How Exploration Place and the Wichita Public Library are celebrating Black History Month
February is Black History Month, and organizations all over town will be commemorating it with different events and programs. Two of them are Exploration Place and the Wichita Public Library, who have already started their events and will continue them throughout the month.
Other things to do in Wichita this weekend and into next week: Enjoy a romantic candlelight concert, rock out at a local music festival, check out Wichita’s newest brewery, and catch a show at a local theater before it’s gone for good.
Here’s a closer look at some of Wichita’s best entertainment bets:
Black History Month celebrations
Throughout February at Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean, and the Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. Second St.
February is Black History Month, and a couple of Wichita institutions will celebrate with their own special events. They are:
Exploration Place: The science center is again collaborating with The Kansas African American Museum for a large outdoor display that will be visible evenings throughout February. Each night, the museum will honor African-American scientists by projecting giant portraits onto the side of its building. People will be able to see the portraits from the path along the Arkansas River that passes by Exploration Place, or they can see them from inside Exploration Place on Thursday nights, when the museum stays open until 8 p.m. (No admission is required for those who want to view the display from Exploration Place’s indoor promenade.) This week, a portrait of agricultural scientist and peanut pioneer George Washington Carver is on display.
Advanced Learning Library: The Wichita Public library’s main branch is putting on a series of programs through February titled Celebrating Wichita’s Black History. The programs, intended to highlight people and events who helped shape Wichita, happen from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays until the end of the month. The next one, set for Thursday, Feb. 8, will examine The Wichita African American Business History Project, an oral history put together by Dr. Robert Weems Jr. at Wichita State University. The Feb. 15 meeting will look at African-American journalism, then at Black aviators on Feb. 22 and at Kansas African-American trailblazers on Feb. 29. For more information, visit wichitalibrary.org/events
Candlelight concert
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Kansas Aviation Museum, 3350 George Washington Blvd.
Fever, the production company that has been putting on candlelight concerts at the Kansas Aviation Museum, has another one coming up this week, and it’s Valentine’s Day-themed. The show, which starts at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, will feature a string quartet performing amid the glow of candlelight. The program will be filled with romantic songs like “Moon River,” “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic” and “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet.” The hour-long shows are appropriate for ages 8 and over, and tickets are $29-$74 at feverup.com/m/145546
MonikaHouse WinterFest
4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, TempleLive, 332 E. First St.
MonikaHouse, the gallery and event space in Riverside, is bringing back its WinterFest music festival, featuring a long list of local and regional bands, for a second year. But this year, organizers have moved the event to TempleLive, the music venue inside The Scottish Rite center in downtown Wichita. The event happens both Friday and Saturday and will feature bands such as Bathtub Goldfish, Zuzu’s Petals, For the Birds, and Music After Midnight. Doors open at 4 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $15 for each night and are on sale at wichita.templelive.com
Brewery soft launch
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Blood Orchards, 6346 S. Broadway
Blood Orchard, a family-owned peach and apple orchard at 63rd South and Broadway, is putting on its first vintage market and food truck rally of the year on Saturday. The event will feature a long list of vendors offering vintage, rustic and shabby-chic items plus a collection of local food trucks serving food. Also on Saturday, the owners of the orchard will be putting on a soft opening of their new on-site brewery, called Blood Orchard Brewing Co. Shoppers will be able to try the brewery’s B’s Applez seltzer and Honey B beer while they shop, and they can grab four-packs to go. The event lasts from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and admission is free.
Last chance for ‘Georgia McBride’
8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Roxy’s Downtown, 412 ½ E. Douglas
Wichita: Your last chance to catch the latest show at Roxy’s Downtown — “The Legend of Georgia McBride” — has arrived. The show, which follows an Elvis impersonator who’s forced to perform in a drag show, will close after this weekend’s shows. Tickets are still available for the last three remaining shows, which are at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday. They’re $37.21 and are available at roxysdowntown.com or 316-265-4400.
