Let us be your catch-all guide to the happenin’s in Topeka this month!
9/3 First Friday Artwalk
NOTO Arts & Entertainment District is an attraction of all ages from all over. The restaurants, galleries, boutiques and more make NOTO the top Topeka Art Walk destination. Historic buildings are bubbling with artists, arts, music, crafts, and creative items to keep you entertained and wanting to bring a piece of NOTO home with you. Most shops are open starting at 10am and stay open late unto the evening. (Description from Explore NOTO)
10:00am-9:00pm, NOTO Arts Center 935 N Kansas Ave, Topeka, KS 66608
More information: https://explorenoto.org/event/first-friday-art-walk-5/
9/10-10/2 On Golden Pond, Topeka Civic Theatre
On Golden Pond, a performance by the Topeka Civic Theatre
This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year. He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory—but still as tart-tongued, observant and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger, and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. They are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiancé, who then go off to Europe, leaving his teenage son behind for the summer. The boy quickly becomes the “grandchild” the elderly couple have longed for, and as Norman revels in taking his ward fishing and thrusting good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage awareness—and slang—in return. In the end, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the incidence of a mild heart attack. Time, they know, is now against them, but the years have been good and, perhaps, another summer on Golden Pond still awaits.
Performance schedule and tickets available here: https://topekacivictheatre.com/on-golden-pond-1
9/11 Touch a Truck
Downtown Topeka Touch A Truck is a fantastic opportunity for kids and adults of all ages to get up close and personal with trucks and vehicles! After last years event being canceled, we are back and more than ready to touch some trucks!
The event will be set up around Evergy Plaza and the surrounding streets.
Entry to Touch A Truck is free, but there is a suggested donation of canned goods to benefit Harvesters. (Description from Touch a Truck)
9:30am-1:30pm, Evergy Plaza 630 S. Kansas Ave. Topeka, KS 66603
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/evergy-plaza/downtown-topeka-touch-a-truck-2021/806614446708545/
9/11 NOTO Live
The NOTO Arts and Entertainment District is once again planning a celebration packed full of performance art, live music, busking, and talent of all kinds! Join us for this family friendly extravaganza and experience performers sprinkled throughout the district, with special acts at Redbud Park and Compass Point, and a grand finale by Last Carnival Act to end the evening! This action packed day includes activities for everyone! And for our little performers, the new Otto’s Adventure Area will provide special interactive art stations and opportunities to try a little busking of their own!
Free and open to the public. VIP passes can be purchased to access NOTO LIVE VIP Backstage where you can partake in art activities, enjoy refreshments, and be wowed by close-up specialty performances offered exclusively to VIP’s. (Description from Explore NOTO)
11:30am- 8:00pm, NOTO Arts Center 935 N Kansas Ave, Topeka, KS
More information and performance schedule: https://explorenoto.org/noto-live/
9/11 TFI Blues, Brews & Bites
TFI BLUES BREWS & BITES FESTIVAL features live bands, adult beverages, fantastic food, and lots of fun in the beautiful outdoor atmosphere of Ward Meade Park. Proceeds benefit the TFI KIDS FUND supporting Kansas Foster Kids to improve their quality of life. Performances include: Nace Brothers • Divas on Fire • Cate Brothers • The Josh Garrett Band (Description by TFI)
Tickets available at: https://tfifamily.org/tfi-blues-brews-bites/
2:00pm-10:00pm, Ward-Meade Park 124 NW Fillmore St, Topeka, KS 66606
9/18 Kansas Book Festival
The 10th annual Kansas Book Festival will take place at Washburn University, hosted by the Mabee Library at the center of campus. The 2021 Festival, which is back after being cancelled by COVID in 2020, will include free presentations by 50 authors, as well as outdoor performances, a book-art exhibit, food vendors and exhibitor tents with publishers from around Kansas.
