Hear from the organizers of two new summer festivals in Wichita
People’s Pride ICT and Wichita Forever Fest are launching without corporate underwriting or traditional ticket sales.
All over the country, young people are taking their social scenes into their own hands, launching events that run on crowdfunding and mutual aid rather than corporate underwriting and ticket sales.
Wichita is no different. This summer, two groups of organizers are launching new free community events: People’s Pride ICT and Wichita Forever Fest. In interviews with The SHOUT, organizers of both events talked about what motivates them to create grassroots gatherings.
A different kind of Pride
People’s Pride KC inspired McKenna Ibsen and Jenny Pierce to bring the concept to Wichita.
The inaugural flagship event takes place Saturday, June 20. It includes a family picnic and music from 4-6 p.m. and drag performances from 6-8 p.m. at OJ Watson Park, 3022 S. Mclean Blvd., followed by a sober kink mixer from 8-10 p.m. at Safe Streets Wichita 2100 E. Waterman St.
Jellybean Hogan, People’s Pride ICT steering committee member, says the hallmarks of the gathering are its lack of corporate sponsorship and police presence.
The event is “a true grassroots, community-led organization,” she said.
Organizers believe more people will feel comfortable without a police presence.
“Law enforcement has a long history of mistreating if not outright abusing queer and trans people throughout history, especially people of color,” Hogan said. “Across Wichita and the state, police are present if not outright welcomed (at Pride festivals), and it causes a lot of discomfort for those folks.”
Hogan said the event centers on joy and accessibility.
“Joy is really important to us. Everything is so heavy, especially these last few months in Kansas,” she said. “Finding our own joy helps people, even if they can’t live in their full identity. … I go back to our queer ancestors living through the AIDS epidemic. I think of that quote, ‘We went to funerals during the day and we danced at night.’”
The event is free to attend. An 18+ sober kink mixer will take place after the festivities in the park.
“Another thing that's really important to our group is kink, fetish, and sex. That's all been an integral part of queer history,” Hogan said. “There is some discourse about usual pride events being very sanitized and fetish gear not being welcome. People's Pride ICT doesn't feel that way.”
All ages are welcome in the park, Hogan said, and parents and guardians can decide whether to bring children along. “We love and want to celebrate any queer, trans children and families.”
Hogan hopes that People’s Pride ICT inspires people in Wichita, just as the Kansas City event inspired her.
“I think our generation is seeing first-hand that we cannot count on these corporations or even established parties like the Democrat or Republican Party to show up for us,” Hogan said. “We have been let down time and time again. And we are seeing the power of community. We really believe in it.”
A festival to showcase Wichita’s music scene
To say that Wichita Forever Fest is Wichita-centric would be an understatement: The festival’s mascot is the “River Troll,” venues include smaller creative gathering places like Harvester Arts and Kirby’s Beer Store, and the line-up is jam-packed with locals. The website advertises 100 acts and 10 venues, all on August 22.
WFF organizers Keo Fletcher and Patrick Heath were mutuals in the creative scene long before they began planning a festival together. After meeting at a fraternity party (of all places), Heath became the on-call photographer for Fletcher’s band Keo & Them. Together they put on last year’s Monster Mash, an annual Halloween celebration that caused a ruckus in 2022.
Wichita Forever Fest organizers have featured visual artists during their fundraiser shows. Kat Perez (at left) created an art piece during a hardcore show on May 30, and Sheldon Draper painted last Thursday at an R&B/hip-hop show. Photos courtesy of Wichita Forever Fest.
The name of the festival reflects the heart of the event: dedication to Wichita artists.
“Wichita musicians matter. I’ve heard from many people that they feel like the scene doesn’t appreciate them,” Fletcher said. “Wichita musicians deserve big opportunities, and we’re gonna celebrate (them).”
Like People’s Pride ICT, Wichita Forever Fest will not accept corporate sponsorship.
“The festival is an acknowledgement that we can do this on our own,” Heath said. "Small Wichita businesses, small artists can come together and do something amazing themselves.” The pair have assembled a team of more than 20 volunteers so far (full disclosure: I’m one of them), and they’re still recruiting folks to help at the event.
Fletcher and Heath say they also want the festival to be as diverse as possible.
“We want it to cover all aspects of the scene, not just who we know,” Heath said. “We have reps from different scenes. We want everyone to get on board, even people that are new to the scene or DIY in general.”
Although the event is free, organizers have a goal of paying as many artists as possible by throwing free fundraising shows and adopting a pay-what-you-can donation model. They have sought counsel on this approach from the folks behind Denver’s DIY music festival Blucifer’s First Rodeo.
“People say it takes a village, and the Wichita music scene is my village,” Fletcher said. “I never want to treat it like it should be sold.”
The Details
People's Pride ICT
4-8 p.m., Saturday, June 20, 2026 at O.J. Watson Park, 3022 S McLean Blvd. in Wichita
Admission is free and open to all.
The sober kink mixer is 18+ and will take place following from 8-10 p.m. at Safe Streets Wichita, 1200 E. Waterman St.
To find more information about the festival and upcoming events, visit People's Pride ICT's website.
Wichita Forever Fest
noon-11:59 p.m. Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 10 venues across the city
To find more information about the festival and upcoming events, visit Wichita Forever Fest's website.
Taylor Waller is a mixed-media artist, an art historian, a journalist, and the digital editor for The SHOUT. They love sharing stories about the art that helps people imagine a better existence and inspires change.
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