Big

LEY
AN AUTO AL

Christmas
GUID COLONY:
FT E: BEER CITY
GI SMALL
EXPERIENCES TOWN, ROCKS ON

1 1>
NOV/DEC 2022 $4.95
1 1>

7 25274 66717 8
 Contents NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022 | VOLUME 72, NUMBER 6

Ice on the Plaza is Ponca City’s newest holiday attraction brought to you by
Ponca City Main Street. Enjoy this synthetic ice skating rink for all ages!
• Fall Ladies Weekend – Nov. 4th-5th
• PonCon Geek & Gaming Garage Sale- Nov. 5th
• Veterans Day Parade – Nov. 5th
• Festival of Angels Lighted Christmas Displays– Nov. 23rd – Dec. 30th
• Lighted Christmas Parade – Dec. 2nd
• 11th Annual Christmas Market Oklahoma - Dec. 3rd
• Christmas Open House Holiday Shopping Weekend - Dec. 2nd-3rd
• VFW Holiday Market – Dec. 10th

Plan your trip at

VisitPoncaCity.com
or call 866-763-8092
for more information.

Oklahoma autumn shines in a million

brilliant colors in “Tones of Home”

JOHN SULLIVAN
(page 68).

46 Dogs Days 59 Experiences Gift Guide 78 Heart Gallery

Tight-knit friendship and community are central
themes in Reservation Dogs, Sterlin Harjo’s
groundbreaking new show about Native life in
eastern Oklahoma.
BY MASON WHITEHORN POWELL
52 They Built This City
Oklahoma City’s newest music venue is a
one-of-a-kind concert hall that’s amping up the
local music scene.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATHAN POPPE
Memories often last longer than things do, so
this holiday, give your loved ones unforgettable
experiences all over the state—everything
from skydiving to candlemaking and more.
BY KARLIE YBARRA
68 Tones of Home
Every autumn, Oklahoma erupts in bursts of
orange, red, yellow, and green. Celebrate the
cooler air and shorter days with these ten
pages of Okie fall glory.
From the Caddoan people who lived here
more than seven hundred years ago up to the
modern-day arts advocates who’ve turned
it into an outdoor fine-art gallery unrivaled
anywhere in Oklahoma, the small town
of Colony is unlike any other place in the
Sooner State. Get to know the wild history,
the unparalleled creativity, and the sweet
small-town spirit of this beloved Washita
County community.
BY NATHAN GUNTER

OklahomaToday.com 3
 CONTENTS
FAMILY VISITING FOR THE HOLIDAYS?

500+
Oklahoma has
44
TULSA
Show up Santa at
ENID Christkindlmarkt.
Gnomes, sweet PAGE 94
gnomes PAGE 37 35
44
COLONY
This tiny town has a
40
40 huge heart for art.
OCTOPUSARTIS

PAGE 78
Take in all the glory of
autumn in Oklahoma
JJ RITCHEY

35
with ten pages of fall THACKERVILLE
ROBBERS CAVE
scenes from Black Cure your cabin
STATE PARK
Mesa to Beavers fever here. PAGE 16
A horseback trek makes
Bend. Page 68 a great gift. PAGE 61

museums
15 On The Map
Let the River of Love Cabins transport you to 37 Originals
romantic bliss in Thackerville; wreaths from Native hymns still resonate in Oklahoma; John
Wildflower at Heart in Duncan adorn homes Davidson is losing his sight but not his artistic
with cheer; Castle Row Studios in Del City drive; ukuleles are stringing Okie musicians

historic sites
helps artists record hit songs, voices, and more; along; poet Daniel Simon’s “Field Notes”; and
and Automobile Alley in Oklahoma City is the Center of Family Love in Okarche lives up
worth a drive this holiday season. to its name.
VALERIE WEI-HAAS

25 Order Up

tribal cultural centers

Every meal at Flower Bluff Manor in Sulphur
feels like a celebration; handmade treats
CENTER OF FAMILY LOVE

throughout the state make great edible gifts; don’t

fuggedabout New York-style pizza in Broken

historic homes galleries

BRENT FUCHS

Arrow and Bethany; and Et Al. in Tulsa is making

the food service industry a little more chef-friendly.

In Every Issue: 6 Contribs 8 Point of View 10 Welcome 12 Feedback 89 Out There 96 Off the Map

On the Cover
With towering cypress trees and crisp, misty mornings—like
zoos and botanical gardens
the one artistically rendered here by Moore photographer Iris
Greenwell—Beavers Bend State Park in Broken Bow is one
of the state’s most popular fall foliage destinations. Explore
more autumn vistas in our scenic portfolio “Tones of Home”
starting on page 68.
PHOTO BY IRIS GREENWELL Plan your next adventure
OKMuseums.org/Oklahoma-Museums
4 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
 CONTRIBUTORS

WHEN I was a girl, Dad played guitar in

a country band,” says historian, author, Tourism Information Center,
photographer, and native Oklahoman Midwest City
Carol Mowdy Bond. “I’m still a country,
Western swing, and fiddle music fan, so I
enjoyed touring Castle Row, meeting the
crew, and hearing the stories. And I love
how Garrett Starks repurposed the venue’s
historical spirit to propel Oklahoma into a
new entertainment hub,” Bond says of the
subject of her article “Production Palace”
(page 20). A member of the Choctaw Na-
tion of Oklahoma and an Oklahoma State
University graduate, Bond has hundreds
of published works in periodicals. In 2021,
Yukon community groups released her
fourth book, a history-themed coloring
book for all ages.
A. SIMON

POET, ESSAYIST, and translator Daniel BRENT FUCHS, originally from Stillwater but
Simon is an award-winning author and editor currently residing in Edmond, has worked as an
of four books, including Cast Off, After Reading editorial photographer since he graduated from the
Everything, and the 2020 release Dispatches University of Central Oklahoma in 2005. Fuchs started
from the Republic of Letters: 50 Years of the shooting for Oklahoma Today about six years ago.
Neustadt International Prize for Literature. He “Working with Oklahoma Today is always great. I rarely
has been on staff at World Literature Today get time to work on a story, and they always give me
since 2002 and now serves as editor in chief of plenty,” Fuchs says. His latest project, “Heart Gallery”
the University of Oklahoma-based magazine. (page 78) took him to Colony, where he spent time
Simon’s poem “Field Notes” (page 43)—which visiting with locals. ”Colony was a bit of a surprise,” he
takes its inspiration from walking endless says. “There are a lot of stories from a town with just a
rows of corn and soybeans and fishing in rural little more than a hundred people. The Cheyenne and Discover Oklahoma Holiday Discount
Nebraska in the 1970s and ’80s—is from a Arapaho powwow was the big event, but we also heard
manuscript in progress. He lives in Norman with stories of murder, a plane crash, and how the new metal
his wife and three daughters. eagle sculpture came about.” Mention the show to save 25%* at all Tourism
Information Centers & State Park Gift Shops
November 25–27 & December 17–18 *
Cannot be combined with other discounts
CONTRIBUTORS OKL AHOMA TOURISM & OKL AHOMA T ODAY’S AWARDS INCLUDE :
BROOKE ADCOX, JERRY BENNETT, SHANE BEVEL, RECRE ATION DEPARTMENT Eleven 2022 International Regional Magazine Association
LIZ BLOOD, GRAHAM LEE BREWER, SHEILAH BRIGHT, LT. GOV. MATT PINNELL, (IRMA) Awards; fourteen 2021 IRMA awards, including
M A G A Z I N E
Secretary of Tourism & Branding Magazine of the Year; three 2021 Great Plains Journalism
TRISHA BUNCE, SARA COWAN, SUSAN DRAGOO, SHELLEY ZUMWALT, Executive Director Awards, including Magazine of the Year; eight 2020 IRMA
Since 1956 LORI DUCKWORTH, BRENT FUCHS, KYLE GANDY, Awards, including Magazine of the Year; four 2020 Great
GORDON GRICE, BRIAN TED JONES, PRESTON JONES, OKL AHOMA TOURISM AND Plains Journalism Awards, including Magazine of the Year; Oklahoma is bursting at the seams with holiday gifts — whether
KEVIN STITT, Governor RECRE ATION COMMIS SION eighteen 2019 IRMA Awards; thirteen 2018 IRMA awards; the
DEBBY KASPARI, RANDY KREHBIEL, QURAYSH ALI
Val Callaghan, Michelle Finch, Mandy Haws, 2015 FOLIO: Designer of the Year award; a 2014 FOLIO: Top you want to deck your friends’ halls with handmade décor or stuff
COLLEEN MCINTYRE, Director of Operations LANSANA, MELISSA LUKENBAUGH, TOM LUKER,
Hobie Higgins, Elizabeth Larios, Dr. Krista Ratliff Women in Media award; a 2013 Western Heritage Wrangler
STEVEN WALKER, Walker Creative, Inc., Art Director JEREMY MARTIN, JEANETTA CALHOUN MISH, MASON
Emily Smith, and Andy Stewart award; a 2012 Wilbur award from the Religion Communicators
your family’s stockings with state-themed swag. Join our hosts
WHITEHORN POWELL, JAMES PRATT, RYAN REDCORN,
NATHAN GUNTER, Editor-in-Chief JJ RITCHEY, DYRINDA TYSON, and VALERIE WEI-HAAS EMAIL
Council; IRMA Magazine of the Year 2021, 2020, 2018, 2012,
2010, 2005, 1996, 1994, 1993, and 1991.
Dino Lalli and Lauren Nelson, plus our cheery team of Discover
MEGAN ROSSMAN, Photography Editor Advertising@TravelOK.com
KARLIE YBARRA, Managing Editor Periodicals postage paid at Oklahoma City, OK, and additional mailing Oklahoma elves, as they light the way!
STAFF Circulation@TravelOK.com
GREG ELWELL, Web Editor offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Oklahoma Today
BEN LUSCHEN, Research Editor BRIDGETTE SLONE, Production Manager Editorial@TravelOK.com
Circulation, P.O. Box 248937, Oklahoma City, OK 73124. Oklahoma
BECKY CARMAN, STEFFIE CORCORAN, ERICA JOHNSON, Circulation Manager City Advertising Sales Office, P.O. Box 248937, Oklahoma City, OK
JUDY HILOVSKY, and JOHN SELVIDGE , 73124, (405) 522-9535 or (800) 652-6552 ext. 3. Subscription prices:
STEPHEN HARRIS, Director of Advertising Sales
Copyeditors Oklahoma Today (ISSN 0030-1892) is $24.95 per year in the U.S. U.S. copyright © 2021 by Oklahoma Today.
DANEKA ALLEN PENNINGTON,
published bimonthly: in January, March, Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Oklahoma Today is not
Advertising Account Executive May, July, September, and November by the responsible for the care or return of unsolicited materials of any kind.
BILLY MUSSETT, Advertising Account Executive State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Tourism and In no event shall submission of unsolicited material subject Oklahoma
RAMÓN RENTERÍA-LARA, Advertising Account Executive Recreation Department, P.O. Box 248937, Today to any claim or holding fee. Payment is upon publication. Check your local TV listings or stream
MARY WATERS, Advertising Account Executive Oklahoma City, OK 73124. Visit OklahomaToday.com.
24/7 at youtube.com/DiscoverOklahoma

6 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022

POINT OF VIEW

Ice Age BEST KNOWN FOR its spectacular autumn views, as seen on
pages 68 and 69, the Talimena National Scenic Byway is a
of year, but blanketed in snow and ice, the surrounding
Ouachita National Forest transforms into a pristine winter
through or headed for a hike, they’ll find new vistas awaiting
them during frosty weather. The Talimena National Scenic
P H O T O G R A P H B Y J A S O N W A R D frequent destination for those in search of sweeping scenics. wonderland, complete with deer, foxes, bald eagles, and the Byway (State Highway 1) intersects with U.S. 271 three miles north
This southeastern Oklahoma highway is dramatic any time occasional black bear. Whether visitors are cautiously passing of Talimena State Park near Talihina. talimenadrive.com

8 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 9

 WELCOME
NATHAN GUNTER

Blue Ribbon Days

Can jelly-making and square FOR ME, THE true holiday season kickoff
dancing save the world? happens not on Black Friday but on the
Probably not, but let’s give it a first day of the Oklahoma State Fair.
try anyway. My favorite part of the fair is not the
food, nor the rides, nor the fact that you
can still get candy cigarettes there. It’s the
contests—row after row of blue-ribboned
triumphs of canning, baking, needlework,
quilting, and any number of other too-
little-practiced creative pursuits. Square
dancing! Woodturning! Tablescaping! I grin
like a goon to wander among the talents
of my fellow Okies, delighted to see their
LUKE PIOTROWSKI
training ground. When I feel like all is
lost, I think about the State Fair. I think
about the kids’ art or science projects, the
square dancers, and all those jams and
jellies and cakes and breads. It reminds
me that there’s so much more out there
than all the bad news that gets in our
faces every day. Our fellow Okies aren’t
total strangers, and common spaces like
the State Fair remind us, as the Roman
playwright Terence said, “I am human;
therefore, nothing human is alien to me.”
Maybe that’s why I love this issue so

year-round hobbies turned to annual glory. much—there’s so much in it to get us

This year, staring at a particularly beautiful out of ourselves. I hope, like me, you’ve
arrangement of prize-winning jellies and been watching season two of Reservation
relishes, I started thinking about C.S. Lewis. Dogs and laughing, grieving, and believ-
In The Great Divorce, Lewis takes us on ing along with the cast of Sterlin Harjo’s
a road trip from hell to heaven. Lewis’ hell transcendent and revolutionary show
is not a lake of fire but a place of eternal (“Dogs Days,” page 46). Your holiday
loneliness, where people gift-giving will get an inspired boost from
OKIE NOTES move farther and farther Karlie Ybarra’s “Experiences Gift Guide”
Caro lina, and I got many a away from one another (page 59). And if I may say so, you must
1. Two concerts I’m stoked about: of The
shou t-out from fans until they’re so far apart visit Colony, one of my favorite Okla-
K.C. Clifford at The Blue Door er,
Outs iders . S.E. Hint on forev they can no longer see the homa small towns, which I got to profile
in Oklahoma City on November
y’all. theoutsidershouse.com lights from one another’s in “Heart Gallery” on page 78.
18 (bluedoorokc.com) and lodg es
4. I was thrill ed to see the homes. America feels like The State Fair might be over, but this
Bartees Strange, above, at Beer
at Robbers Cave State Park that sometimes these wonderful state of ours gives us oppor-
City Music Hall on December 16
and Beavers Bend State Park days, our social media tunities every day to see the good in one
(beercitymusichall.com).
reopen. We’ll cover them in a fights and political dis- another—whether it’s our jelly-making
2. My mom and her team
future issue, but don’t wait— agreements pushing us skills, our hometown pride, or our love of
won second place in this
book your stay now. out of each other’s orbits a great view from a high place. This land,
year ’s Women’s Oklahoma
TravelOK.com/state-parks until we no longer can as Woody said, was made for you and me.
Golf Association (WOGA) every
5. One of the high light s of see one another at all. Take care of yourselves, and take care of
statewide tournament at
morning at my house is a fresh Now. I’m not trying each other.
Winter Creek Golf & Social
pot of coffee brewed with to say the State Fair is
Club in Blanchard.
beans from Hoboken Coffee heaven. It’s wonderful,
woga.golfgenius.com
Roasters in Guthrie. Order but—well, you’ve been.
3. I wore a “Stay Gold” T-shirt to
online at hoboken.coffee. You know. I do, however, Nathan Gunter, Editor-in-Chief
my college reunion in North
think it’s a good spiritual nathan.gunter@TravelOK.com

