Mike Standifer's Custom Uphlst

Wichita's culture and horticulture coexist brilliantly at Botanica, the Wichita Gardens. Whether it's the seasonal wonders that draw you in, like the Summer Annual Display featuring of 25,000 flowers, the Butterfly House with it's unique collection of fascinating species, or the Tuesdays on the Terrace outdoor event that features attractions, live music and great company, there's always something blooming at Botanica. And like the flowers that populate it, the results of such cultural cultivation are nothing less than beautifully breathtaking.

The Tallgrass Film Festival may be the launching pad for the next Steven Spielberg! To find out about all the great film-making talent in the area, make sure you head for this festival held the third week in October at various locations in downtown Wichita. This is the ninth annual festival, and it has built a solid tradition of allowing you to screen the best foreign, independent, short, retrospective and premiering films. Grab some popcorn, take a seat, and enjoy!

At the Wichita Art Museum, the slogan says it all: "Your Museum. America's Art." Priceless pieces adorn the walls of various galleries and their appeal only makes strolling through the museum that much more enjoyable. Special exhibits that feature various mediums as well as limited showings of rare work are just a couple of examples of what is on the schedule of events. Check out their site regularly to find out the latest exhibits.

Roxy's Downtown is the next chapter in the space that is 412 1/2 E Douglas, a space that has a long relationship with the downtown scene of Wichita.   Stories and memories seem to rise up from just about everyone I have met so far in this adventure, from memories of a long past 25cent theatre with a penny arcade and pool hall below where Gallery XII now resides, to The Looking Glass with sound studio above (Big Dog Sound Studios) with Roxy's Downtown cocktail club hosting such rising stars as Harry Connick Jr., to sitting empty for several years with dormant potential until Cabaret Oldtown came into existence in 1992.  Cabaret Oldtown bloomed for 22 wonderful and beloved years before Roxy's took up the torch.   The Cabaret spirit will always remain in the heart and the soul of Roxy's.