about Autumn And Art 2021 in Bradley...

The 52nd Annual Hillsboro Arts and Crafts Fair is this Saturday, September 17th in downtown Hillsboro. Fair director Caitlyn Hall drops by the Wichita Weekend studio to tell us all about a Kansas Fall tradition that has received national recognition for excellence.

The American Cancer Society’s Bark For Life happens Saturday, September 11th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Decarsky Dog Park in Derby. Bark for Life chairperson Jennifer Minette tells us all about how you can get involved, have fun with your best friend, and help raise funds to fight Cancer.

If you own and/or love dogs and/or cats, Wichita Animal Action League invites you to their 7th Annual Wags and Whiskers fundraiser, Sunday, October 3rd at Chicken and Pickle. Wichita Weekend talks with WAAL Executive Director Christy Fisher about this upcoming event.

The Sedgwick County Zoo’s biggest fundraiser is back! Zoobilee happens Saturday evening, September 11th. With live music, food and drink, and so much more. We visit with Zoobilee director Jennica King about this year’s live, in person event.

Composer and pianist, Alex Wakim (RAINDANCE Film Festival’s Frayed Roots, and the 2019 production of musical AN AMERICAN IN BEIRUT) is joining forces with musicians from the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, singers from the Wichita Grand Opera, dancers from the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company, as well as composer and musician Juan Dussán, to present a new 90-minute live version of Dust and Ions. This sh...

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School operated in Wichita from the mid-1930s to 1970. They’re planning an all-school reunion for Labor Day weekend of 2022. To help support the reunion itself, OLPH Catholic Church is having a fund-raising dinner on Saturday September 11th. IHR’s Steve Bauer visits with several OLPH Alums and Fr. Marco from OLPH Church, about the upcoming celebration

The 16th Annual Working Well Conference has gone virtual for 2021. Our guests are Shelly Rich, Facilitator with the Health and Wellness Coalition, and Angeline Johnson, owner of Community Connections Consulting Services. They’ll discuss the speakers and topics at this month’s Working Well Conference, and share some ways you and your company can work smarter, and healthier in the months and years t...

Music Theater of Wichita is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a “golden” extravaganza featuring many MTW performers from the past and present. Wichita Weekend sits down to chat with hometown favorite son Javier Ignacio, who’s currently preparing to appear on Broadway in Steven Sondheim’s “Company.”

Wichita Weekend welcomes Grace Med CEO Venus Lee and Chief Medical Office Julie Elder to the studio to discuss everything parents need to do to get their kids ready for another school year

We visit with Conner Hampton from Center City Academy, a planned non-profit child care center in the heart of downtown Wichita. Center City Academy is currently in the process of establishing a superior and affordable natured daycare in the heart of Wichita’s re-emergent downtown. Conner talks about the future of Center City Academy along with ways you can contribute. We also visit with Music Thea...

We visit with Stacie Williamson and Meghan Schapaugh from Heartspring about the first-ever Carefest, August 27 and 28th. Looking for family fun that helps make an impact? Walk, roll, and help us reach our goal at this fundraising festival jam-packed with two days of fun for everyone! Enjoy early bird pricing when you buy tickets NOW at WichitaCareFest.org

Safe Streets representatives Jan Chandler and Ngoc Vuong are our guests. They’ll explain how, as the nationwide opioid crises continues, you can become a part of the solution. Join Safe Streets Wichita for a virtual Fireside Chat Townhall Meeting with local expert speakers discussing harm reduction, strategies and policies. The Virtual Town Hall is scheduled for hursday July Twenty-Second at six P...

Rural America’s favorite motorsport, the Tractor Pull, is back in Kansas for the first time in decades. July 1st through 3rd, the Wild West Tractor Pull Nationals come to Dodge City Raceway Park. We visit with veteran tractor pull announcer Doc Riley about this “family fun event.” Get your tickets now online at http://www.dodgecityracewaypark.com/tickets .