10 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 GreenCountryOK.com

 FEEDBACK
STEVEN WALKER
Animal Style
Readers went wild for Bio Tome
Oklahoma Today’s Wow! I loved The Animal Issue so
September/October 2022 much! It’s a great resource to have
Animal Issue. for planning day trips with the littles.
The art and photography are beautiful
throughout this issue! Thank you for
the deep dive on my favorite bird, the
scissortail (“Sky Dancers”). I also learned
so much from the bison article (“Where
the Bison Roam”). Oklahoma children’s
singer-songwriter Monty Harper
recorded a song about Acrocanthosaurus
on his Songs from the Science Frontier
album, so I already knew a little bit about
that particular Oklahoma dinosaur, but
I’m grateful for the expanded education
on that (“Clever Girl”)! My daughter also
12 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
has a scissor-tailed flycatcher tattoo, and
one with Indian blankets and a horny
toad, all in memory of her grandparents
who lived in southwest Oklahoma. I’m
excited about this issue, but all recent
issues have been great, too. Thanks for
showcasing Oklahoma!
LK Koontz
Stillwater
Right Flight
The avian rehabilitation facility in
“Talon Show” (September/October
2022) is the Grey Snow Eagle House
located in Perkins.
Melva McDaniel
Laverne
Wing True
    I really enjoyed Karlie Ybarra’s great
piece on Oklahoma’s scissortails and
have long felt an article on our state bird
has been overdue. Among my earliest
memories are recollections of the regal
birds from boyhood on my grandparents’
farm north of Granite. Their rarely seen
aerial courtship dance is something of
elegant splendor to witness, and the sight
of them when revisiting my home state
still triggers an old surge of excitement. A
fine piece from a fine magazine.  Fay
Jim Logan
Memphis, Tennessee
Creature Comfort
What can I say about your Animal
Issue? First, I congratulated myself on
committing to a two-year subscription.
Then I bought extra issues for possible
gifting. I loved it.
Sherri Bowles
Oklahoma City
McCurtain for Certain
There is always someone or some
place in McCurtain County covered in
your magazine, and that is why I keep
subscribing. It makes me want to visit
where I live! Keep it coming!
Sharon McKeever
Valliant
Well, Shoot
What a surprise to see the likeness of my
childhood home on the pages of Oklahoma
Today (“House Proud,” July/August 2022).
I grew up in Carter Nine, the oil camp
owned by Skelly Oil Company back in the
1940s and ’50s. I never knew the history of
these shotgun houses, so I was thrilled to
read the article.
Judith Porter
Newport, Rhode Island
Breaking News
The location of the July/August 2022
issue “Off the Map” is Break O’ Day Farm
and Metcalfe Museum in Durham. I enjoy
reading Oklahoma Today. There are so
many interesting places a person can stay
in our state. You should come to Shattuck
and see the Windmill Park and Museum.
Judy Abbott
Shattuck
Lunch Bunch
I was privileged to go to end-of-school
parties at Augusta Metcalfe’s farm. We
took picnic lunches and played in the
creek. She and her son, Howard, gave
tours. Her paintings are phenomenal.
Alexia White
Late Breaking
What fun to see Augusta Metcalfe’s
home and museum. I grew up a few
miles from there and visited several
times. She and her son hosted our last-
day-of-school picnic when I was in fifth
grade. She sat on a chair and watched
us kids wading in the river. I returned
to Break O’Day Farm several times
after I went to work at the Oklahoma
Historical Society. I served as the deputy
The Gift
state historic preservation officer there
until my retirement a few years ago.
to Give
Melvena Heisch
Oklahoma City
On page 59 of this issue, you’ll find our
We love hearing from readers.
“Experiences Gift Guide,” a listing of
Letters are subject to editing
Oklahoma businesses that’ll help you give
and must include name,
the people you love memories that’ll last
address, and a daytime phone
number. Send correspondence
a lifetime—instead of presents that won't.
to Oklahoma Today, Attn: Editor,
What’s the perfect way to supplement that
P.O. Box 248937, Oklahoma
list year-round and help your friends and
City, OK 73124. Address email
family have an Oklahoma experience like
no other? A gift subscription to Oklahoma
to Letters@TravelOK.com.
Today! Gift subscriptions are available
for a limited time for the low price of only
$17.95 per year. Six issues a year will
be delivered directly to your loved ones’
Twitter: @oklahomatoday
doors (and inboxes) with zero hassle. Visit
GiveAGift.OklahomaToday.com to get
started. And if you’re a business leader
buying subscriptions for your clients,
Instagram: @oklahomatoday
employees, or guests, contact us for a
special Gold Sticker rate. Each issue comes
with a personalized greeting from you. Just
call (405) 522-9535 to place an order.
facebook.com/oklahomatoday
OklahomaToday.com 13
 “Christmas is the keeping place for memories of our innocence.”
—JOA N M I L L S

LORI DUCKWORTH

Hung with Care

Though Oklahoma’s Travel Information Centers are great for gifts year-round, the holiday season is their time to really
shine. Eight locations around the state sell locally made sauces, jams, pickled vegetables, T-shirts, pillows, and more.
But OLD WORLD CHRISTMAS OKLAHOMA-THEMED GLASS ORNAMENTS, like this Oklahoma-shaped stunner, are
perhaps the best way to gift some sparkle and Yuletide cheer. TravelOK.com/TourismInformationCenters

OklahomaToday.com 15
 ON THE MAP

Though every River of Love cabin is unique,
each is perfect for a romantic getaway.
“We fell in love with the whole con-
OVERNIGHT cept. It was the first time we’d stayed in
a cabin,” Kelly says. “We’d acquired some
property inherited from John’s family,
so we started praying and talking about
doing this ourselves.”
Even with their full-time jobs and the
care of three children, the Liddells made it
happen. And they’re not done yet, she says.
The oldest cabin of the bunch is the
rustic Red Bud Cabin, built in 2005.
The family didn’t have any construction
experience going in, but with the help of
their friends, they were able to finish it in
a matter of months.
That success was followed a year later
when they built The Green Briar, then
the Love Train Caboose, Creekside Cot-
tage, and The Love Shack. In the last year,
BRENT FUCHS
countless lovebirds have etched their heart-
bordered initials into the tree trunks.
When Kelly says River of Love’s cabins
are perfect for a getaway, she’s not kidding.
Cell service on those sixty acres is spotty
at best and practically non-existent inside
the buildings. It can be a blessed escape for
workaholics who have trouble disconnect-
ing from the office and reconnecting with
that special someone.
Luckily, the Red Bud Cabin is built to ser-
vice all the needs that might otherwise take
guests back out into the world. A full-sized
refrigerator can hold more than enough
food and drink for a few days away from
civilization, and an electric range and mi-
crowave ensure guests can dine on anything
from a sizzling hot steak to a quick-and-
easy Hot Pocket.
Alongside an invitingly comfy king bed,
there are chairs, stools, and a loveseat to
lounge on while playing a game, chatting,

the family has added two more: The Star-
gazer, which includes a rooftop deck for
taking in southern Oklahoma’s celestial
delights, and Precious Cargo, built from
a forty-foot shipping container. Though
or watching the collection of movies on the
wall-mounted flat-screen TV. Streaming
Netflix is off the menu, but that’s just another
facet of getting away from it all.
But if communing with their fellow

Love Shacks
No Wi-Fi is no problem for
couples seeking a romantic
getaway at the River of Love
Cabins in Thackerville.
BY G R E G E LW E LL
WHEN A TOWN boasts the largest casino in
the world, it’s a fair bet that many of the
visitors who enter city limits are there to
gamble. But for those seeking the absolute
polar opposite of loud noises, bright lights,
and the hustle and bustle of the gaming
floor, Thackerville has a lot more to offer.
Travelers who want a peaceful respite
disconnected from the world while still
tantalizingly close to civilization will find
succor at the River of Love Cabins.
Once drivers see a painted sign at the
side of the road, they won’t need to drive
nearly fifteen miles—less than one, actu-
ally—to reach this small enclave of seven
themed cabins. After they buzz through
the code-secured gate, they wind their
way through a thicket of woods to find a
secluded getaway.
The idea for River of Love started
around 2005, when John and Kelly Lid-
dell were recommended a stay in Broken
Bow, which has become famous for its
luxury cabins.
the River of Love’s cabins share the same
sixty acres, they feel worlds apart from
one another.
Despite its name, the popular Red Bud
Cabin is made from several types of oak,
mahogany, and cedar for a sturdy stay.
The titular redbud tree sits out front of
the cabin by the fire pit, perfect company
while setting a few logs ablaze and enjoy-
ing the crisp air with a plate of s’mores
and a glass of wine. Around the back,
guests can grab a snooze in a hammock
or let the bubbling waters of the hot tub
soothe away any kinks and cramps col-
lected on the drive to Thackerville. The
cabin’s romantic image spills past the
back porch and into the woods, where
humans is what guests want, River of Love
is working to accommodate that, too. In
addition to building more cabins and other
structures, Kelly says they’re working on their
pond to create a common area where people
can meet up, grill some dinner, and throw
some horseshoes or play a game of cornhole.
The company motto is “rest, relax, and
renew,” but the Liddells aren’t doing any We Have Something
relaxing—that’s to make sure lucky travelers For Everyone
have the opportunity themselves.
RICKSDOWNTOWN.COM
109A W Oklahoma Ave, Guthrie, OK
RIVER OF LOVE CABINS
> (580) 276-6502 405-293-9309
> riveroflove.com

NEW RELEASES
BIG SKY COWBOY BALLADS, TULSA KING
Season three of Big Sky premiered earlier this PART I Tulsa King finally premieres on Paramount+
Sky Ballads, King! fall. New episodes of the ABC crime show feature
Oklahoma icon Reba
Jesse Tabish, the
frontman of successful
November 13. The series, much of it filmed on
location in Oklahoma in
McEntire and her Okie Oklahoma indie act 2022, follows the story
BRIAN DOUGLAS/PARAMOUNT+

Check out these three boyfriend Rex Linn as Other Lives, released of a mobster, played
delightful drops from Okie the show’s suspected a new solo album titled Cowboy Ballads, Part I in by Sylvester Stallone,
creatives post haste.
MICHAEL MORIATIS/ABC

villains, a pair of business
owners who arouse
BY BECKY CARMAN suspicion around the
disappearance of a hiker.
16 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
October. Tabish and his collaborator and wife Kim recently released from
Tabish created the record during pandemic-related prison and trying to start
lockdowns, and the gold vinyl is available to purchase a new criminal enterprise
via label Play It Again Sam. playitagainsam.net in Tulsa.
OklahomaToday.com 17
ON THE MAP

THE MARKET

Heart and Home
Wreaths from Wildflower at Heart in Duncan
will make any home merry and bright.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENT FUCHS
Boughs of holly are fine, but why not decorate your space with
something jollier? At Wildflower at Heart in Duncan, florist Sarah
Taylor and her assistant Kara Jones create wreaths for any occasion,
but their Christmas and fall adornments—seen here—are particularly
merry-making. Customers also can choose from a huge variety of live
and silk florals for other types of arrangements, order a candy bouquet WILDFLOWER AT HEART
for a sweetheart, or shop an ever-growing selection of gift items. > 982 West Willow Avenue in Duncan
Wreaths are $50 to $150 and require twenty-four hours notice. > (580) 656-5996
> facebook.com/wildfloweratheartduncan

18 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 19

 ON THE MAP
MUSIC
BRENT FUCHS
Production
Palace
Castle Row Studios is putting
Del City on the map, and the
entertainment world is on notice.
BY CAROL MOWDY BOND
THROUGHOUT HIS CHILDHOOD, Garrett
Starks spent untold hours on the family
tractor blasting the radio. It was in that
very seat that he decided to become
a drummer. In middle school, he
performed with friends and recorded
some of their original songs. After high
school, he studied audio production at
New York University. When he returned
to Oklahoma, the Cherokee native built
a small studio in his home. But then, he
started thinking bigger.
“I realized Oklahoma City needed a
commercial studio,” he says.
After a few months of searching,
Starks found an empty, beat-up building
20 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
tucked into a Del City side street.
Nestled among other retro spaces, the
more than seventy-year-old structure’s
entertainment history dates back to the
1940s, when George Epperly opened the
Del City movie theater here. Years later,
the voices of Vince Gill, Merle Haggard,
and Dolly Parton graced the halls of Del
City Music and Woodside Studios.
“It had been a music store that offered
lessons and a small recording studio for
demos,” Starks says. “Reba McEntire took
vocal lessons there too.”
It took two years to gut the old movie
theater, but Starks’ Castle Row Studios
opened in 2015.
“I had a small recording studio in my
home, and the entrance to my home
looked like a castle entrance,” Starks says.
“Then, moving to this building in Del
City, it had a sort of grand entrance as
well. So the name stuck.”
Starks hoped his studio would
elevate the state’s musical reputation—
and the local artists working within
that industry—but also attract A-list
talent from elsewhere. So he tapped
In addition to recording services, Starks
and his team also help independent artists
learn how to market themselves better.
award-winning architectural and
electro-acoustic engineer Steven Durr
of Nashville to design the studio.
The results include a 10,600-square-
foot multipurpose space with three
state-of-the-art sound studios, a live
performance venue, tracking room,
mix room, band studio, and numerous
production rooms.
Starks also has assembled a production
team to take on projects for music
of any genre. Their tools include an
analog mixer, which amplifies sounds
from microphones or instruments and
blends them together using an SSL
9000 J console, which is an analog
mixing control. The team also uses a
state-of-the-art Avid S6 console and an
Avid C24 control surface for mixing,
recording, and editing. In addition to the
studio’s superior acoustics, this specialty
equipment makes Castle Row Studios a
musical mecca for recording artists.
Now that Starks has nabbed Ada
film producer Kevin Waller as a partner
THE MARLAND ESTATES
and co-owner, the duo tackles film,
Oil Baron’s Palaces On The Prairie - Ponca City
television, music production, custom
audio production, sound editing, audio
mixing, animation voice recording, post-
production, and advertising. Their crew
scores movies, makes albums, and records
radio spots.
“In a typical month, we’ll have thirty
or more musicians working here,” Starks
says. “We’ll work on as many films as
are coming through, and we often have
music events. We’ll also have promotional
shoots, and we shoot projects for
educational content. Now, we’re working
on Opentrack master-class-style online
film and music courses.”
Starks hoped his studio would elevate
the state’s musical reputation.
Discover the legacy of oil baron E.W. Marland through the
fascinating story of his journey to riches during the oil boom
Though Oklahomans are happy to have and his lasting mark on Ponca City.
a professional studio in their own state,
the industry at large is taking note as well. E.W. MARLAND MANSION MARLAND GRAND HOME
901 Monument Road, Ponca City, OK 1000 East Grand, Ponca City, OK
“We’ve landed sessions with Kanye
West,” Starks says. “We just did a few Hours Subject to Change Hours Subject to Change
Please call to confirm Please call to confirm
tracks on Blake Shelton’s latest record.
We did work for NBC’s The Voice, and Mon-Sat 10 am to 5 pm Tue-Sat 10 am - 5 pm
we worked on The Lion King musical Closed Sunday Closed Sunday and Monday
and films such as I Can Only Imagine.
We’ve worked on television shows MarlandMansion.com • 580.767.0420
such as Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and
Reservation Dogs.”
This grand palace of sound is certainly
making waves within the entertainment
GreenCountryOK.com
industry, and it doesn’t look like things
are going to calm down any time soon.
That’s just the way Starks likes it.
“We made studios more in line with
how studios are built in New York,
Nashville, Los Angeles, and Miami,” Starks
says. “We’re looking to grow the film
industry here. There’s so much more that
can be done in Oklahoma.” March 10–12th, 2023
An exhibition that features Oklahoma artists aged 30 and under
CASTLE ROW STUDIOS
> 2908 Epperly Drive in Del City
> (405) 265-6793 www.ovac-ok.org
> castlerowstudios.com @ovac_ok
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
OklahomaToday.com 21
 ON THE MAP

STREET VIEW

Auto Play AUTOMOBILE ALLEY ASSOCIATION

> 211 North Robinson Avenue
> (405) 235-3500
Once a popular spot for car dealerships, now Automobile > automobilealley.org
Alley in Oklahoma City has plenty for pedestrians to
explore, eat, and shop at the holidays.

