Tag: Free Family Fun Events
WSU Family Carnival and Coupon for 5 FREE Ride Tickets
Free admission and lots of fun: The WSU Student Activities Council Family Carnival is this weekend on the Heskett Center west lawn.
Families will enjoy playing on a life-size board game, following the path to each of the carnival’s attractions, including games, inflatables, a petting zoo, and a train ride. Some of the activities require tickets, which are 25¢ each or 5 for $1, but some of them are free. This coupon will get you 5 free tickets to use at the carnival!
Cash concessions will also be offered, so you may want to plan a little bit of spending money for those.
The Family Carnival at WSU is Saturday afternoon, April 21, 2012, from 1 – 4 p.m.
Thanks to Erin for sharing this event with us on Facebook!
Free Family Fun Day from the Ulrich Museum
The Ulrich Museum at WSU is being renovated, but it’s still hosting fun art-related events. Saturday, April 14, 2012, is Free Family Fun Day. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the McKnight Art Center West atrium, kids can learn how everyday materials can be used for art, and then they get to make their own art!
The McKnight Art Center is next to the Ulrich Musuem, closest to the corner of Hillside and 17th Street, on the WSU campus. (Go here if you’d like to see a map of WSU.)
Thanks to Sherry and Erin for letting us know about this event!
Toy Story 3 at Fox Theater FREE Saturday
This is quite a deal for families. The Fox Theater in Hutchinson is showing Toy Story 3 Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 2 p.m. and admission is FREE.
I hear it would be worth the drive just to see the restored theater–they don’t make glam like that anymore! (You can see a photo slideshow at the Fox Theater website.) A free movie for the kids (grown-ups will like it too) is a great bonus.
Fox Theatre
18 E 1st Ave
Hutchinson, KS
Toy Story 3
Saturday, November 20
2:00pm – 5:00pm
Free Wichita Play Day at O.J. Watson Park
Thanks to Wichita on the Cheap reader Sherry Black for mentioning this deal on Facebook.
Come take time to play and spend some quality time with family and nature at Wichita Play Day, hosted by Wichita Play Commission. There will be giveaways, parachute games, kayaks and canoes, train rides, face-painting, golf, music, pedal boats, and more, all at O.J. Watson Park.
Here is a link to the poster with all the details: Wichita Play Day 2010
This fun and frugal activity will be going from 1:00 -4:00 p.m. Saturday, September 18, 2010
[Note: This fantabulous piece of writing was done by a very talented fourth-grader! Yes, I'm very proud. 
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Derby Summer Fest and Fireworks
The Derby Summer Fest is a free event for the whole family with fun activities, an ice cream social, and a free Movie Under the Stars. What makes it even better is this year the festival will include the City of Derby fireworks show with a performance by the Derby Community Choir. (The fireworks had to be rescheduled because of rain on July 4th).
Summer Fest begins at 5 p.m. at High Park, which is just east of Derby High School on Madison. The event is sponsored by the Derby Community Coalition Promoting Healthy Choices, and will feature games and contests at booths around the park. The booths will be staffed by volunteers from community businesses and organization and are designed to encourage kids’ interest in healthy hobbies and activities.
This will be the fourth year that Summer Fest is host to the NFL Punt, Pass, and Kick Competition. Kids can register between 5 and 5:45 p.m. and the competition begins at 6 p.m.
Free ice cream will be available (while it lasts) beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The patriotic choir performance will begin setting up at about 8 p.m. and is immediately followed by the fireworks.
The free movie, Curious George, begins at 9 p.m.
To find out more about Summer Fest, visit the Derby Community Coalition website.
Free Admission to National Parks Aug. 14-15, 2010
August 14th and 15th is another of the National Parks fee-free weekends.
Many of the national parks in Kansas, like the Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve, are always free. After searching the National Park Service website, I found only one–Fort Scott — that normally charges a small $3 entrance fee for people age 16 and older. (There may be others that I just didn’t find.)
And speaking of the Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve, I was surprised to learn that FREE 90-minute guided bus tours are available every day at 11 a.m. through the last Sunday in October. Another surprise: “Ranching Weekends,” held on the 1st and 3rd weekend of the month until October 17, let you experience what life was like on a working ranch. This is also free and features living history interpreters as well as participation in activities that would have been all in a day’s work on the ranch.
Go to the National Parks Service website to find a park in Kansas, or take advantage of the free weekend at other national parks around the country.
Thanks to Teresa Mears at MSN’s Smart Spending blog for sharing the tip about the national parks fee-free weekends.
Wichita on the Cheap is brought to you by freelance writer Carolyn Erickson, who has called Wichita her home since the 90s (and she’s been a cheapskate longer than that). Although 