Napoleon Dynamite, Apes and Opera In Wichita This Weekend

This event offers the opportunity to come out and learn even more about the three types of apes that live at the Sedgwick County Zoo: chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans! Open to all age groups, this event will highlight keeper chats, which will be held at the following times:

11:30 a.m. - Gorilla
1:00 p.m. - Orangutan
1:15 p.m. - Gorilla
1:45 p.m. - Chimpanzee
2:15 p.m. - Orangutan
2:30 p.m. - Gorilla
2:45 p.m. - Chimpanzee

Ape Awareness will also highlight recycling opportunities, and guests will learn about ape enrichment, and take a look at some of the the struggles that apes face. Ape merchandise will be available to purchase, and proceeds will benefit ape conservation projects. Regular Zoo Admission applies for this event, and members are admitted for free with membership card and photo ID.

Guests are invited to O.J. Watson Park to enjoy moon bounces, face painting, a photobooth, raffles, a live DJ, discounted train ride and miniature golf prices and more. The event will run from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and serves to combat stigma and bring awareness to the importance of good mental health for children. Held in Watson Park's shelter number five. 

The first 500 people will receive free lunch, and the first 100 will receive one round of mini golf or one free train ride, and after the first 100 people, these activities will cost just $.50 each! Watson Park is located at 3022 S. McLean Blvd. 

For good laughs, good food and a good time, swing by Tunes and Tallgrass at the Wichita Art Museum. This Friday night, doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the fun begins at 7 p.m. with  live music performed by Truckstop Honeymoon. This will be followed by a screening of 2004's cult classic Napoleon Dynamite.

The event will take place on the lawn, so feel free to bring lawn chairs, blankets and Frisbees! 

The event is free and open to the public, so come out and have a good time. There will be food trucks and a cash bar, so bring your appetite and your wallet!

Celebrate the first season of the new Art Garden at the Wichita Art Museum with a free, docent-led tour! The Art Garden is open 24/7, and occupies the eight acres that surround the museum. Guests are always welcome to enjoy a leisurely walk through the garden, and on the third Saturday of each month, free tours are available.

The Garden's terrain that reflects the place and plantings of Kansas, and features over 100 new trees, nearly 600 shrubs, and more than 20,000 perennials and grasses. There are 13 outdoor sculptures in the garden.

Tours are held from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month. Guest who wish to take the tour should meetin the Boeing Foyer. Ages 6 and older are welcome.

The Wichita Grand Opera hosts it's annual Chairmen's Opera Ball fundraiser again this year, this time featuring a "Pleasures of the Orient" theme. This is one of the premiere social events in the Wichita area, where you can greet old friends and make new ones as you enjoy music, dining and Asian dragons.

The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency. This is the Opera's biggest fundraiser of the year, and past opera balls have hosted such luminaries as Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and Samuel Ramey, among others. Tickets are available for $200.

Loooking for a great evening activity to keep you out of the heat this weekend? Catch a showing "Nice Work if You Can Get It" presented by Music Theatre Wichita.

The show features the works of music theatre songwriting favorites, the Gershwins including hits like  "Lady Be Good," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "S'Wonderful," and many more!

The show runs through June 19, and evening shows are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets for evening shows range in price from $28 to $64. Matinees will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Matinee Tickets range in price from $26 to $58.

Two Wild and Crazy Movies is a Steve Martin double-feature. Beginning at 7 p.m. at the Orpheum this Saturday, the event highlight 1979's "The Jerk" and 1983's "the Man With Two Brains."

"The Jerk" is a comedy that chronicles the happenings of Navin, a white man who believes he was born a poor black child in Mississippi. When he discovers that he is, in fact, white, he goes on a journey to find himself. The gag-laden comedy will have audiences roaring with laughter! 

"The Man with Two Brains" is one of Martin's top comedies. Martin plays a top  brain surgeon who has created a cranial screw-top technique who is grieving over the death of his wife. He finds a beautiful woman and performs a life-saving surgery on her, but he doesn't realize that she's a gold-digging vixen. She drove her last husband to death by apoplexy. She's found her next victim in Martin's character. What happens next? Come find out! Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 the day of the event.

For the fifth time, the Tallgrass Film Association and CreativeRush join forces to bring Wichita the Down to the Wire: 24 Hour Film Race. The event will be held from June 17-19, beginning at 6:30 a.m. Saturday and ending at 7 a.m. on Sunday. During this time, teams compete to create the best film. A five-person jury will screen the films and select the top 10, which will be showcased at the Orpheum on Sunday night at 7 p.m.

A VIP Panel of judges, comprised of Tallgrass alumni filmmaker James Choi, KMUW’s Fletcher Powell and KWCH’s Emily Griffin,  will live critique the films and select the winners. The audience will be able to vote for their favorites, as well. 

The showcase is open to the public and general admission tickets are $10.

If you're still looking for things to do, take a look at this weekend's Father's Day events!