BY COOPER MARSHALL
I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y J J R I T C H E Y

LORI DUCKWORTH

LORI DUCKWORTH

SEE
Every holiday season, the buildings on
Automobile Alley glow with 600,000
lights. Beginning November 26, you
can browse the various shops on the
street while admiring the incandescent
beauty. During the annual Lights on
Broadway events December 3 and
10, there will be window displays, live
music, balloon art, and performances
from 4 to 7 p.m. at the various
restaurants and shops. Rumor has it
that Santa Claus will even be there to
take some photos with all his fans. But
the lights will be up until New Year’s
Day. downtownindecember.com/
lights-on-broadway
PLAY
Factory Obscura: Mix-Tape was
inspired by the songs that impacted
the thirty local artists who made
it. But visitors also are encouraged
to interact with the exhibition and
create their own experiences. That’s
especially true on December 17,
when everyone can dress up like a
child of the forest (or wear anything
with lights) during the March of the
Trees from Oklahoma Contemporary
to Mix-Tape in celebration of the
winter solstice. 25 Northwest
9th Street, (405) 367-1578 or
factoryobscura.com
MEGAN ROSSMAN
SHOP
Get bags of Oklahoma swag at
Shop Good. Visitors can watch
the staff print their ecofriendly,
ethically made, super-soft
T-shirts with the store’s very
own printing press. Each shirt is
designed by the Shop Good team
led by co-owner Justin Falk. They
also sell other goods like mugs,
pins, toys, jewelry, stickers, and
apparel. On November 26, shop
some great Small Business Day
deals. 1007 North Broadway
Avenue, (405) 702-0517 or
shopgoodokc.com
DRINK
Have a drink while you play retro
video games and hang out at
Vanessa House Beer Co. Inside
are walls adorned with a mural by
Jake Beeson as well as inventive
brews such as the Candy King, a
SweeTarts-inspired Berliner weisse,
or the popular 401 (k) Cream Ale.
Stop by on Mondays for a free
Super Smash Bros. tournament,
Thursdays for Bingo Bango Songo
night, and Sundays for Dungeons
& Dragons. 118 Northwest 8th
Street, (405) 724-9330 or
vanessahousebeerco.com

EAT
Saj Lebanese Cuisine will make you fall head-over-heels for family
recipes made with love. The menu promises a wide selection of meals
such as hashweh with chicken and rice with Lebanese-spiced beef
and roasted almonds. The beef or chicken shawarma consists of
slow-roasted meat with veggies wrapped in saj, flatbread named after
the traditional Middle Eastern stove it is made on and the restaurant’s
specialty. Every day brings new special meals, and every Saturday
brings kibbe-nayeh, a raw beef dish made with bulgur wheat, olive oil,
mint, red onion, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and pepper.
714 North Broadway Avenue, (405) 673-7082 or sajokc.com

OklahomaToday.com 23
 “What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”
—JO H N S T E I N B E C K

LORI DUCKWORTH

Skip to the ’Loos

When the thermometer starts dropping and the chilly breezes start blowing, it might seem like patio season is over. “Not so fast,”
say the folks behind Welltown Brewing in Tulsa. From November 23 to March 27, IGLOOTOWN offers nine oases of warmth and
comfort, where those with reservations can enjoy charcuterie plates, play games, and revel in the company of friends, family,
and winter sunshine—no coat required. welltownbrewing.com/iglootown

OklahomaToday.com 25
 ORDER UP
RESTAURANT
LORI DUCKWORTH
Southwestern
Hospitality
A meal at Flower Bluff Manor
in Sulphur is a grand—and
delicious—affair.
B Y J O H N S E LV I D G E
EACH YEAR IN Sulphur, it begins to look a
lot like Christmas the first weekend of De-
cember. That’s when the small downtown
becomes ablaze at night with Yuletide
lights and outsized decorations, along with
all kinds of picturesque kitsch like horse-
drawn carriage rides, candlelit historical
tours, and bands of roving carolers jolly
enough to put old man Fezziwig to shame.
“Sulphur comes alive for the holidays,”
says Linda Davis, proprietor and chef at
Flower Bluff Manor. “It’s a real Hallmark
feel we’ve got here.”
From the outside, the manor is some-
thing to see at peak seasonal lumines-
cence, but even undecorated, it stands
26 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
out by virtue of its unique architec-
ture—call it an Arts and Crafts Four-
square mansion replete with Southern
charms like a wraparound porch and
second-floor veranda. Built in 1924 by
businessman (and onetime Sulphur
mayor and sheriff) Jesse Denton Ramsey,
the mansion is said to have been a gift to
his third wife and former maid, Sophia.
Their ghosts are reputed to still haunt
its upstairs rooms, which are available to
rent nightly for those wanting to explore
the manor’s spookier side.
But for a more wholesome, less
supernatural kind of holiday spirit, dinner
should do the trick. Entering its cozy front hardly the perfect timing.
dining room, visitors might infer from
the garland-and-holly-decked mantel and
crackling fireplace
that the manor can
provide the ideal
Christmas Eve FLOWER BLUFF MANOR
dinner for those > 329 West Muskogee Avenue in Sulphur
> (580) 622-4005
not wanting to
cook it themselves. > theflowerbluffmanor.com
Somewhere between
sumptuous and
In addition to steaks and seafood, Flower
Bluff Manor also offers interesting specials
like corned beef and cabbage.
rustic, the period-specific atmosphere
is helped along by historical photos
lining the walls. The restaurant’s service
approaches fine dining but with a relaxed
country flair. There’s even a fire pit outside
for guests to warm their hands while
enjoying the frosty air in the wintertime.
Flower Bluff Manor feels well-
established now, but Davis admits
that launching a new restaurant after
acquiring the property in early 2020 was
“When COVID hit,” she says, “I had to
get creative.”
After some
triage and belt-
tightening, now
she can count
on the region’s
weekend tourists
to help fill the
fifty-plus seats
within and without
BECOME AN
OKLAHOMA INSIDER.
“Sulphur comes alive for the
holidays. It’s a real Hallmark feel
we’ve got here.”
the manor and concentrate on feeding
her guests home-cooked meals, the
most popular of which are the steaks, Get events info and
unsurprisingly, since Davis serves
Certified Angus Prime beef that she cuts
behind-the-scenes
on the premises and grills to perfection
with the help of a salamander broiler.
These steaks can compete with some stories about
of Oklahoma City and Tulsa’s finest­—
without the big-city prices. Oklahoma’s food,
It’s a point of pride that nearly
everything that hits the table is made travel, events, and
in-house. The Marry Me chicken, a
menu standout, takes its name from
culture sent
an herb-driven, sun-dried tomato
sauce that’s verdant, enigmatic, and
sensuous enough (just maybe) to inspire to your inbox.
propositions of matrimony.
For the holidays, it’s not just the
décor that makes the season. A special
menu built around winter comfort
food features roast beef, ham, beans
and cornbread, chicken and dumplings,
a Christmas meatloaf, and Davis’
signature baked potato soup. And the
Cajun pasta, featured on the take-and-
bake menu and accented beautifully
by sautéed bell peppers and sausage,
is intricately spiced until it’s lush and
peppery-rich enough to make New
Orleans natives homesick. It’s not
necessarily a traditional favorite, but it
soon will be.
Guests can rent Flower Bluff Manor
for private events like family reunions
and holiday parties, but since its
reputation has grown as a place to
make merry, they’ll want to make their
reservations early. Davis knows that
the manor offers something singular,
something that recalls a vintage Sign up for Oklahoma Today’s newsletters at
Christmas card from a bygone era.
“With families so separated these
days, I want them to feel like they’re Newsletter.OklahomaToday.com.
eating at Grandma’s house,” she says.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”
OklahomaToday.com 27
 ORDER UP

ROUNDUP

1 3

Treat Brief
Food is many Oklahomans’
love language, so get them
what they really want at one
of these seven purveyors of
pleasant provisions.
BY COOPER MARSHALL
I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y J J R I T C H E Y
hamburgers. Be on the lookout for Tower
Cafe school fundraisers around the state
in the fall, when you can purchase frozen
cinnamon rolls by the dozen. 412 South
Main Street, (405) 263-7911 or
facebook.com/towercafeandbakery
2 If fall had an official flavor, apple
would certainly be a contender. But
how do you take a healthy treat and make
it into an indulgent delicacy fit for gifting?
3 About nine years ago, Melissa and
James Thomas started making toffee
and other candies to give to friends and to
enter in baking shows. After some encour-
agement from their satisfied buddies, the
couple established Apron Strings Candy
in Enid in 2013 so that everyone can have a
chance to try their old-fashioned, creamy,
mouth-watering toffee. They also sell
other long-beloved treats such as divin-
ity, trail mix, cinnamon nuts, Christmas
noshing and gifting. Rebecca and Mark
Sandmann’s homemade pecan toffee
crunch and chocolate pecan fudge contain
plenty of their signature roasted pecans to
give them that perfect crunch. Combine
those with peppermint bark and 119 other
flavors of fudge, and you’ve got a custom
gift box perfect for just about anyone
without a nut allergy. 902 North Service
Road, (580) 434-3111
For extra credit, Santa’s little helpers can
throw in some of Viridian’s rich syrup in
flavors like pumpkin spice, peppermint,
tempted to skip the mug and pop them
directly into their mouths. 7 Northwest 9th
Street, (405) 397-4812 or katiebugsokc.com
and gingerbread for a cup of coffee even
the big man would love. The original
Viridian Coffee is located at 1460 West Main
Street in Duncan. (580) 695-0560
7 The holidays typically are sugary
affairs, so giving something savory
from Amish Cheese House is a way to
or viridiancoffee.com  stand out among the pile under the tree.
Amish communities make the cheese at
6 Warming your icy hands with a
steaming mug of hot chocolate and
this Chouteau mainstay, which opened
in 2000. Aside from dairy delights like

1 The Hubbard family started selling

their famous Tower Cafe and Bakery
cinnamon rolls in Okarche during the
1970s and still follow their Grandma
Gilles’ recipe to this day. Visitors can
order the buttery cinnamon goodness
individually or by the dozen. Tower Cafe
also offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner
options such as chicken-fried steak and
Ashley and Scotty Jackson opened Apple
Tree Chocolate in Norman in 2015, where
they enrobe juicy apples with seasonal
flavors including peppermint caramel,
pumpkin spice, and, naturally, apple pie.
Customers also can order the Jacksons’
homemade peppermint bark, peanut
brittle, truffles, and fudge online for
delivery or pick-up. 209 East Main Street,
(405) 310-3959 or appletreechocolate.com
cookies, and gift boxes for those who can’t
pick just one.
3810 East Market Street, (580) 300-3009
or apronstringscandy.squarespace.com
4 With an orchard of more than a
thousand pecan trees and decades of
pecan farming knowledge, it’s a safe bet
that Three Rivers Pecans in Calera will
have plenty of nutty treats perfect for
5 After being awoken by screaming kids
before the sun rises, no one needs
caffeine more than parents on Christmas
morning. Java from Viridian Coffee has
that, along with the smooth taste of fresh,
locally roasted beans. With locations in
Duncan, Chickasha, Cache, and Lawton,
the coffee shops serve and deliver one- and
five-pound bags of beans, K-cups, and gift
boxes around southwestern Oklahoma.
marshmallows is one of winter’s most
magical moments. Fortunately, Katie
Morgan, her mom, and the team at
Katiebug’s Sips & Sweets offer their
own versions that blow Swiss Miss away.
This Oklahoma City walk-up window
and drive-through bakery crafts sippable
cocoa and marshmallows in flavors like
peppermint and eggnog. But they’re
so fluffy and soft, gift getters might be
Longhorn Colby, smoked cheeses, and
cheddar cheese balls rolled in smoke-dried
beef, Amish Cheese House also sells fudge,
ice cream, and gift boxes made for delivery
or pick-up. The shop has a gift card sale
the Saturday before Thanksgiving on their
website, but customers who stop by can
order a sandwich from the deli. 101 South
Chouteau Avenue, (918) 476-4811
or amishcheesehouse.com

28 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 29

 ORDER UP
PIZZ A PART Y
VALERIE WEI-HAAS
A Slice So Nice
When these New York-style
pizza fans couldn’t get their
fill, they opened their own
slice sanctuaries.
BY G R E G E LW E LL
START SPREADING THE sauce. I’m eating
today. I want to fold a slice of it. New
York, New York!
With apologies to Frank Sinatra, the
Yankees, the Empire State Building, and
the Statue of Liberty, pizza is top of mind
when it comes to New York. Italy remains
the birthplace of pizza, but New York is
where pizza went from foreign delicacy
to American staple. It’s also where pizza
evolved from the seared crust of the
smaller Neapolitan-style pizza to those
crispy, chewy, family-sized pies and
iconic giant slices seen on the big screen
in Saturday Night Fever and Home Alone 2:
Lost in New York.
30 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
But it’s not just the size of the pizzas
that make them New York-style, says Papa
Angelo’s Pizzeria owner Joseph DiGianto-
masso. The Empire State expat put all of
the attitude and flavor of a classic New
York City pizzeria into his Bethany-based
shop when it opened fourteen years ago.
“When you’re talking New York,
it’s about that thin crust with quality
cheese,” he says.
A great New York-style slice will be
large—usually about an eighth of the
pizza—with a thin crust that has a bit
of crispness and a slight chewiness that
keeps the flavor of the pizza on the pal-
ate for a little longer than usual. Sauces
vary by shop, but the focus on top-notch
cheese is standard.
“Me personally, I buy the best cheese I
can get,” DiGiantomasso says.
That’s a pricier proposition than ever
thanks to rising food costs. In 2021,
the shop used 22,000 pounds of cheese
for $87,000. But it’s worth it, he says,
because that’s what it takes to make a
great pie.
Aside from delicious pies, Uncle Vinny’s NY
Pizzeria offers generous customers the chance
to buy a pizza for someone less fortunate.
“I’m not going to sell garbage. I’ll go
out of business before I sell garbage,” Di-
Giantomasso says. “I eat the same pizzas
I serve. I’m not going to eat something I
don’t enjoy.”
That’s why he opened a pizzeria in
the first place. DiGiantomasso came to
Oklahoma as a construction worker but
couldn’t find the pizza he loved so much
in New York, so he started his own shop.
It’s a similar story in Broken Arrow,
where Uncle Vinny’s NY Pizzeria sells
slices and pies all day long. The mother-
and-son team of Kim and Lawrence
Zezima are on their second stint as own-
ers of the pizzeria, which began, in part,
because Kim had never had conveyor belt
pizza before coming to Oklahoma.
“We ordered two pizzas and, when we
opened the boxes, I thought something
had gone wrong,” she says. “I called, and
they sent out two more pizzas, and that’s
when I realized.”
There’s a wide chasm between fast
food pizza and New York-style pizza.
Kim’s dough is stretched to a sixteen-inch
diameter and covered in a thin layer of
sauce she makes herself before a rain of
proprietary Grande mozzarella cheese
blend blankets the surface and the whole
pizza finds its way into a blazing hot gas
deck oven. What comes out is delicious,
but more importantly, it’s reassuring.
Pizza is a comfort food, and it’s even
more vital in trying times. For DiGianto-
masso and the Zezimas, feeding customers
that special blend of New York attitude
and classic pizza flavor is one way of giving
Oklahomans, wherever they came from, a
taste of comfort.
PAPA ANGELO’S PIZZERIA
> 6744 Northwest 39th Expressway
in Bethany
> papaangelospizza.com
UNCLE VINNY’S NY PIZZERIA
> 322 West Kenosha Street in
Broken Arrow
> (918) 251-6666
Oklahoma Today: The Podcast
JJ RITCHEY
QUANTIT Y
AND QUALIT Y
If pizza is good, then more pizza
is better, right? These pizza
buffets serve up slice after slice
to hungry patrons who demand
the best . . . and a lot of it.
Pizza Corral
Diners can rein in their hunger during a trip
to Elgin’s Pizza Corral, which prides itself
on its made-fresh-daily dough, exquisite
specialty pizzas, and buffets at lunch and
sometimes dinner. One of the most popular
options to lasso at the Corral is the Native
Smoke BBQ pizza made with smoky brisket,
SEASON
mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, and a
finishing drizzle of barbecue sauce. Those
THREE
who aren’t down to share can order any of
the pizzas to go. facebook.com/pizzacorral
Italian Express
Italian Express stocks its buffet with plenty
of pies, salad, and pastas for an all-you-can-
Now Streaming
eat experience that can sate even the most
ravenous of guests. But what no one can get
enough of is owner Hassan Daneshmand’s
bottomless hospitality. Downtown dwellers
in Oklahoma City happily share this not-
so-secret spot with visitors looking for a
filling lunch on a budget. Search for “Italian
Express” on Facebook. Available
on your favorite
Ken’s Pizza
Old school Oklahoma pizza fans know and
love Ken’s Pizza for its zesty sauce, toasted
cheese, and cracker-crisp crusts. The
podcast app.
Sapulpa location puts out a pizza buffet of
eight to ten pies at a time during lunch and
dinner for those diehard dine-in fans who
can’t be satisfied with a slice or two. Plus
a generous salad bar means diners might OklahomaToday.com/Podcast
accidentally eat their vegetables.
facebook.com/kenspizza
OklahomaToday.com 31
 ORDER UP

