More than 100 Wichita bands and artists will take over 10 downtown venues Aug. 22 for the first Wichita Forever Fest, a free, all-day music and arts festival built entirely by local volunteers.
Admission is free.
The lineup spans indie rock, punk, hip-hop, EDM and folk, with each venue spotlighting its own genre and subculture so attendees can hop between locations throughout the day. Doors open at noon and performances run late into the night.
Nine venues are confirmed open to the public at no cost: Harvester Arts, Kirby's Beer Store, Norton's Brewing Company, Central Standard Brewing, The Furnace, The Backbeat, The Arcade Downtown, PrimeTime Barbershop and Chainlink Gallery Place. A tenth location, Odd Fellow Hall, hosts a VIP afterparty.
The festival's official website lists local art vendors alongside the music, describing the day as a celebration of Wichita's creative scene.
How it's funded
The festival operates under a fiscal sponsorship with Harvester Arts, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that receives and manages donations on the event's behalf. On the festival's official Instagram page, organizers said proceeds go directly to paying performing artists and covering overhead. The entire operation is crowdfunded through donations, local business sponsorships and grants.
The festival's rallying cry is "This Machine Pays Artists." Every volunteer works without profit incentive, and the team describes itself as made up entirely of grassroots local artists and working-class creatives, according to the Instagram account.
A local-only showcase
Reporter Nick Carswell noted in a Kansas Public Radio story published Aug. 20 that while citywide music festivals are not new to Wichita, this one distinguishes itself by showcasing exclusively local talent. Visit Wichita lists the event on its official concert calendar.
On Instagram, the festival's organizers said their mission is to create attainable opportunities for local artists and support the community that shaped the scene. No individual organizer has been publicly identified by name; the team describes itself collectively as a volunteer crew of local musicians and creatives.
If you go
- What: Wichita Forever Fest (first annual)
- When: Saturday, Aug. 22, noon to late night
- Where: 10 venues across Wichita (full schedule at wichitaforeverfest.com)
- Cost: Free admission
No follow-up date has been announced, but the festival has billed the Aug. 22 event as its "first annual" edition.
