🌾 Walktober & Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff

September 27, 2023 | Sign Up | Support Us

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Wichita!

Is walking not your thing? What about chili?

In today's Wichita Life Update

Walktober
Downtown Chili Cookoff
Upcoming events

Let's get to it!

- Landon Huslig

TOGETHER WITH MARGARET MCHENRY MAIDS

We know quite a lot about a well-groomed life

This fall, borrow the timeless traditions of excellence observed by those in domestic service in Great Britain a century ago. Margaret McHenry Maids offers a heightened level of service and a deep service menu that includes pre- and post-holiday cleaning and expanded en-residence services personalized to your needs and completed by selected, carefully trained maids.

Our traditional deep cleaning is performed in every home every time. Using a comprehensive checklist with 75 points of service attention, we thoroughly maintain your home so you're ready for any occasion and find it easier to slip away to do the things you love.

Learn More Here

How fit is Wichita?

Sharecare Names Top 10 Fittest Cities in America - Sharecare — this is not Wichita...yet

If you had to guess where Wichita stands among the fittest cities in the nation, what would you say?

Top 50? Top 75?

In a recent USA Today article, Wichita ranked #99 out of 100 aka not fit (although we did edge out OKC).

Luckily, we have organizations in town to help us move up the list and become more fit as a community.

Introducing Walktober

Walktober » Health & Wellness Coalition of Wichita

What is “Walktober”?

Walkober is an free, annual community event to promote physical activity and more specifically walking!

Everyone has heard to shoot for “10,000 steps a day” and there are many studies that prove the benefits of walking and hitting different milestones leading up to 10k steps a day.

Walktober was started in 2008 by the Sedgwick County Health Department to encourage people to get out, walk and get active.

You can also potentially win prices if you register. 👀

The Health & Wellness Coalition is leading this event in October by joining with several community partners who are mentioned below!

They recommend 30 minutes of activity 5+ days a week and walking is an easy way to hit that goal, but they also provide many events throughout the month and beyond to aid you in your pursuit of wellness.

Month-Long Events

There are a number of events that take place all month long:

Walktober Strava Club - Strava is an app that helps track and record fitness data like biking and walking. The city can use this data to learn where people like to walk and bike around the city! Instructions on signing up for Strava can be found here.
Walktober ICT Facebook Group - You can join the local Facebook Group where local experts can help you take the next step in your fitness journey.

Events

There are also several one-time events coming up including:

9/30 - Kick-off at Exploration Place parkrun. Walktober Group picture at 8am.
10/4 - Walk to School Day - Enabling and encouraging kids to walk and roll to school. Resources can be found here.
Wednesday Walking Series 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25 - 1 hour walks at 5:30pm. Additional details found here.
10/3 - City of Wichita Proclamation
10/4 - Sedgwick County Proclamation
10/6 - Great Plains Nature Center Walking Book Club
10/8 - Bike Walk Wichita’s monthly “Slow Roll and Stroll”
10/8 - Prairie Fire Fall Races - Marathon, Half-Marathon, 5K, Friendly 5K
10/14 - Envision White Cane Day
10/21 - WSU Pumpkin Run
10/21 - Special Urban Walk - 3.5 miles through Friends University and Newman University campuses
11/5 - Who Let the Dogs Out 5K - 5K and Tail Waggers 1 mile fun run / walk
11/18 - Turkey Trot
11/19 - Girls on the Run Fall 5K

Ongoing Events

A healthy life doesn’t end when Walktober ends. Keep it rolling with some of the ongoing events in our community.

Exploration Place parkrun - free weekly 5k at Exploration Place
ICT Food Rescue / Towne West Mall Walking Program
Walk Indoors at the City of Wichita Recreation Centers
StoryWalk at Evergreen Park
Sedgwick County Zoo Making Tracks - track your miles at the zoo!

Community Partners

There are incredible fitness and health partners all over Wichita. Thanks to those who made it possible this year!

Barbara Coats and Kim Neufeld with Bike Walk Wichita
Nancy Gardner and Amy Draut with K-State Research & Extension
Kyler VanderGiesen with Exploration Place
Shae Rowe with the Sedgwick County Health Department
Reggie Davidson with Citthe y of Wichita Park & Recreation
Vicky Cleary with UPLIFT Healthy Lifestyle.

Other Resources

The Walking Site
Walk BINGO
City of Wichita Park & Recreation QR Fit Trails
6 steps and helpful tips for starting a walking club
Get Outdoors Kansas
Wichita Flag Murals Map
Walking Detective Kids Workbook
& more on their site!

If you take one thing away from today’s deep dive, try to walk a little more than you did yesterday.

Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff

The time has come. The moment you've all been waiting for.

This Saturday, September 30th at noon kicks off the 2023 Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff.

10,000 people will head to downtown Wichita to try the best chili and salsa Wichita and surrounding areas has to offer.

Some of it is sweet, some of it is savory and some of it is deliciously spicy (and some will light you up like a Christmas tree).

The event has moved downtown since 2005 but has been a Wichita tradition for over 30 years. 80 teams from Kansas and surrounding states will compete to see who has the best chili.

What to expect:

It is pretty straightforward, but here are a few things you need to know:

Tasting kits are $5
This tasting kit allows you to walk around and try out all the various chilis
A bowl of the Wagonmaster's famous chili is included with your tasting kit
Beer and soda are available for sale if your taste buds are tingling from the spice
There is a pepper-eating contest at 2:45 p.m. if you're crazy enough for that.
100% of the proceeds go to fund the Good Life Grants, which help dozens of local charities and non-profits!
There will be several activities and live music
Inflatables at Naftzger Park

Come on down and have a great time! I know we will. Check out our video from 2022.

TOGETHER WITH SHOCKER SPORTS GRILL & LANES

The Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes, located on the lower level of the Rhatigan Student Center at Wichita State, is open to the public and is the perfect spot for birthday parties, corporate gatherings, or just hanging out with family and friends!

Their facilities feature 8 bowling lanes, 6 billiards tables, great food and beverages, and more.

For more information, visit wichita.edu/SSGL or follow them on Facebook or Instagram!

Go Shockers!

Learn More Here