CHEFS
OklahomaGifts
Okie Bison - Unisex
Long Sleeve Tee
Adult sizes XS-2XL. $25

Okie Bison AirPods Case

AirPods or AirPods Pro. $13

Okie Bison Print

Premium Pillow
3 sizes available. $26
VALERIE WEI-HAAS

Oklahoma Today
Drawstring Bag
15”x17” $22

Table All A COURSE DINNER, but it’s all desserts;

an eight-dish Japanese breakfast
outlined at Et Al.’s launch: genuine
hospitality; delicious and genuine
Et Al. brings a new culinary adventure to Foolish
Things Coffee in Tulsa each week. Okie Bison Phone Case

for One accompanied by handmade teacups; food; a happy, healthy team; financial iPhone or Samsung. $14

Tulsa chef collective Et Al.
takes a principled stance on
pushing culinary boundaries.
BY BECKY CARMAN
brisket confit tacos on cooked-to-
order tortillas: Diners can get it all in
downtown Tulsa­—once the baristas are
off-duty.
These are the edible brainchildren of
Et Al., whose dining concepts currently
operate out of the Foolish Things
Coffee Co. kitchen during off hours.
The group’s members worked together
on various pop-up meals elsewhere
throughout 2021, then launched in
earnest in January with a GoFundMe
and a dream—or several—held together
by common vision. Et Al. describes
itself as “a collective of chefs working
collaboratively to
build a more equitable
ET AL.
future for the food and
beverage industry in > (918) 233-8604
Tulsa.” This mission
> etaltulsa.com
is guided by principles
transparency; and professional learning.
In practice, this looks (and tastes) like a
lot of different things.
Taqueria Et Al. is a weekly counter-
service dinner helmed by chef Marco
Herrera. It’s centered around heirloom
corn that they import, nixtamalize
(process), grind, and press for tortillas.
This laborious process shows an esteem
for tradition that’s then paired with
unexpected ingredients like salsa macha
with miso or a Japanese sweet potato taco
with whipped feta. How does this fit into
Et Al.’s commitment to genuine food?
“I try not to just do things because
they’re Mexican, and
I try not to do things
because they’re not
Mexican,” says Herrera,
who is from El Paso,
Texas, and whose
parents are from Mexico. “I want
the food to evoke the feeling and the
aesthetic of Mexican food and also want
to make it the way I feel represents me, Shop online at Shop.OklahomaToday.com
what I’ve eaten and what I’ve loved.”
It’s a flavor-first approach honed by
Herrera’s years in his dad’s Mexican
restaurant and extensive travel and
dining across the country, including
one meal so incendiary it tilted Herrera,
then a teacher, into pursuing food full-
time. Taqueria Et Al. is one of Herrera’s
contributions to the as-yet-undefined
food diaspora for hyphenate Americans.
And most importantly, it’s delicious.
Elsewhere in the Et Al. multiverse,
genuine means other things. Dumpling
Night on Wednesdays and Japanese
Breakfast Sundays, both from Colin
Sato, similarly explore family memories
with traditional Japanese foods like

32 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 33

 ORDER UP
CHEFS
okonomiyaki, chicken karaage, and
mountains of hand-folded dumplings.
Meanwhile, Bischix—also served one
Sunday each month—is a tongue-in-
cheek mashup of southern American
breakfast foods, brunch cocktails, and
sheer joy by chefs Chloe Butler, Julia
Johnson, and Alex Koch.
“It’s about pushing boundaries on a
good meal. You can have a really full meal
that isn’t traditional-looking, and there’s
room for both adventurous things and
for bacon and eggs on a biscuit,” says
Johnson. “If someone is a plain eater, I
VALERIE WEI-HAAS
want to always have something for them.
People who want to get out of their
comfort zones, I want to have things for
them as well.”
Butler also is behind Butter Bar, a
monthly prix fixe Saturday night dinner,
minus the dinner. One ticket buys several
courses that may include cheese paired
with fresh crackers and jam, seasonal
fruit cobbler, or rich pot de crème.
Wine pairings elevate the sugar rush to
something unexpected and nuanced but
mostly just meant to taste good. All of
that consideration is a lot of work.
“For the last one, we did an overnight
prep shift until six a.m. trying to make
everything as fresh as possible and still
rest at some point,” Butler says. But that
effort didn’t go unnoticed. “It’s had such a
good response, which was surprising, and
it’s been fun to push that idea forward
and have the whole community be so
receptive to it.”
Less than a year into the endeavor,
events sell out more often than not,
and the chefs of Et Al. debut new ideas
regularly. Cerebral food is one thing, but
getting new people on board is another.
Et Al. is doing both with sweat equity—
emphasis on the equity. Et al., translated
from Latin, means and others. For Et
Al., this means work-life balance, equal
pay, and diehard support of each other
through culinary exploration and the
business-side challenges of a model with
no local parallel.
“We’re going through the pain of
building the staircase as we go,” Herrera
says. “The team is learning to take care of
PBJ Toast from chef Chloe Butler’s Butter Bar is
a delicious treat during this monthly feast.
each other. We push and grow with each
other. I hoped for that on paper but didn’t
expect it to feel so much like everyone’s
down for the mission. I never thought I
would be so happy to show up and be a
dumpling cook, just supporting Colin or
Alex or Chloe.”
Butler agrees that while their end goals
vary—multi-venue pastry chef, taco-and-
beer-joint owner, cocktail wizard, and so
on—the most critical target they work
toward is respect for others.
“Obviously, the food is great, and
I’m excited we get to share that with
everyone, but I want workers to feel
valued and like what they’re doing every
day matters,” Butler says.
The others include diners who show
up for memorable food that’s also imbued
with meaning, both in support of the
team’s culinary ideas and integral to Et
Al.’s purpose.
“I want to help Tulsa see that
restaurants where people are paid
equally work and to create beautiful and
adventurous food,” Johnson says. “It’s
delicious food for people to experience
and environments where people can
come with family and friends and
feel welcomed and safe and part of
something. As long as it’s done with
integrity, creating something beautiful,
I’m proud of it.”
 “Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
—E M I LY B RO N T Ë

K E E P YO U R N E W S A N D
MUSIC INDEPENDENT IN 2023
W H E N YO U S U P P O R T I T AT LORI DUCKWORTH

D O N AT E . KO S U .O R G
Gnome for the Holidays
Long exiled to the garden, gnomes are becoming increasingly fashionable as decorations in every room of the home. This is thanks
in part to Teri Holle, the Enid artist behind the FAIRY POT SHOP on Etsy. There, customers can find terra cotta pot-based pirates,
Lord of the Rings characters, Nativity sets, bottle stopper gnomes, fall-themed girls and boys like the ones seen here, and dozens
more adorable designs. Holle customizes each order, so they may take up to three weeks to arrive. etsy.com/shop/fairypotshop

