One week out, and no costume yet?

Go as a Wichita pothole… nobody sees you coming, and everyone's talking about you.

Let’s get to it!

- Landon

Halloween Weekend Fun

Maybe you’re a “real” scary place or pumpkin patch person. If so, we’ve got you covered.

If not, there are some more options going on during this weekend before the big weekend:

Old Cowtown Museum's Hay, Hooves, and Halloween brings family trick-or-treating, zombie cowboys and ghosts in the historic houses 10/24-10/25.

For a bigger scare, Wicked Island is back at O.J. Watson Park, presented by Plant Kingdom and the City of Wichita, on Fridays and Saturdays through 10/31 (weather permitting).

Together with Meritrust Credit Union

Even in 2026, fraud is still one of the biggest threats to your money and peace of mind.

From your mortgage to how you get your kids to soccer practice, your finances touch every part of daily life.

That’s why Meritrust Credit Union takes fraud protection so seriously, especially around the holidays when scammers are on the prowl.

Meritrust offers educational resources to help you spot red flags, protect your accounts, and stay ahead of fraudsters.

Learn more about how Meritrust is working to keep members safe from fraud in their in-depth article here.

LOCAL BUSINESS

Opening

Q’s Your Daddy BBQ - 5125 N Maize - Now Open
Recreate Craft Store - 2530 W. 13th St. N. (second location) - Now open
Lazy Day Cafe - 2142 N. Market St., Ste 900 - Now open
Old Tokyo Steakhouse - 6821 W. Taft - Reopening early November (estimated)
Wild Sunflower Silver - Revolutsia, near Fidelity Bank by the main entrance (moving from owner's home) - Opening 11/28

Help Left On Read
Left on Read, the only Black-owned bookstore in Kansas, is raising $90,000 to keep its doors open after grant funding ended unexpectedly this year. Owner Latasha Eley Kelly's GoFundMe is past $10,000 so far, and the money will go to staffing, inventory and programming at the store's new home in Revolutsia on East Central.

Best Coffee Shop

Buckets Ca Phe on East Harry beat 31 other shops to win Wichita's Most Liked Coffee Shop bracket. It edged out Coffee Daze in a close final. Do you have a favorite?

NONPROFIT

Seizure Safe Bingo

Kayven's Helping Hands is hosting Seizure Safe Bingo, with proceeds going to Seizure Safe Schools and the Epilepsy Foundation of Missouri and Kansas. Want the story behind the Derby nonprofit? Founders Kacey and Steven Hopper shared it on the Wichita Life Podcast.

SOBER Screening At WSU

The Phoenix, Lead Wichita and Suspenders4Hope are hosting a free advance screening of SOBER, a new documentary about people rebuilding their lives after addiction, on Wednesday, 10/28 at WSU's Campus Activities Center Theater. Food and mocktails are on the house from 5:30-6:30pm, and you'll need to RSVP to save a spot.

Pink At The Ballpark

Saturday 10/24 brings two cancer awareness baseball games to the Mulvane sports complex: the Enid Flyers take on the Wichita Aeros at 2pm, then the Woodpeckers play the Linemen at 6pm. Admission is $2, kids 8 and under get in free, and every dollar from tickets, concessions and the $10 raffle goes to cancer prevention and awareness. Raffle prizes include a Sammy Sosa jersey, baseballs signed by Jeff Reardon and Juan Gonzalez, and a bat signed by Marty Cordova, so wear pink and pack the stands.

Together with the Ninth Floor Club

It’s never too early to start planning your Halloween weekend.

It could however be too late if you wait too long to sign up for the Midnight at the Masquerade Murder Mystery Dinner at the Ninth Floor Club!

Seats are going fast and you don’t want to miss your chance for a full dinner buffet followed by a live, interactive murder mystery performance where clues unfold and secrets are revealed throughout the night.

Event Details:

Date: Friday, October 30, 2026
Guest arrival: 6:00 PM
Expected conclusion: 10:00–10:30 PM
Member admission: $65 + tax per person
Non-member admission: $95 + tax per person

CIVIC

College Hill Barricades

The city will provide barricades for College Hill's Halloween after the neighborhood association was first told police would be there instead. A city spokesperson says nothing changed and the barricades will go up in the usual configuration, with exact locations and times still to come.

Airport Upgrade Grants

Eleven Kansas communities are getting more than $4.5 million for airport upgrades like runways, hangars and lighting. In Wichita, $642,245 will go toward relocating a taxi lane.

LOCAL

Frontiers In Flight

The Frontiers in Flight air show is Sat-Sun, 10/24-10/25, at McConnell AFB, with gates at 9am and performances 1-4:30pm. The Thunderbirds fly at 3pm for their first McConnell show since 2022, and it's the last chance to see McConnell's KC-135s fly at the show before the base goes all KC-46 by summer 2027. There are also tanks, super cars, flight sims, a family zone and a STEM hangar.

Tyson Comes To Wichita

Neil deGrasse Tyson is bringing "Search for Life in the Universe" to Century II on 4/6 at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale today, 10/23, at 10am on Ticketmaster.

Help The Elote Man

Don Alberto Quesada, known for selling street corn on 21st Street, can't work after hernia surgery in August and a heart scare on 10/4. Our friends at Empower, Wichita By E.B., and Jacob Clark are hosting a lunch benefit for him Sunday 10/25 from noon to 3pm at Empower.

All-Metro Tennis & Girls Golf

Congrats to Kapaun Mt. Carmel seniors Caroline and Chloe Hocker, the 5A doubles state champs, who were named Players of the Year on the Eagle's All-Metro girls tennis team.

Newton's Naomi Koontz is the Eagle's All-Metro girls golf Player of the Year after winning the 5A title at 3-under 139, and she's a UTSA commit. Koontz, Kapaun's Mena Sarinana and Southeast's Alina Lam are all four-time All-Metro picks, and Kapaun's Reese Christenson and Andover's Isabel Hawley also made the first team.

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Weekend

Rocky Horror Show | B-29 Doc Hangar | 10/22 - 10/24 & 10/29 - 10/31
Wild Lights | Sedgwick County Zoo | Now Open
Halloween Nights | Exploration Place | Open On Weekends
The Woman in Black | Roxy’s | 10/9 - 11/7
Field Station: Dinosaurs After Dark | Field Station: Dinosaurs in Derby | 10/22 - 10/24 & 10/29 - 10/31
IX’TICHA** SPIDER-GOD OF THE AMAZON!! | Kechi Playhouse | 10/23 - 10/25 & 10/30 - 11/1
Bootanica | Botanica | 10/23 - 10/24 (final weekend)
Frontiers in Flight 2026 Airshow | McConnell Air Force Base | 10/24 - 10/25
Airshow Watch Party | Kansas Aviation Museum | 10/24 - 10/25
Full list of Haunted Places + Haunted Houses + Pumpkin Patches here