Upcoming Events in Natrona County To Close Out Summer

Summer isn't finished with Natrona County yet. The evenings are still long enough for a blanket on the grass, the mountain is still green, and the calendar between now and the end of September is genuinely stacked. There's a symphony playing Broadway under an open sky, a couple of big arena nights at the Ford Wyoming Center, a market run entirely by kids, and three easy Sundays up at Hogadon. Whether you're after something loud, something quiet, or something the whole family can wander through at their own pace, there's a weekend in here with your name on it. Here's your guide to what's coming up — in the order it's happening.

Casper Kids Market

Saturday, August 22 starts things off in the most charming way possible, when the Casper Kids Market sets up at Washington Park, from 4 to 7 p.m.. Every booth is staffed by a kid — young makers roughly ages 5 to 17 who have designed, priced and stocked their own products, from handmade crafts to tasty treats. The kids handle the pitch and take the payment themselves, without a parent stepping in, which is exactly what makes it so fun to walk through. Organizers are expecting a crowd of around 1,500, and any young seller still hoping for a booth needs to register by 8 p.m. on August 21. Bring small bills and let them practice on you.

Pops in the Park

That same Saturday evening, the party shifts a few steps across the same grass for Pops in the Park, the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra's annual outdoor concert at Washington Park. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the music starts at 7:30. This year's theme is Broadway Under the Stars, with the WSO joining forces with Opera Wyoming for a night of showstoppers drawn from Oklahoma!, Les Misérables, Wicked, The Sound of Music and more. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair, pack a picnic or graze the local food vendors, and settle in as the sun drops behind the band shell. Individual tickets are $15, a family pass covering two adults and up to three kids runs $50, and children under 10 get in free.

Benson Boone's Wanted Man Tour 2026

Thursday, September 3 brings the biggest night of the stretch, when Benson Boone's Wanted Man Tour 2026 rolls into the Ford Wyoming Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the show starts at 8, and Luna Li opens. Boone is the voice behind "Beautiful Things" and "Mystical Magical," and Casper isn't just another dot on the routing map — this is the closing night of his two-month American tour, which tends to bring a little extra out of a performer and a crowd alike. Tickets are on sale now, and the venue is fully cashless, so plan on a card or your phone. A tour finale in your own backyard doesn't come around often.

The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight

A little over a week later, on Friday, September 11, the Ford Wyoming Center goes dark — in the best way — for The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight. Doors are at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8, and what follows is a 90-minute set from a 14-piece collective of classical musicians reworking Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Evanescence, My Chemical Romance and The Cranberries by candlelight. The group has been at this since 2020 and has played more than 400 shows worldwide on the strength of one strange, gorgeous idea: string sections and walls of distortion in the same room. Fair warning, the production uses strobe lighting. Go for the goosebumps.

The Great Mountain Mingle

Summer signs off up high, with The Great Mountain Mingle returning to Hogadon Lodge on Casper Mountain for three Sundays — September 13, 20 and 27 — with doors at 11 a.m. each day. Every afternoon pairs local musicians with an outdoor grill turning out burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwiches and veggie wraps, plus a beer tasting where you sample up to four brews from participating breweries and vote for a favorite. The winner gets poured year-round at Hogadon and the Ford Wyoming Center. Add cornhole, sidewalk chalk, backyard relays and scavenger hunts with ski passes among the prizes. Bring chairs, bring blankets, bring the leashed dog — it happens rain or shine.

Five weekends, five completely different moods. From a park full of first-time business owners and a symphony belting Broadway, to a tour finale, a candlelit arena and three slow Sundays with a burger in hand and the whole valley spread out below you, this stretch of the calendar has a little of everything Natrona County does well. Mark the dates, drag a friend along, and let summer go out the way it should — outside, with the neighbors.