PHOTO BY TIM ZÄNKERT ON UNSPLASH OklahomaToday.com 37

 ORIGINALS
VOICES
MUSCOGEE NATIONON
Harmonizing
Cultures
Though call-and-response
hymns have been passed
through generations of Native
Oklahomans, the style has
roots around the world and far
back into history.
BY TOMMY CUMMINGS
ON ANY GIVEN day of worship at a rural
church in the Muscogee and Seminole
nations in eastern and central Oklahoma,
visitors can hear the melodious, powerful
harmonies of a congregation singing gospel
hymns. Inflective, bold baritone pitches
from the men are mixed with enchanting
choruses from the women. As their voices
merge, the a capella crescendos of Native
or mixed languages swell to encompass the
whole space. Native hymn singers project
reverently in a music style known as call-
and-response, during which the song leader
will sing a psalm and the other vocalists
respond in a specific pattern. The songs
themselves have been passed down for
38 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
generations. Over the years, historians have
explored and debated the origin of this style,
but it all goes back to a form of vocalization
known as line singing.
The form has been traced to the high-
lands of Scotland as early as the 1600s, when
services were sung in Gaelic. Later, the
call-and-response style was evident in songs
by descendants of West African slaves in the
American South and by white congregations
in churches in Appalachia. In the South, the
tradition was picked up by Muscogee people
and other tribes native to the southeastern
United States. Many tribal members had
lived or intermarried with Scottish traders
before their removal to Indian Territory. So
in Oklahoma, most eastern tribes continue
this tradition at services and events.
In Sterlin Harjo’s 2014 documentary This
May Be the Last Time, the Muscogee and
Seminole filmmaker took a deep dive into
the topic, framing his movie on the disap-
pearance of his grandfather, Pete Harjo, in
1962. In his film, he interviewed relatives
and locals as well as academic experts on the
evolution of Muscogee hymns.
“Out of that, this cultural change
happened, and out of that came these
Muscogee hymns that very much sound like
they’re influenced by Scottish missionary
Singers from the Muscogee Nation celebrate
the inauguration of Principal Chief David W.
Hill and Second Chief Del Beaver at River Spirit
Casino Resort in Tulsa in January 2020.
songs, Christian hymns, and also slave
spirituals,” Harjo said in a 2014 interview,
which is available on YouTube.
Harjo’s movie touched on the styles
at a 2007 line-singing conference at Yale
University, where Hugh Foley, a Native
American history professor and music
historian at Rogers State University in
Claremore, was taken by the diversity
of the hymns’ presentations and how
European, African, and Native American
traditions melded.
“To apostatize better, they needed those
songs to be in the Muscogee language, and
so they put in the Muscogee words, and
then you’ve got a Scottish hymn form with
an African melody with Muscogee lyrics,”
Foley says.
Edwin Marshall, tribal historic preser-
vation officer for the Seminole Nation,
says it’s a misconception that hymns
were sung by the wave of Muscogees and
Seminoles who were forcibly removed on
the Trail of Tears.
“Those were all traditional people,” he
says. “They didn’t have Christianity. They
were only Christianized after they were
removed to Oklahoma. Don’t let anybody
tell you that somebody was singing hymns
on the Trail of Tears. It did not happen.”
Wherever the style of hymn singing
Morning Sky Boutique
A unique shopping destination for the refined wanderer featuring Pendleton, BedStu, Sympli,
Johnny Was, Kendra Scott and more distinctive gifts for you and your home.
originated, fewer churches in the The Perfect Place for Your Holiday Shopping
aforementioned tribes’ jurisdictions have
song leaders today. Newman Frank Jr. says
he sang his first song on Labor Day in 1960.
He’s led songs at Muscogee Methodist
churches over the years, but he’s noticed
fewer leaders.
“I’m thankful I had the opportunity to
learn them, because I enjoy singing them,”
he says. “I like the spiritual-ness of the songs
and the different styles.”
Passing on the singing styles means a lot
to Frank. His thirty-year-old son Trevor
has picked up the tradition. His booming
voice adds an emphasis to the meaning of
the songs.
“You want your kids to learn it and come
of age,” Frank says. “We were blessed to
have that language, to have a good spiritual
awakening for a lot of people. I think it’s
great. You see people on Facebook—the
northern tribes, younger tribes—pick up
that hand drum and sing from the heart
and make a beautiful noise to the Lord.”
Thirty-five-year-old Ira Walker of
Wewoka created a YouTube channel several
years ago for viewers to feel the spirit
of Muscogee hymns. Walker has posted
twenty-three videos for nearly a thousand
subscribers, and a 2014 video of Muscogee
hymns at Wewoka Indian Baptist Church
has garnered more than 80,000 views.
“There’s not a lot of videos of
congregational singing and the Native
hymns,” he says. “There’s some for Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10-5 & Saturday 10-4
individual singing, and they’re good, but Owners: Callie Prier & Suzanne Sullivan
I like listening to recordings of the songs 106 S. Thornton Vian, OK 74962
sung in church. It sounds good, and you (918) 773-5000
www.morningskyboutique.com
can really feel the spirit in it.”
Morning Sky Boutique @shopmorningsky
Walker says he hopes to introduce
another generation and those outside
of the traditional Muscogee churches to
Muscogee hymns, since not many know of
them. These songs were an important part
of Muscogee and Seminole culture in the
Okie at Heart!
past, especially after removal.
“I want those who have an interest in the Order your
Muscogee culture to have access to these
songs,” he says. “I think the history behind Okie Euro
them is important for people to know. It stickers online.
also helps preserve the language.”
> Watch more than a dozen examples of
tribal hymns on Ira Walker’s YouTube Stickers.OklahomaToday.com
channel, youtube.com/user/irawalker10.
OklahomaToday.com 39
ORIGINALS
ARTS
Darkness
to Light
Visually impaired artist John
Davidson’s perseverance
and ever-evolving work
inspire new programming at
NewView Oklahoma.
BY BRENDAN HOOVER
40 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
SINCE HIS YOUTH in midcentury Harlem,
John Alexander Davidson has made art. He
loved drawing, especially anything West-
ern. That passion led to him to New York
City’s prestigious School of Visual Arts,
where he earned a degree learning from
some of the nation’s top working artists.
As an adult, Davidson moved to Oklahoma
City to pursue Christian ministry work,
but he kept creating. Then in the 1970s, his
eyesight began to fail.
This was a life-altering development
for a visual artist. Davidson could have
abandoned his passion—he could have
let the darkness envelop him. Instead, he
used faith and grit to overcome this new
reality. His art evolved from drawing and
painting to photography and photo collage.
The theory and principles he learned in art
school still applied, even if he could not see
them himself.
CHARLIE NEUENSCHWANDER
As a child, Davidson was inspired by a
trip to the Museum of Modern Art In
New York City.
“My understanding of design and com-
position, that didn’t go away,” he says.
Even now, at seventy-three, Davidson
still creates, and he’s inspiring a new gener-
ation of blind and visually impaired artists
to follow in his footsteps. He is working
with NewView Oklahoma—a nonprofit
whose mission is to help those who are
blind or have low vision to maximize
their opportunities for independence—to
create the Visions Art Project. Funded by
a grant from the Kirkpatrick Foundation,
the Visions Art Project will give NewView
Oklahoma clients—including Davidson
himself—the chance to craft and showcase
their own artwork.
“One of the things I have always wanted
my work to do is to be able to help and
inspire people to have greater vision, even
about their own lives,” says Davidson.
The Visions Art Project’s first phase will
be the design and production of a three-
panel portable exhibition display to be
installed at NewView’s Oklahoma City
location, says Ashley Howard, director of
marketing at NewView Oklahoma. The
display will facilitate art exhibitions by
blind artists as well as tactile and sensory-
specific art accessible for blind art patrons
to explore. The project’s second phase will
include new programming for NewView
clients and staff that will produce new art
suitable for display. The Visions Art Project
will supplement NewView Oklahoma’s
current programs, which include support
groups, vocation training, youth camp
experiences, optometry services, and more,
says Howard.
“John is a huge inspiration,” she adds.
In the past year, Davidson’s vision has
worsened to the point that he can only per-
ceive light. He came to another inflection
point in his life: Could he still produce art?
And if so, how? The decision to continue
working was easy, he says, and he remem-
bered a teacher from his School of Visual
Arts days who made collages from everyday
materials. Now Davidson makes tactile
John Davidson’s vision started failing due to
a genetic disorder and the onset of cataracts
at an early age, but he hasn’t let that stop
him from creating.
CHARLIE NEUENSCHWANDER
pieces that are both visually stunning and
interesting to interact with as well.
“I want blind and visually impaired
people to experience them, but sighted
people as well, something that is pleasant
to look at,” he says.
In March, Davidson was one of three
artists featured at an Oklahoma City
exhibit titled Art Abled at the Myriad
Botanical Gardens’ Crystal Bridge Gallery.
In August, NewView Oklahoma exhibited
a new piece titled Blessing Rain, a three-
dimensional work made from wood, cord,
beads, and washers fastened together and
suspended in space like a wind chime
or a Chinese lantern. It was up through
September 2022.
“I was thinking about the blessings in
my life,” Davidson says, “Blessings raining
down from God.”
A faithful man, Davidson belongs to
The Way International, a ministry that
follows the book of Acts, which posits
that the church is in the home. He orga-
nizes and participates in Bible fellowships
in his home where he sings, another of his
artistic passions.
“An artist is who I am, just like being a
Christian believer is who I am,” he says.
NEWVIEW OKLAHOMA
> 501 North Douglas Avenue in
Oklahoma City
> (405) 232-4644
> nvoklahoma.org
OklahomaToday.com 41
ORIGINALS
SOUNDS
String Theory
The tiny but mighty ukulele is
making noise in Oklahoma.
B Y M A R G A R E T S K AY H A R T L E Y
AS A GESTURE of community support,
Barbara Walker-Red bought a raffle ticket
in 2014. It proved to be her lucky day. There
were no big cash winnings—instead, she
won a ukulele and a private lesson. But her
prize proved to be a game changer.
“My husband and I had just moved to
Stillwater, and we didn’t know anybody,”
Red says. “And I had never played a
stringed instrument before.”
Her lesson with Kami Koontz, the
founder of the Stillwater Ukulele
Association, got her hooked, and Red,
now the owner of five ukes, is a devoted
member of SUA and as well as its
performance arm, Misspent Ukes.
It’s a familiar refrain. Oklahomans
young and old are discovering the joy of
the ukulele. The Round Barn in Arcadia
hosts an annual Ukefest, the American
Banjo Museum hosts the monthly OKC
ukulele jam session, and the Woody
Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah handed
out two hundred ukuleles at its 2022
celebration. Would-be strummers can
even check out ukuleles, literally and
42 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
BRENT FUCHS
figuratively, from Stillwater-area libraries
thanks to the SUA.
Not that the Okie embrace of the uke
is surprising. The instrument, which
originated in Portugal but made its way
to Hawaii in 1879, has been riding a wave
of mainstream popularity in recent years.
While that’s due in part to musicians like
Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney show-
casing the four-stringed instrument, Hay-
don Harris, manager at Daddy O’s Music
in Stillwater, sees other factors at play.
“It’s affordable, simple enough for
someone with no music experience to pick
up, and there’s just an overall positivity
about it,” says Harris, who saw an uptick
in sales during the pandemic. “The
enthusiasm for the ukulele is contagious.”
As head of the OKC Ukulele Group, Jeff
Howard believes part of the instrument’s
appeal is that it’s not intimidating.
“It’s lighthearted, and you don’t have to
be good when you are part of a group,” says
Howard. “You can still have a lot of fun, and Tulsa meet regularly at festivals, open-mic
everyone is willing to help each other.”
Koontz agrees. Known as Mama Uke to
her SUA clan, she recognized the appeal
of the uke after
purchasing her first THE STILLWATER AND OKLAHOMA
CITY UKULELE CLUBS HOST
one at a Nashville flea
MEETINGS EACH MONTH.
market in 2013. She
founded the SUA the > stillwaterukuleleassociation.com
very next year and > facebook.com/groups/okcuke
sounded the call for
The Stillwater Ukulele Association holds meet-
ups at 5:30 p.m. the third Tuesday each month Center for the Advancement
of Science & Technology
at Modella Art Gallery in Stillwater.
POEM
aspiring ukeists. Enthusiasts responded
POWERING
OKLAHOMA
and the monthly jams have evolved into
joyful ukulele reunions where strumming
and singing form the bond. According to
Koontz, attendees range from junior high- INNOVATION
aged to seventy-five, and beginners are
always welcome.
“There’s instant gratification with a
ukulele. You can learn one or two chords
and play a song right away. And then you
build on it from there,” Koontz says.
While the music players can conjure
from the four-stringed wonders ranges
from folk to rock to blues—and of
course, some traditional Hawaiian
tunes—each SUA jam starts with “Stand
by Me,” which helps underscore the vibe
of camaraderie.
With her can-do enthusiasm, Koontz
set her sights on spreading that ukulele
JJ RITCHEY
camaraderie beyond SUA. With a lot of
fundraising, two grants, and a partnership
with Daddy O’s, SUA launched Ukes in
Schools in 2015. Since then, 243 instru- Field Notes
ments have been donated to schools
across seven counties, reaching a thousand
Walking the rows from left to right,
area students through music programs
and SUA workshops. right to left, each traversing seems to undo
SUA’s companion initiative, Public Ukes,
puts instruments into the hands of the
the one that came before it. Reading from
curious and the accomplished by installing left to right, left to right, what feels like
them in libraries and places like the Aspen
Coffee Company in Stillwater and Factory shackling oneself to the line instead liberates
Pizzeria in Perkins. the mind as the eye harvests by gathering word
Ukuleles have even made it to the
state capitol, where State Representative by word. In the threshing that follows, letters fall
Trish Ranson, whose background is in
to the floor as the mind extracts the ripened grain Our mission is to foster
music education, has one on display and
innovation in exisiting and
has used it to teach a statewide Zoom of meaning, golden light refracts flecks of dust, developing businesses in
lesson to music teachers. And they’re three core pillars including
resonating within communities and among and shadows pattern across the page. You raise
Aerospace, Autonomous
generations. Groups in Oklahoma City and your eyes and look at me side to side, roll-casting and Defense, Biotechnology
and Life Sciences, and
nights, and senior centers. Red knows the your gaze across the room to see if I might be Energy Diversification.
importance of those connections. OCAST is leading the charge
seduced by your meaning to innovation, new business,
“This group is my uke family. I could
have a horrible day, and seduced by your meaning. job growth, higher wages
I’m with these people and an improved quality of
life for the citizens of
for ten minutes, and it’s
Oklahoma.
like I can breathe again,”
Red says. “It’s impossible —Daniel Simon
to play the ukulele and Daniel Simon is a poet, essayist, and translator living in Norman. He is editor in OCAST.OK.GOV
not be happy.” chief of World Literature Today.
OklahomaToday.com 43
 ORIGINALS
GIVING
CENTER OF FAMILY LOVE
From the Heart
The Center of Family Love in
Okarche helps Oklahomans in
need find purpose.
BY CAROL MOWDY BOND
A UNIQUE GARDENING crew in Okarche
is doing much more than getting
dirt under their fingernails. Inside
the greenhouses at Center of Family
Love, this team is pushing the limits of
traditional expectations and proving
that every voice matters.
The doors swung open in 1981 to
adults with developmental disabilities
seeking community, homes, and
careers. Over the years, thousands have
found help for the short term or the
long haul.
Residents may earn paychecks
through several on-campus enterprises,
including a manufacturing facility for
heat and air filters and a full-service
44 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
gift, flower, and horticulture boutique
called Kristy’s Flowers & Gifts—the
area’s only Teleflora site. In the back
room, residents create professional
floral arrangements to be delivered
usually within a sixty-mile radius.
The heart of the operation, though,
is the 10,000-plus square feet of
greenhouses on the property. In
one, the public can purchase plants,
vegetables, and flowers including Easter
lilies, mums, and poinsettias, which
are available every November. And in
a hoop house—a mobile greenhouse—
farm-to-table veggies and herbs flourish
for use in residents’ healthy meals.
In a visionary leap two years ago,
Team CFL dove into restaurant food
production. Now, everything they grow
is Organic Materials Review Institute-
approved. And more than a year ago,
one small addition led to big results.
“We are selling microgreens,” says
Garden Center Manager & Horticulture
Specialist Keith Scott. “Restaurants
are only giving us praise, saying these
are the best microgreens they have
ever seen. We are outcompeting other
microgreen producers. Microgreens are
the most popular thing we are selling to
restaurants right now.”
Microgreens are vegetables and
herbs in their sprout form, so they’re as
healthy as they are popular.
“They are a compact, nutritional
overload,” says Scott. “We do standing
orders in Oklahoma City, delivering
to Whiskey Cake, Oklahoma City
Golf & Country Club, Scratch in the
Paseo Arts District, and Osteria in
Nichols Hills. But we have numerous
other restaurants that order from
us, including Ludivine. Chefs use
microgreens for salads, sandwiches,
and garnishes, and they cook with
them. They are devoting shelving
to microgreens. I deliver a flat of
microgreens, and the chefs cut what
they want for their purposes.”
Every Friday, the facility is open
to the public, so individuals can
purchase the microgreens that the
The Center of Family Love is raising money
for a new center in Piedmont, where 600
more people like Linda can get job training.
Center of Family Love team didn’t sell
to restaurants that week. In addition
to microgreens, Scott’s team grows
produce including cherry tomatoes
and herbs. But not all the fruits of their
labor are edible.
“For those with memory issues, herbal
smells evoke memories,” says Scott.
“Memories even return from when they
were kids. We have residents who are
not usually interactive, and some don’t
speak. But when they are working in
here, they engage with me.”
“We have residents who are not
usually interactive, and some don’t
speak. But when they are working in
here, they engage with me.”
Making things grow also helps resi-
dents evolve as human beings.
“Horticulture helps residents create a
personal work ethic,” says Vice President
of Philanthropy Nellie Sanders. “They’re
able to express themselves, contribute
to society, and see their value and gifts
in the world. Every part of the process is
theirs. It’s their business.”
Not all residents have to get their
hands dirty, though. As the state’s only
geriatric nursing center for adults with
developmental disabilities, many of
Center of Family Love’s 130 residents
simply call this safe haven, this place
where love grows all around, home.
CENTER OF FAMILY LOVE
> 635 West Texas Avenue in Okarche
> (405) 263-4658
> centeroffamilylove.org
OklahomaToday.com 45

BY MASON WHITEHORN POWELL
SEASON 2 OF
RESERVATION
DOGS DELVES
DEEPER
INTO NATIVE
OKLAHOMA.
REAT THINGS HAPPEN
when people tell their own
stories. Exhibit A: In 2021,
FX on Hulu took a chance
few in the entertainment
industry ever have when it debuted
season one of Sterlin Harjo and Taika
Waititi’s Reservation Dogs. Centered
around a group of Indigenous teens in
Oklahoma named Bear, Elora, Cheese,
and Willie Jack—with a supporting
cast featuring Native legends like
Zahn McClarnon, Gary Farmer, and
Wes Studi—the show depicts reser-
vation life in rural Oklahoma with a
diverse cast of actors. Among haphaz-
ard families, companions, weirdos,
enemies, spirits, and the weighty
presence of a friend who passed away
a year prior, these characters are pro-
pelled by a desire to escape to Cali-
fornia as they oscillate between petty
crimes and small acts of heroism on a
tribal reservation.
The show’s unconventional setting
is particularly notable, because any-
one who knows rural Oklahoma—
and in particular its Indigenous
communities—understands that the
reality of reservations is unconven-
tional. Reservation Dogs may be the
first television show to meet these
communities where they are.

The central cast of Reservation Dogs are,

from left, Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack,
Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs as Elora,
D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear, and Midwest

SHANE BROWN/FX
City native Lane Factor as Cheese. The show
films entirely in Oklahoma using the Oklahoma
Film Enhancement Rebate Program.

46 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 47


T LOVE TO THE
RIBAL RESERVATIONS ARE
spaces where Native Americans
were unjustly displaced away
from their ancestral homelands, cul-
tures, and languages beginning in the
nineteenth century. For generations,
many who have called the reservation
home have responded to this painful
history by building up and protecting
their communities. This is the imper-
fect world Reservation Dogs inhabits:
that of a group of people resisting their
undoing by a dominant culture.
That the show depicts this world
with personal touches of grace, humor,
and love is a credit to its creator,
Seminole and Muscogee filmmaker
Sterlin Harjo, who grew up in Hold-
enville. Long considered a rising star
in the film industry, Harjo has written
and directed three feature films, two
feature documentaries, a number of
shorts, and several network television
episodes. Each of these projects was
told from Indigenous perspectives and
inspired by Harjo’s upbringing.
Harjo met Taika Waititi in the mid-
2000s, before the Oscar-winning In-
digenous filmmaker from New Zealand
wrote and directed critically beloved
films like Jojo Rabbit and What We Do In
the Shadows—not to mention the Mar-
vel blockbusters Thor: Ragnarok and its
2022 sequel Thor: Love and Thunder.
“I never talked to him about work,”
Harjo said to Variety earlier this year
about Waititi. “I mean, enough people
I think are trying to get stuff from
Taika, so we just kept it as friendship.”
But when Waititi signed a develop-
ment deal with FX, he approached
Harjo about potential show ideas. He
was careful to conceive a project that
would respect his origins, and when
FX urged him to film the show in New
Mexico, Harjo—who continues to make
his home in Tulsa—stuck to his vision
to tell the story on his own home soil.
48 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
THERE’S
A SENSE OF
LOVE AND
LOVE OF
PLACE AND
LAND. THAT
ALLOWS
RESERVATION
DOGS TO
MAKE SMALL
THINGS
INTO BIG
STORIES.
“I was just very against that, because
where Native people live is so impor-
tant,” Harjo told IndieWire in May. “I
think if you’re telling a Native story . . .
our connection to the land is so impor-
tant. And also the people that we’re talk-
ing about got here by forced removal by
the U.S. government. So that already tells
a story and adds subtext to my show. It’s
never spoken about but is there. And I
think that adds this level of tension and
like a background to this place that I
think you don’t get, like, I couldn’t just
shoot this anywhere.”
N THE GROUND in Oklahoma,
Harjo built a writers’ room,
cast, and crew unlike any other.
Reflecting Reservation Dogs’ status as
perhaps the most Indigenous television
production to date, the show’s credits
read like a who’s who of Harjo’s Native
colleagues and friends, many of whom
had worked on the fringes of indepen-
dent film and television.
“The success of the show is based
on a pluralistic philosophy,” says
Ryan RedCorn, a citizen of the Osage
Nation. “It all filters through Sterlin,
but the culmination of that work puts
the best of all of us into the show.”
Though this was RedCorn’s first time
working in a television writers’ room,
he and Harjo are long-time collabo-
rators. They were cofounders of the
1491s, an Indigenous comedy troupe,
and RedCorn took an acting role in
Harjo’s 2009 film Barking Water. Red-
Corn, who lives in Pawhuska, joined
Reservation Dogs as a writer after the
first season.
The show’s all-Indigenous writers’
room met over Zoom during the early
stages of COVID-19 pandemic, working
out the series arc and taking on indi-
vidual episode assignments. RedCorn
is credited with writing episodes one
and two of the second season. He also
worked on key art photography and
SHANE BROWN/FX
as a director for both seasons’ behind-
the-scenes featurettes. He says the
show’s focus on rural communities and
characters doesn’t necessarily fit into a
more generic aesthetic.
“These are kind of abandoned
spaces,” he says. “And when you live
out here, you’re left to your own de-
vices, but that’s not necessarily a bad
thing. Because you do for yourself, you
do for your community. There’s a sense
of love and love of place and love to the
land. That allows Reservation Dogs to
make small things into big stories.”
And the stakes feel higher in season
two. The characters have deepened
as they’ve matured and faced new
challenges. This season, the comedy
has been matched by grief and loss as
characters have struggled with their
own autonomy—whether Elora living
with the consequences of her deci-
sions in the final moments of season
one or Cheese’s baffling journey
through the foster care system. But
Clockwise from top: Reservation Dogs is shot
largely around Okmulgee. Actress Paulina
TOM GILBERT/PICTUREGROUP/FX
Alexis, who plays Willie Jack, at the show's
second season premiere in Tulsa. Dallas
SHANE BROWN/FX
Goldtooth, a member of the 1491s comedy
troupe cofounded by Sterlin Harjo, plays a
Native spirit to comedic effect.
OklahomaToday.com 49