The headliner for the 2021 Kansas Book Festival is Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments. Nezhukumatathil’s winsome collection of nature essays includes stories from time spent as a child in Larned, and it was selected as a Favorite Book of the Year by Barnes and Noble as well as National Public Radio. It also was selected by the State Library of Kansas for a 2021 Kansas Notable Book award. (Description from Kansas Book Festival)
All presentations are free and open to the public. They will take place on the upper floor of the Mabee Library at Washburn University, in rooms 300, 302 or 303, or in the Ballroom of the Washburn Memorial Union. The only exceptions are two pre-festival presentations and an initial awards ceremony for Kansas Notable Books.
9:00am-4:00pm, Mabee Library at Washburn University 1800 SW 19th St, Topeka, KS 66621
More information and schedule of events: https://www.kansasbookfestival.com/
9/16 Third Thursdays: TopCity Comedy at the Foundry Event Center
TopCity Comedy has been bringing you the best local and touring comics since 2011. In we lost our home but not our sense of humor. And now we have a new stage at The Foundry from which to entertain and delight you!
You will want to stick around after the show for So U Think U R Funny, the original Open Mic experience. Have you always thought you were funny, Well, here is your chance to show us your funny! (Description by TopCity Comedy)
Doors open 7:00pm, show starts at 8:00pm. Foundry Event Center 400 SW 33rd St, Topeka, KS 66611
More information and to purchase tickets in advance: https://www.facebook.com/Topcitycomedy
9/17-9/26 Helen Hocker Theater Fireflies
Fireflies, a performance by Helen Hocker Theater. Retired schoolteacher Eleanor Bannister lives a quiet life alone in tiny Groverdell, Texas, set in her routines and secure in her position as the town’s most respected woman—until a hole in her roof draws the attention of Abel Brown, a smooth-talking drifter intent on renovating Eleanor’s house, and possibly her life. Can the unexpected sparks of late-life romance be trusted, or is there truth in the gossip that Abel isn’t all that he seems to be? Either way, the whole town is talking.
Weekend performances 7:00pm, Helen Hocker Theater 700 SW Zoo Pkwy, Topeka, KS 66606
More information: https://topekacivictheatre.com/fireflies-1
9/19 Concert in the Park
The 12th annual Concert in the Park is a free event featuring the Kings of Swing. The 15-piece Topeka band specializes in swing music of the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. There will also be a performance by the Topeka High School Drumline.
The concert is a great opportunity for individuals and families to enjoy some fine music in a beautiful, park-like atmosphere or take a turn on the dance floor and showcase their swing-dancing skills. (Description by Concert in the Park)
Free admission
2:00pm-4:00pm, Memorial Park Cemetery, 3616 SW 6th Ave, Topeka, KS
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/4161457873971139
9/21 Kansas Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit
The Kansas Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit will feature a full day of activities including keynote speeches from Kuma Roberts, Arrowhead Consulting; Dr. Jarik Conrad, author and speaker; and Eugene Kelly, VP of Global Diversity & Inclusion, Colgate Palmolive Company. You will also be able to participate in expert panel discussions and workshops and explore the impact of diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplaces and communities. The Kansas Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit is aimed at small business, corporations, non-profits and universities to enhance the discussion around DEI and promote the positive impact it can have on our community and workplaces. (Description by Kansas Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit)
9:00am-3:00pm, Prairie Band Casino and Resort, 12305 150th Rd., Mayetta, KS 66509
More information and to purchase tickets: https://www.facebook.com/events/d41d8cd9/kansas-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-summit/841713209785158/
9/25-9/26 Cider Days
The 40th annual Cider Days Fall Market is back September 25th and 26th, 2021. Explore over 175+ makers, creators, artisans and pickers at this year’s festival.
Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm, Sunday 11:00am-4:00pm, Stormont Vail Events Center, 1 Expocentre Dr, Topeka, KS 66612
More information: https://www.ciderdays.com/
Capital Impact 