RedCorn says one aspect of the suc-
cess of season two is that the number
of writers doubled, giving the team
more time to hone the plot.
“My job on the show isn’t to be ‘Indian,’”
he says. “My job on the show is to write as
good as I can possibly write and to be as
funny as I can possibly be. Anything else
that I’m bringing along with it is existing
within my subconscious. I don’t have to
consciously be Indian.”
In that, Reservation Dogs has found a
broad appeal that’s kept it from being
pigeonholed as a Native show. And while
the themes and stories are universal, they
are especially poignant to those familiar
with eastern Oklahoma tribes and their
RYAN REDCORN
way of life, even though the writers hail
from diverse communities ranging from
Canada to the Navajo Reservation.
EOSHA PENDERGRAFT IS a
member of the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians and a family
friend of Harjo. Her late mother Shan
Goshorn was an artist renowned for
weaving intricate Cherokee baskets.
An artist herself, Pendergraft was
invited by Harjo to work on Reserva-
tion Dogs when it was just getting off
the ground. She landed a job as a prop
assistant alongside prop master Beau
Harrison and three others. Their team’s
work is part of what gives the show its
unmistakably Native, unmistakably
Oklahoma feel—observant viewers will
notice touches like art by Steven Paul
Judd, Okie Bigfoot T-shirts, and Sonic
cup after Sonic cup in many scenes.
“The show portrays community both
fictional and nonfictional; it’s on screen
Top: Showrunner Sterlin Harjo has found
commercial success sharing tales of his home
state with worldwide audiences. Bottom:
SHANE BROWN/FX
Officer Big, a tribal police officer played by
Zahn McClarnon, is a recurring character who
offers guidance to the kids on the show.
50 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
MY JOB ON
THE SHOW
IS TO WRITE
AS GOOD AS I
CAN POSSIBLY
WRITE AND TO
BE AS FUNNY
AS I CAN
POSSIBLY BE.
and off screen, it’s behind the scene and
in front of the scene,” Pendergraft says
about the environment on set.
RedCorn and Pendergraft both
referenced episode four of season two,
“Mabel,” as being especially important
to them. RedCorn recalled family losses
that he and Harjo had experienced
that directly inspired the writing. The
episode was directed by Cree-Métis
filmmaker Danis Goulet and co-written
by Harjo and lead actress and Mohawk
citizen Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs,
who plays Elora. Pendergraft was
able to contribute her mother’s art to
decorate the set.
“The set of ‘Mabel’ has so many of the
crew members’ personal photographs,
photographs of grandmothers, great
grandmothers, aunts, and uncles,” Pen-
dergraft says. “It’s so intertwined with
the community that built the set.”
“Mabel” deals with end of life and
grief, a heavy lift considering that the
more than five hundred Indigenous
communities in North America have
diverse ceremonies and ways regard-
ing funeral rites and often deal with
palliative care, wakes, and mourning
differently. It’s an especially poignant
topic considering that, according to
the CDC, the death rate for Natives
is higher than other races across the
board, with suicide rates four times
higher than Hispanics and homicide
rates five times higher than Cauca-
sians. The episode is a powerful ex-
ample of the way the show masterfully
portrays private aspects of Native life
without being pedantic or didactic.
“I think Native people tend to
hold their grief and approach death
differently,” Pendergraft says. “And I
think that really shows in the episode,
because it’s not a funeral. No one is
dressed in black. It’s not a somber
thing. It’s very much about a celebra-
tion of life and about an ushering on
into the next world. I think for a lot of
other mainstream depictions of death,
it’s always very somber. For Native
people, it’s not so two-dimensional.
It’s very colorful and nuanced.”
Pendergraft and RedCorn were just
two members of a large and varied
community that brought Reservation
Dogs to life. Their personal touches
adorn episode four—and the season
as a whole—and it has impacted them
in turn. Like its creators, the show is
unapologetically itself and unyielding.
And the entertainment industry
has taken note. Variety was one of
many media outlets to name Reser-
vation Dogs as one of the best pro-
grams of 2021, and the show has won
Independent Spirit Awards, a Peabody
Award, and a Gotham Independent
Film Award, to name a few. But the
awards don’t tell the story: Reservation
Dogs transcends the accomplishments
of its showrunner, writers, cast, and
crew by revealing Indigenous people,
their land, family, and their home
on screen. It has opened mainstream
filmmaking to Native stories in a way
that’s never happened before.
“When people look back on this
moment, there will be everything before
Reservation Dogs, and there’s going to be
everything after,” RedCorn says.
Editor’s Note: Ryan RedCorn, quoted
in this piece, is a frequent contributor to
Oklahoma Today.
› Seasons 1 and 2 of Reservation Dogs are
available to stream on Hulu. Season 3 will
premiere in 2023.
OklahomaToday.com 51
They Built This City
Oklahoma City’s newest performance space has all the polish and
professionalism of a major concert venue but, with a capacity of
only five hundred, an intimacy that makes a show truly memorable.
Meet the minds behind Beer City Music Hall.

Story and photography by N A T H A N P O P P E

L ike so many great celebrations, this party began with a toast. On March
31, Chad Whitehead and Stephen Tyler lifted their drinks and welcomed
hundreds of concertgoers shortly before the first notes rang out at their
new music hotspot—Beer City Music Hall. Aglow with stage lights and
a bit of well-earned pride, Whitehead said it felt like a battle to arrive at
this special moment after slew of pandemic-related delays.

Oklahoma City band Jason

Scott & the High Heat played
Beer City to celebrate the
release of their new album
If We Make It Til The Mornin'.

52 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 53


“If you even knew all the pieces that
it takes to make rock-and-roll: It takes
accountants, it takes builders, it is way
more than just music and beer,” toasted
Whitehead, who shares the operating
responsibilities of Beer City Music Hall
with Tyler. “We want to raise our glass
and say a toast to everyone that helped
bring this to life.”
And then, the venue started breathing.
The opening celebration had a secret
concert lineup, which only added to the
night’s excitement. Nia Moné, a self-
described Saturnian R&B singer, sizzled
onstage as her band dropped the first set
of songs at Beer City. Before one especially
sultry number, Nia took a step forward
in her knee-high leather stiletto boots
embossed with red flames and asked if
there were any freaks in the audience.
Hands shot up without delay.
I
F THESE WALLS could talk, they’d say
it’s been many years since anything
so interesting sprung up in this long-
vacant building. Beer City was rede-
veloped from an old testing laboratory
along a construction yard. Now, this
western slice of downtown Oklahoma
City is home to dozens of concerts
a month—ranging from local album
releases and dance parties to punk rock
legends and Americana acts on the rise.
What else is Beer City? Rest assured, it’s
not actually a city—it’s far too small with
its five-hundred-person capacity. Also,
it doesn’t just serve beer. The first thing
you’d likely notice when walking into
54 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
THIS BEER CITY IS MORE
LIKE A PUNK ROCK CLUB—
the venue is a massive bar serving strong
drinks, seltzers, and even burritos.
A mural by Oklahoma City artist Jack W I T H W AY, W AY
Fowler hangs above the beer taps and
fridges full of Beer City’s own specially
brewed beer. It’s a nod to Pussy Cat Nell B E T T E R B AT H R O O M S .
Jones, a trigger-happy businesswoman
who more than a century ago ran a saloon
in a town called Beer City in Oklahoma’s
Panhandle at a time when laws felt like
suggestions. That Beer City was more
of an outlaw territory once called the
“Sodom and Gomorrah of the Plains.”
This Beer City is more like a punk rock
club—with way, way better bathrooms.
The most exciting thing about Beer
City—outside of a sold-out show—is that
it’s the brainchild of Whitehead and Tyler,
two managing partners who believe in
the power of live music and love to boost
it alongside a passionate staff. After all,
they’ve been doing this for awhile.
D
RIVING DOWN NORTHWEST
Twenty-third Street in Oklahoma
City, it’s hard to miss Tower
Theatre’s hulking neon sign and glowing
entrance with the old-school glass box
office. That’s Whitehead and Tyler’s first
baby, reopened to great fanfare—and even
greater success—in the summer of 2017.
What they did there could be called a
small miracle, but it’s not magic.
Through hard work, tasteful booking,
and community-focused events,
Whitehead and Tyler slowly willed into
existence one of the best public spaces
in the state and even turned Tower’s
neighboring bar, Ponyboy, into a viable
concert space. And it’s safe to say they’re
working toward success again at Beer
City. How? By getting out of the way.
“You’re not buying a ticket to Beer City;
you’re there for the band,” Tyler says. “I
Top left: Managing partners Stephen Tyler and
Chad Whitehead with production manager Emily
Egerton. Right: Oklahoma City’s Beer City Music
Hall opened in March 2022. Although it does
serve adult beverages, it is an all-ages venue.
OklahomaToday.com 55
 “ WE CRE ATED A ROOM
TH AT WAS GRE AT don’t want you having to spend so much
time at the bar that your back is always to
the stage. I don't want it to take so long
AT RE SPEC TING THE to get you through the front door that
you’re missing the opener. We created
a room that was great at respecting the
PERFORMANCE.” performance. Everything else is just there
to make sure you have a good time.”
From the front entrance to the back
door, it’s possible to zip through Beer City
in a handful of seconds. It’s significantly
smaller than other local venues like The
Jones Assembly and The Criterion. While
those can cater to thousands, Beer City
is far more intimate. From the second
you get past the ticket taker, you’ll walk
through the glass doors and quickly
understand the lay of the land: Beer and
liquor are on one end, and music on the
other. There are no soundproof curtains
or VIP booths with personal waiters.
“It is built like a tank,” Whitehead says
with a sly smile. “We can hose the thing
down after a show, turn the lights back on
the next day, and run another. We can run
a show seven days a week out of that place
as long as we can staff it. We built it to be
a workhorse. Our goal is to present a very
simple and entertaining night out.”
And if the music ever feels too over-
stimulating, take your drink outside to
the massive courtyard that joins Beer
City to Fair-Weather Friend, a craft
brewery that drops inventive creations
like Watermelon Gucci, a sour that
mimics a watermelon milkshake with
hints of pink Himalayan salt. The pizza
kitchen, with standards like pepperoni
and Margherita alongside unique pies
like pancetta and dill and mortadella,
also slaps.
Be warned, however: At a packed
Beer City show, you will sweat, and
so will everyone else. It’s hard to
escape it. You will not see a balcony or
Clockwise from top: Artists who’ve graced the
Beer City stage include Detroit rapper Danny
Brown and local acts like Nia Moné and Twiggs.
The music hall hosts a variety of national and
international performers and local musicians.
56 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
Ticketmaster Official Platinum
Seats with wildly inflated prices
separating you from the crowd.
Everyone’s more or less in the
same boat. There’s a friction
that makes this place come
alive. It’s just you and as many
as 499 strangers soaking in
perspiration as well as live
music. If you missed concerts
during the early days of
COVID-19, then Beer City is
ready to greet you with an
audible hug.
The staff will go pretty
far out of its way to make a
concert happen. When the
seven members of Scotland’s
Belle and Sebastian pulled
into town, they needed a
massive outdoor electric
generator to help power
the show. Beer City’s
production manager Emily
Egerton—freshly returned
to Oklahoma after years
of touring the country and
working in venues such as Lincoln Hall
and Schubas Tavern in Chicago—made
it happen. Egerton said Oklahoma’s
concert scene has come a long way
over the past several years—evident in
Beer City’s all-female production crew,
which is a rarity in the industry.
“It’s a surprise for most folks, but I
think what matters the most is how
often we’re told this is the most helpful
crew the artists have ever worked with,” BEER CITY MUSIC HALL
Egerton says of the venue’s production
staff. “The excitement to grow and the
passion to progress is so much more
than I thought was possible.”
What else might you see and hear at
a Beer City show? Oklahoma bands like
Jason Scott & the High Heat turn the
venue into a honky-tonk paradise, and
metalcore road warriors Knocked Loose
part a crowd like the Red Sea for a mosh TOWER THEATRE
pit in just a matter of seconds.
There’s really no mystery to what
makes a great concert. The recipe has
Beer City
MUSIC HALL
UPCOMING E
VENTS
Os Mutantes, Nov. 1
Flickerstick, Nov. 19
Ryan Griffin, Nov. 3
King Cabbage Brass Band,
Shovels & Rope, Nov. 4
Nov. 25
Tanner Usrey, Nov. 5
Ashland Craft, Dec. 1
Amanda Shires, Nov. 9
Papadosio, Nov. 10
JD McPherson, Dec. 4
Husbands, Dec. 9
Lucas Gillette, Nov. 11
Langhorne Slim, Dec. 10
David Ramirez, Nov. 13
Victor Internet, Dec. 13
Spencer Crandall, Nov. 17
Bartees Strange, Dec. 16
been passed down for generations, and
it’s up to concert enthusiasts like the
Beer City crew members to add their
own twist to the experience. Still, the
song remains the same. It takes a small
army to set the stage, a band to bring it
alive, and fans to make it feel like home.
Beer City was built with all of that in
mind. It’s just missing you.
› 1141 Northwest 2nd Street in Oklahoma City
› (405) 896-8716
› beercitymusichall.com
FAIR-WEATHER FRIEND
› 314 North Klein Avenue in Oklahoma City
› (405) 934-6668
› fwfbeer.com
› 425 Northwest 23rd Street in Oklahoma City
› (405) 708-6937
› towertheatreokc.com
OklahomaToday.com 57
Experiences
Gift Guide

B Y K A R L I E Y B A R R A

ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN WALKER/SHUTTERSTOCK

Has your holiday gift buying
gone stale? Instead of giving
presents this year, give the
people you love memories that'll
last a lifetime with these nineteen
Oklahoma activities.

OklahomaToday.com 59
 1 Scuba Diving 3
Hot-Air
Ballooning
GIVE A MAN a fish, and he’ll eat for a day.
Give a man (or woman) scuba diving lessons
from Gene’s Aqua Pro, and they can spend the
NO MATTER WHAT the commer-
cial says, it’s impossible to taste the rest of their life exploring underwater worlds.
rainbow. But Okies can ride one as Each weekend during the summer, the Gene’s
they glide over the landscape in a team hosts Professional Association of Diving
colorful Visionary Balloonworx Instructors open-water certification sessions at
hot-air balloon. This Edmond-based Lake Tenkiller, which include all the equipment
company, as well as partners OKC divers need except for the booties. After only
Balloons Aloft and Broken Bow Bal- three days, dry dilettantes are transformed into

CLINT COTHERN/CRITICAL FOCUS STUDIOS

loon Rides, takes riders about three adept aquatic adventurers.
thousand feet into the air for a mag- › $379
nificent change in perspective. And › 98328 State Highway 100 in Gore
for anyone wishing for a new career › (918) 487-5221
this holiday season, owner Morgan › genesscuba.com
Snipes trains the next generation of
hot-air balloon pilots.
› Ride packages start at $300
per person.
› 2305 Tredington Way 2
in Edmond
› (405) 496-4626 Candlemaking
› facebook.com/
visionaryballoonworx CANDLES OFTEN LACK the personal touch that makes a gift-getter feel special.
But personal touch is a requirement at Tulsa Candle Co.’s
.’s Sip and Pour classes, where
guests enjoy adult beverages, smell more than a dozen clean fragrance oils, and then
mix their concoctions with 100 percent soy wax. At the end of each two-hour class,
everyone walks away with a one-of-a-kind candle. Upcoming classes are November 16
and December 8, but they’re hosted each month, year-round.
› Tickets are $40 each and include all supplies.
› 4512 East 51st Street in Tulsa

SHUTTERSTOCK
› tulsacandlecompany.com

4
Horseback Riding
› Overnight packages start at $70

KIM BAKER/OKLAHOMA TOURISM

A TRAIL RIDE and overnight camping trip hosted by the Robbers Cave corner of Ash Creek Road and
VISIONARY BALLOONWORX

Stables team offers a treasure chest of cherished memories. After a thirty- per person with a minimum of Starr Trail in Wilburton
minute or two-hour horseback trip though the San Bois Mountains, “Camp four people per trip. › (918) 465-1500
Cookie” prepares a cowboy feast for dinner. Guests then cozy into a covered › Off of State Highway 2 at the › robberscavestables.com
wagon outfitted with modern, comfortable beds and a high ceiling.

60 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 61

 7
OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Wizarding
5

SHUTTERSTOCK
FOR THOSE STILL waiting for their Hogwarts letter, it might
seem too late to learn the ways of wizards. Not so, thanks
to Oklahoma City-based “Magic Joe” Coover and his Funky
Monkey Magic team. Through summer camps and private
and group classes, kids age seven and up learn to make
objects disappear, mind-reading techniques, and what
Coover calls “the world’s most impressive card trick.” He
also shares his twenty-plus years of professional experience
with adults, but only if they are ready to rediscover their
sense of childlike wonder.
› funkymonkeymagic.com

8
Skydiving
TELLING SOMEONE TO jump out of a plane isn’t a
message of love unless it comes with a gift certificate
from the Oklahoma Skydiving Center in Cushing.
Each jumper starts with a class where they’ll become
familiar with the process, equipment, and the certified
instructor they’ll be attached to during the tandem
flight. The flight to fourteen thousand feet takes about
fourteen minutes, but the drop is one minute of free fall
followed by five minutes of canopy flight.
Riversporting › Sessions for first-time divers start at $220.
› Closed the week of Thanksgiving

FUNKY MONKEY MAGIC

FOR THAT FRIEND or family member who can’t water rafting, rock climbing, skiing, kayaking, › Annual passes are $25-$50 per month. through March.
sit still, trips with a physical component make ziplining, tubing, and much more throughout › 800 Riversport Drive in Oklahoma City › 4 West Airport Road in Cushing
great presents. With a Riversport OKC annual the year at the Oklahoma City Boathouse, Lake › (405) 552-4040 › (918) 225-2222
membership, kids and adults can go white- Overholser, and Lake Hefner.  › riversportokc.org › oklahomaskydiving.com

6 Ziplining
Glass Blowing OKLAHOMA’S NATURAL
BEAUTY truly is something to
FOR SOME ARTISTS, room- behold, but it’s hard to wrap. But
temperature crafts like knitting and

9
a ticket to ride from 777 Zip in
cross-stitch fulfill their creative needs. For Davis fits right under the tree. On
those who like it much hotter, the Tulsa this 727-foot zipline, passengers
Glassblowing School offers private lessons
take in the awe-inspiring majesty
and six-week classes that teach beginning
blowers the basics of lampworking to create of Turner Falls and Collings Castle
small objects like pendants, kiln-forming while suspended 717 feet in the air.
pieces like dishes and coasters, and hot And even the most anxious riders
glass, which includes making anything from can relax and enjoy the view—the
flowers to tiny cowboy hats. And summer zipline’s seatbelt restraint system is
workshops featuring guest artists get constantly monitored.
creatives even more fired up, no matter their › Single riders are $7-$15.
skill level. Double riders are $25.
› Private lessons start at $80 per hour, and
› 6250 U.S. Highway 77 in Davis

LORI DUCKWORTH
six-week classes are $500.
› 7440 East Seventh Street in Tulsa › (580) 369-1887
› (918) 582-4527 › turnerfallszip.com
LORI DUCKWORTH

› tulsaglassblowing.org

62 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 63

 MICHAEL IVES/OKLAHOMA TOURISM
Helicoptering
WHAT WOULD INSPIRE delusions of grandeur

11
more than a flight like presidents, executives,
and Toby Keith take? Sky Tours hosts up to three
passengers at a time on helicopter tours of Broken
Bow Lake, Beavers Bend State Park, Hochatown, and
the surrounding wonderland that is McCurtain County.
Rides last anywhere from three to thirty minutes.
› Tours range from $39 to $239 per person.
› (910) 759-4444
› skytourshochatown.com Parasailing
SINCE HUMAN-BIRD TRANSMOGRIFICATION technol-

10
ogy is a way off, a parasailing excursion with Sail
Grand Waterfront in Afton offers a sensational
stopgap measure. Every Thursday through Sunday
from Memorial Day to Labor Day, single and tandem
rides provide a spectacular, 450-foot view of Grand
Lake along with a dose of heart-pumping thrills.
› Single rides are $80, and tandem rides are $130.
› 57151 East State Highway 125 in Afton
› (918) 257-6000
› sailgrand.com
SKY TOURS

Dune Buggying
LITTLE SAHARA STATE Park in Waynoka is as close as drivers can get
14
to epic races across sand dunes à la Mad Max. At Stewart SandSports,
Crazy
Creating
ATVs and side-by-sides are available to rent for up to forty-eight hours
of dusty diversion. Drivers must be eighteen or older to rent ATVs and
thirty or older to rent side-by-sides, and all rentals require a contract
and security deposit. DARKNESS CAN BE frightening
› Rentals start at $150. for children, but not when it’s the
› 910 Main Street in Waynoka backdrop of a Black Light Paint Party
› (580) 824-0327 at StillyArts. This Stillwater imagi-
› sandsports.com
12 13
RUSTIC ROOTS

narium provides plenty of fully lit art,

dance, drama, and music classes
for kids age two and up. But during
Black Light Extravaganzas, ten to
Cowboying Up two hundred children get their faces
painted, create their own masterpiece
RUSTIC ROOTS IN Lamont has year-round activities that’ll out of acrylic, and glow up their
remind Okies of all ages what’s great about the outdoors. creations under the black lights using
Through November 6, guests can tromp through the special paint. StillyArts also offers a
pumpkin patch, go vertical on the jump pad, and explore slime-making glow party, perfect for
a five-hundred-bale hay fort. And November 19 and 20, parents who’d rather not be cleaning
LACI SCHWOEGLER/RETROSPEC FILMS

Santa and Mrs. Claus come to town—along with a holiday goo off their walls.
train. A season pass includes admission to the entire year › Paint and slime parties are $199.
of events—as well as a bushel of joy. › 1207 South Main Street
› Season passes are $45. in Stillwater
› 105340 Greer Road in Lamont › (405) 547-0401
› (580) 716-3608 › stillyarts.com

STILLYARTS
› rusticrootsevents.com

64 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 65

 Car Racing
MOST WHO ASPIRE to be racecar drivers
settle for slower careers along the way. For

15
those speedsters at heart, there’s no better
gift than a chance to live the dream for a day
at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Jennings.
During Hallett’s VIP Club Days, drivers use
their own cars—no SUVs, trucks, wagons, or
vans—to traverse the 1.8-mile, ten-turn track
as fast as they desire with minimal traffic. The
High Speed Touring Series provides motorists
with five fifteen-minute track sessions and
some tips and tricks from the professionals on
how to give those pedals even more metal.
› VIP Club Days admission is $375.
› High Speed Touring Series requires a
$50 annual membership plus a $175-
$200 event fee.

HALLETT MOTOR RACING

› 59901 East 5500 Road in Jennings
› (918) 356-4816
› hallettracing.net

Art Classing Hulk Smashing 18

ETERNAL YOUTH WOULD be on many a wish list if it were
possible to acquire. But nothing keeps the brain spry like
learning a new skill, and the Goddard Center in Ardmore
has classes for a variety of artistic interests. The nonprofit’s
one- to two-hour sessions teach adults and children as young
as five pottery, painting, drawing, and more over the course
of about six weeks, and each semester brings a new set of
learning adventures to choose from.
VIOLENCE, DESTRUCTION, PANDEMONIUM: At The Break Room in
Edmond, up to twelve guests at a time demolish bottles, dishes, and
electronics, a pair of closed-toed shoes and pent-up frustration the
only requirements. They also offer splatter-paint parties for kids under
twelve and adults who like their mess-making experience a little quieter.
› Break Room parties are $38 per person for five to twelve people.
› Splatter Room parties are $26 per person for five to twenty people.
› Break and Splatter parties are $60 per person.
› 2215 Northwest 178th Street in Edmond

THE BREAK ROOM

› Classes start at $85. › (405) 920-6400
› 401 1st Avenue Southwest in Ardmore › breakroom405.com
› (580) 226-0909
› goddardcenter.org

17
Fine Dining
SHUTTERSTOCK

16
BETWEEN WORK, SCHOOL, kids’ activities, exercise, and
the other hundred tasks modern Americans cram into
their schedules each day, a meal cooked—and then
Elephanting cleaned up—by someone else is a present that just
about anyone will appreciate. But skip the casserole
AT ENDANGERED ARK Foundation, sixteen Asian elephants— and go for gifting gold with a multicourse dinner

19
many of them former circus performers—enjoy their well- at FarmBar in Tulsa (1740 South Boston Avenue,
earned retirement. On weekends, however, these pachyderms farmbartulsa.com or Nonesuch in
918/576-6967 or farmbartulsa.com)
welcome awestruck audiences of all ages. Visitors watch the Oklahoma City (803 ( North Hudson Avenue, 405/601-
agile creatures paint, do yoga, and help advocate for their 9131 or nonesuchokc.com).
nonesuchokc.com Along with one-of-a-
wild relatives, whose numbers are dwindling. Whether or not kind meals filled with delicious and inventive locally
elephants forget, it’s certain that no one leaves Endangered Ark sourced cuisine, both restaurants serve as a reminder
without memories that will last a lifetime. of the magic of human connection to food, to the land
› Public tours are $25-$50 per person. it grows from, and to each other.
› 2657 East 2070 Road in Hugo › FarmBar dinners are $130. Nonesuch meals start

VALERIE WEI-HAAS
› (580) 317-8470 at $175. Both offer gift certificates, but the process
LORI DUCKWORTH

› endangeredarkfoundation.org requires a little more than buying a gift card. Contact

each restaurant for more information.

66 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 67

 S COOLER TEMPER ATURES ease in across the state, the Oklahoma

landscape trades the verdant shades of spring and summer for the
kaleidoscopic colors of autumn. This season of new hues gives travelers yet
The Talimena National Scenic Byway
another reason to get out and explore the forest-flocked mountains, hills, winds 54 miles through southeastern
Oklahoma’s Ouachita National Forest into

JOHN SULLIVAN
lakes, and rivers within our borders. For updated information about autumn
Arkansas. This image was captured near
destinations and activities, visit TravelOK.com/fall_foliage_and_festivals. the Winding Stair Recreation Area.

68 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 69

 LORI DUCKWORTH
Sequoyah State Park in Hulbert

— F. S C O T T F I T Z G E R A L D
STEPHEN OFSTHUN

Black Mesa State Park near Kenton

70 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 71

IRIS GREENWELL

Beavers Bend State Park in Broken Bow

72 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 73

 SUSAN DRAGOO

Bush honeysuckle at
Tenkiller State Park near Vian

— C LY D E W A T S O N

STANLEY SCHWARTZ
The Ouachita National Forest in
southeastern Oklahoma

74 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 75

 The Wichita Mountains Wildlife

JASON WARD
Refuge near Indiahoma

— G U S TAV E F L A U B E R T
LORI DUCKWORTH

Greenleaf State Park near Braggs

76 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 77

 HEART GALL ERY
Colony only has about a hundred residents, and it’s not
located on a major thoroughfare. But this Washita County
town has more art, more history, more wild stories, and more
community love than some towns a hundred times its size.

B Y N AT H A N G U N T E R

Started in 1942, the Cheyenne &

Arapaho Labor Day Celebration is a
long-standing tradition honoring the
three dozen Arapaho men, women, and

BRENT FUCHS
children who settled this area in 1886
with John Homer Seger.

78 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022 OklahomaToday.com 79


fare as they fare, and if they
STA RV E D, T H E N
starve with them.
LONNIE YEARWOOD HAS so many
keys. Three fat rings of them.
It makes sense: He’s the mayor of
Colony. He has keys to stuff. Standing
at the door of the Art Graham Cottage,
he’s fumbling with the key rings, trying
to find the right one, telling a story
about a recent trip from Weatherford.
“I get in the car and tear out for
Colony, leaving two of those key rings
on top of the toolbox in back of my
truck,” he says. “I was about four miles
north of town when I realized, ‘I don’t
think I picked those keys up.’ I was
sick—that’s two-thirds of my life.”
Praying for a miracle, Lonnie pulled
over and found the keys in the bed of
his pickup. Now, finally locating the
right one, he unlocks the Graham Cot-
tage and steps inside. It’s stuffed with
Native art and antique furniture—most
of it from right here in town. In the
bathroom, there are cabinets from the
barber shop where, in 1960, the town
barber shot a man who pulled his car
Colony mayor Lonnie Yearwood in front
of Eric Tippeconnic’s mural Grand Entry.
BRENT FUCHS
Lonnie is the great-grandson of John
Homer Seger, Colony’s founder.
80 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
Seger said that he would
he would
up on the sidewalk. There’s a horn once
played by Dr. Jones, who had been the
town’s dentist. In the dining room,
there’s a painting by Cheyenne artist
Archie Blackowl, who attended the
Seger Indian Training School here. The
Graham Cottage is a Colony terrarium,
preserving so much of what makes this
town special—namely its sweeping,
wild history, its unquenchable creative
drive, and the singular love the people
here have for their hometown.
THE FIRST PEOPLE known to live in the
area around Colony resided about
four miles southeast of town in what
now is known as the McLemore Site,
which preserves a Caddoan village
from the mid-1300s. On private land
inaccessible to the public, it is one
of the most archaeologically signifi-
cant sites in the state, a key source of
insight about the Indigenous cultures
that thrived on this continent before
European contact.
Colony was born five hundred years
later, when in 1886, John Homer Seger
led a band of around three dozen
Arapaho men, women, and children to
a parcel of land between the Washita
River and Cobb Creek. Seger, an Ohio
native and Civil War veteran who
took part in Sherman’s March to the
Sea, had spent almost a decade as the
superintendent of the Darlington
Agency school near El Reno. In 1885,
the new Darlington agent, Captain
Jesse M. Lee, recruited him to start
a new agricultural colony. Though
the Arapahos were unsure about the
venture, they believed in Seger.
“Seger said that he would fare as
they fare, and if they starved, then
he would starve with them,” writes
Colony resident Jane Kubat Weichel in
her 2022 book Their Road to Christian-
ity: The Cheyenne and Arapaho People
in Colony, Oklahoma. “The Indians
knew they could trust Seger, so they
agreed to place themselves and their
family in his care.”
They arrived on March 4, 1886. Seger
helped tribal families build homes, till
the land for crops, and start ranch-
ing. A year later, the population stood
around five hundred, and Seger was
the only white man within fifty miles.
By then, the settlement was known
as Seger’s Colony. In 1892, he opened
the Seger Indian Training School, an
OklahomaToday.com 81
BRENT FUCHS
experimental institution that combined
classroom instruction with industrial and
agricultural training. It was unique among
Indian schools of the era in that many of
its students lived nearby and saw their
families regularly. The ensuing years saw
the campus expand with dormitories, a
commissary, an infirmary, and livestock
barns. See3tei Nowlin—her name means
cedar bough in Arapaho—lives in Colony
and is the great-granddaughter of one of
those original Arapaho settlers.
“​​Her older sister and older brother were
born in teepees, but by the time my mom
came around, they had the infirmary,” she
82 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
says. “My mom and all her brothers and
sisters were born here.”
Seger served as superintendent until
1905. He died in 1928 and was buried in
the Poage Cemetery northeast of town.
Lonnie Yearwood is his great-grandson.
The Seger School closed in 1932, by
which time allotment policies had left
fewer than twenty Indigenous families
in Colony. City leaders hoped a rail line
would connect the town with Weather-
ford, but the trains never came.
In 1960, the town was stunned by a
pair of murders. The first, in February,
happened when the high school basket-
ball coach, Jim Davis, murdered his wife.
That same year, on July 5, Clyde Holmes,
a local farmer, pulled his car onto the
sidewalk outside the barber shop. The
barber, Grover Ainsworth, was in the
middle of giving a five-year-old a haircut
when Holmes pulled up. So Ainsworth
told Holmes to move his car, and Holmes
threatened him with a shotgun. Ain-
sworth grabbed his .22 pistol and shot
Holmes dead before walking back inside
and finishing the haircut. Now, the barber
shop is the town museum, one of the
original chairs still standing in the same
spot where the boy sat that day.
In the postwar era, the regular course of
entropy took care of much of what was left
in Colony: The Seger School buildings fell
one by one to fire and neglect. A tornado
took out the public high school, and the
original mission church burned in 1968.
But it wasn’t all tragedy. In 1970, Tom
Weichel made history as one of the flight
controllers of the Apollo 13 mission. He
actually heard astronaut Jack Swigert
say the oft-misquoted phrase, “Okay,
Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”
Apollo 13 was Weichel’s last mission; after
that, he came back home to farm and
raise his family.
“I didn’t adapt to Houston life all that The Cheyenne & Arapaho Labor Day
well,” Weichel says with a smile. “I told my Celebration occurs yearly on the grounds
wife that I was going back to Oklahoma.” where the original 1886 settlement and
People in Colony tell these stories often, the Seger Indian Training School were
and whether the story is good or bad, they located. Dances, songs, and celebrations
speak of their community with a gleam typically go late into the night.
in their eyes. Though much has changed,
they think of their hometown with an
enduring, endearing fondness.
YVONNE KAUGER GREW up in Colony and,
like many, has spent time away—most
notably as senior justice of the Okla-
homa Supreme Court and a founder
of the Red Earth Festival. Her great-
OklahomaToday.com 83
 grandfather, Fred Kauger, was a
German from Russia who won a
pre-statehood land lottery, bought a
farm in 1919, and built several of the
buildings downtown.
“One of my earliest memories with
my daddy is bringing in the cows on
foot when I was little, and he says, ‘Your
great-granddaddy said never sell the
land, never sell the minerals,’” she says.
Like everyone who grew up here,
Kauger’s eyes light up when she talks
about her hometown. She remembers
waking up to the sound of drums from
the powwow, how they seemed to call
her from her sleep as a child. She grew
up in Lumpmouth moccasins and
remembers playing on the high school
basketball team with Jeri Redcorn,
who would go on to be a famed art-
ist credited with reviving the art of
Caddoan pottery. She remembers the
tornado that destroyed the brand-new
high school gym in 1951—and the tragic
day in 1958 when her sister Janice was
killed when the plane she was riding in
crashed in a pasture south of town.
These days, though she lives in
Oklahoma City, Kauger is as much a
84 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
part of this town as her ancestors were.
She owns the Graham Cottage and
has curated the art and artifacts inside.
She donated the Fred Kauger Building,
which is named for her ancestor and
houses the town museum. She also
renovated the old post office, which
now is the Gallery of the Plains Indian,
a small space that has been showing
works by big names like Terry Zinn,
Harvey Pratt, Archie Blackowl, and
many more for decades. To many here,
she is a force of nature.
“I just try to keep up with Yvonne,”
Lonnie laughs. But the mayor’s no
slouch, either: In between all his other
duties, he owns and is renovating the
old parsonage—when he has time.
COMMUNITY PRIDE ISN’T exclusive
to Colony, but here, it’s visible. It’s
everywhere—painted on walls and
standing in the town square. In fact,
Colony’s downtown, such as it is, is
an open-air fine-art gallery.
The original piece is Colony 1886, a
mural first painted in 1994 by Okla-
homa City artist G. Patrick Riley,
who has roots here and now is one of
BRENT FUCHS
the town’s two artists-in-residence.
Standing next to it is Patrick’s Eagle, a
fourteen-foot steel sculpture cre-
ated with help from local farmer Ron
Lowry, fellow artist Glen Henry—who
made the support structures from
old John Deere parts he sourced at an
auction in Mountain View a quarter
century ago—and any interested local
who wanted to help out.
“People here care about their com-
munity,” says Riley. “The people in
town could’ve said, ‘We don’t want
that; it’s just another thing to have
to do.’ But instead of doing that, the
mayor, Ron, and all these people came
to an art show and said, ‘Let’s build it.’”
Riley’s works are only the begin-
ning of the public art tour, however.
Immediately noticeable are four murals
by Comanche artist Eric Tippeconnic,
whom Kauger first recruited to paint
here. His first Colony mural, Horse
Above: One of the original chairs from
the barber shop where, in 1960, Grover
Ainsworth shot a man in broad daylight.
BRENT FUCHS
Right: Glen Henry and G. Patrick Riley
with the sculpture Patrick’s Eagle
OklahomaToday.com 85
 It’s a small community, and
the people in S M A L L T OW N S
BRENT FUCHS
Capture, graces the side of what had
been the old grocery store. The most
recent, which depicts a herd of wild
horses, sidles up next to an enormous
tree trunk in back of the Kauger Build-
ing. Tippeconnic has volunteered his
time here for years to create them.
“It’s a small community, and the
people in small towns are friendly,”
Tippeconnic says of Colony. “They
stop or pull up to talk to you. Over
the years, you get to know them. It’s
not always that way everywhere.”
Jim VanDeman lives up the road and
is the town’s other artist-in-residence.
He’s a member of the Delaware tribe,
and a collection of his handmade flutes
is one of the highlights of the museum.
Like many here, he credits Kauger with
boosting Colony’s arts profile.
“Yvonne started having art shows
in her home in Oklahoma City,” he
says. “If you were in a show there, you
Top: Delaware tribal citizen Jim VanDeman
is one of the town’s two artists-in-
residence. Bottom: Tippeconnic’s most
NATHAN GUNTER
recent mural is The Horses, which he
BRENT FUCHS
painted in March 2022 on the north side
of the Fred Kauger Building.
86 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
are friendly.
also had to show in Colony. I did that
for years, as did Patrick, Mike Larsen,
Harvey Pratt—some top names.”
Henry, who was arts director for the
State Department of Education, notes
the parallel with Colony’s founding:
Just like John Seger had the trust of the
Arapahos, community advocates like
Patrick, Jim, Yvonne, and Lonnie have
earned the trust of the citizens here.
“The people here weren’t too sure
about public art in Colony, but they
trust Jim and Patrick,” Henry says. “It’s
all based on that trust.”
IF IT ALL goes back to trust, then trust
this: Colony gets in your head, under
your skin, and—if you spend enough
time talking to the people here—
inside your heart. It’s not on the
way to anywhere—you won’t drive
through it without meaning to. But
it’s worth making a trip.
It doesn’t take long—the museum
is small, and the gallery is smaller, but
both are packed with stories, beauty,
fascination. Tippeconnic’s murals,
Patrick’s Eagle, and all the public art
and history on display here are the
kinds of draws even large cities would
boast about. A few years back, with
the help of the Oklahoma Histori-
cal Society, the town established a
self-guided historic walking tour
telling the story of this place. Every
year from 1942 to 2019, the Cheyenne
and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma held
their Labor Day celebration here, a
tradition that resumed in 2022.
When you arrive, Colony seems to
appear as if rising up from the earth
itself, this quiet place that has a million
stories and a million ways to tell them.
The western Oklahoma wind whispers
through trees and across manicured
lawns, and if you get very quiet, it’s like
this entire place is inviting you to
listen, see, and remember.
GET THERE
› To get to Colony, take State Highway 54
south from Weatherford for 14 miles, then
turn east on State Highway 54B. For more
information—including a scenic route
from Weatherford—visit colonyok.com. 
› The Gallery of the Plains Indian and the
Fred Kauger Building will host The Colony
Christmas Exhibit featuring works by
G. Patrick Riley, Jim VanDeman, and
other artists December 3 and 4.
OklahomaToday.com 87
 Shop, See and Stay
During the Holidays!
“In riding a horse, we borrow freedom.”
—H EL EN T HOM PSON WOOL L E Y

Metrm ry s

OSAGE CO. H r i s a
ry s C &
Metrm a
LOREM IPSUM
CHris HapYpeyar
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing

elit. Proin tincidunt pretium nisi

New
OKLAHOMA

Immaculate Conception Church

is a historic Roman Catholic church located
at 1314 Lynn Avenue in Pawhuska. The corner-
stone of the church was placed in 1910. The
windows were commissioned in 1919 with
one-of-a-kind stained glass from Munich,
Germany. The windows were held in Germany
until after World War I. They were placed in
the church around 1925. Special dispensa-
tion had to be made by the Vatican for the
Osage Window. The Osage Window depicts
(living at the time) Osage tribal members and
Father Schoenmaker. There were no living BENJAMIN KOTTYSCH / SHUTTERSTOCK

people in the sacred art of the church. The red

has actual gold incorporated through the
glass and the blue has cobalt. The colors run
through the glass, whereas today most colors
are on the surface. Friendly Neigh-bors
Tours are by appointment at The Pinto Horse Association of America presents the COLOR BREED CONGRESS, exhibiting four different horse breeds in
three arenas at Tulsa Expo Square. This meeting of the manes boasts participants from Palomino Horse Breeders of America,

V TH OS
Appaloosa Horse Club, and several others. November 4-12. Admission, free. (405) 491-0111. colorbreedcongress.com

I S I T E A G E . C O M OklahomaToday.com 89
OUT THERE
November/December 2022
BY JEREMY MARTIN
EYE FOR DETAIL
Exhibiting more than two hundred
works, Small Worlds: Carolyn Cárdenas
and Contradictions: Bobby Ross at
Oklahoma State University Museum of
Art in Stillwater showcase the exacting
working methods of two Renaissance-
inspired Missouri artists. Cárdenas
creates miniature paintings (sometimes
less than five-inches square) using a
fifteenth-century technique, while
Ross’ surreal drawings and archival oil
paintings juxtapose disparate images
and allow viewers to create their own
narratives. You’ll want to get as close to
La casa que nos inventamos: Contemporary Art
from Guadalajara at Oklahoma Contemporary
includes works by Jose Dávila.
90 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
these works as security will allow—and
maybe bring your reading glasses.
» Through December 10 + Admission, free
(405) 744-2780 + museum.okstate.edu/art
WORLD IN BALANCE
A collaboration with Viviana Kuri,
director and chief curator of the Museo
de Arte de Zapopan, La casa que nos
inventamos brings contemporary art
from the Mexican city of Guadalajara to
Oklahoma Contemporary in Oklahoma
City. The exhibition’s title translates
to “The house that we invented,” and
works on display include Jose Dávila’s
seemingly precarious sculpture of
stacked I-beams and Gonzalo Lebrija’s
Breve historia del tiempo, an even more
unstable-appearing sculpture of a
AGUSTIN ARCE
Plymouth sedan standing on its front
fender. That certainly is one way to
check the alignment.
» Through January 9 + Admission, free
(405) 951-0000 + oklahomacontemporary.org
ROAMING DATA
Q: How do The Black Eyed Peas
distinguish a bison from a buffalo? A: By
checking for “[the] hump, [the] hump,
[the characteristic shoulder] hump.”
Bison also have beards and shorter horns,
and, unlike buffalo, are indigenous to
North America. But don’t let a little
misnomer stop you from celebrating
National Bison Day at the Buffalo Days
Festival at Old West Buffalo Company in
Pawhuska. This two-day event features
live music and storytelling, trick-roping
demonstrations, dinner theater starring
Teddy Roosevelt and Charles Goodnight
(or, more likely, actors playing them), and
a chance to hand-feed buff—err, bison,
and check out their lovely bovine lumps.
» November 4-5 + Tickets, $19-$59.90
(918) 895-0788 + oldwestbuffalo.com/shows
GET BIZET
A world-premiere production presented
by Tulsa Ballet at Tulsa Performing Arts
Center, Carmen is based on Georges
Bizet’s classic opera about the tragic love
triangle formed by a factory worker, a
corporal, and a matador. (Are there any
classic operas about healthy polyplatonic
relationships?) The show’s choreographer,
Kenneth Tindall, won the 2017 Broadway
World UK Award for Outstanding
Achievement in a New Dance Production
for his first full-length ballet, Casanova.
» November 4-6 + Tickets, $25-$120
(918) 749-6030 + tulsaballet.org
CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER
Transforming Lewis Carroll’s nonsensical
rabbit hunt into an escape-room-
esque interactive adventure, Alice in
Wonderland in Oklahoma City promises
mystery, mischief, and madness. Presented
by CluedUpp Games, this immersive
event with a secret starting location
might be great for a very important date
or an unbirthday party. Fun fact: Carroll
originally told the Alice story to three
young girls at a picnic, a reminder that
5 Van Goghs to know when you go
Describing his artistic process, Vincent Van Gogh is quoted as saying, “I dream of painting,
and then I paint my dream.” Walk through some of these dreams Akira Kurosawa-style at
Immersive Van Gogh at the Oklahoma City Convention Center. As the exhibition has toured
the country, these are five paintings that have been digitally projected around lovers of the
legendary post-Impressionist.
» December 14-January 15 + Tickets, $40-$70 + vangoghoklahoma.com
JJ RITCHEY
First Noel
You have our word as an events calendar that
there are in fact several holiday happenings in
Oklahoma this year, so The One in downtown
Enid has quite the name to live up to. In addition
to the holiday parade and fireworks (November
25), this singular event, now in its second year,
promises the world’s tallest fresh-cut Christmas
tree, ice skating, and a marketplace with music,
food, and art. To quote A Christmas Carol, “There
can be only one.” Wait, that’s Highlander.
» November 25-January 3 + Admission, free
theoneenid.com
getting out of weird conversations with
your parents’ oddball friends also can feel
rather escape-room-esque.
» November 5 + Tickets, $80
cluedupp.com
TOTALLY METAL
Unless you’re the roguelike hero of a
video game, you probably get tragi-
cally few chances to watch a master
craftsperson construct the enchanted
weapon you need to slay the monster
plaguing the villagers. You can, how-
ever, see Saltfork Craftsmen fire up the
forge and bend metal to their will at the
Blacksmith Demonstrations at Cher- 1. The Potato Eaters (1885) Often considered Van Gogh’s first masterpiece, this portrait of
okee Strip Museum in Perry. Masks peasants sharing a simple meal is the product of dozens of studies and sketches of people,
are recommended, and donations are their homes, and their belongings. 2. Starry Night (1889) This surreal, proto-Expressionistic
greatly appreciated. depiction of the view from Van Gogh’s room at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum—minus the
» November 5 + Admission, free bars on the windows—rivals the Mona Lisa as one of the most famous paintings of all time,
(580) 336-2405 + cherokee-strip-museum.org judging by the amount of merchandise it’s printed on. 3. Sunflowers (1888) The artist’s love of
painting sunflowers is evident in several of his own works, as well as The Painter of Sunflowers
THINK GLOBALLY (1888) by his roommate Paul Gauguin, which depicts Van Gogh painting . . . yeah, you guessed
Started in 1975 as a way for the University it. 4. The Bedroom (1889) While Van Gogh did take creative liberties with the rules of perspec-
of Central Oklahoma’s international tive, the corner of the rear wall of his bedroom in the famous Yellow House at Arles was actually
students to showcase their countries’ skewed at that angle. 5. The Night Cafe (1888) Describing the setting in a letter to his brother
cultures, Edmond International Festival Theo, Van Gogh wrote, “Night prowlers can take refuge there when they have no money to pay
at Edmond Festival Market Place has for a lodging, or are too drunk to be taken in.” Keep track of your wallet in this painting.
OklahomaToday.com 91
 OUT THERE
KIM BAKER/OKLAHOMA TOURISM
outgrown the UCO campus in recent years
to fill downtown with live performances,
informational booths, and food from
around the globe. We’re not saying there’d
be world peace if the United Nations had
more potlucks, but it couldn’t hurt.
» November 5 + Entry, free
(405) 974-5577 + uco.edu /student-life/ihouse
SPIN YOUR WHEELS
The hills will be alive with the sound
of, well, probably huffing and puffing
on the Hills of Oklahoma Tour,
starting in beautiful downtown Davis.
Bicyclists will test their pedal mettle on
thirty-, forty-five-, sixty- and hundred-
mile routes through the foothills of
the Arbuckle Mountains. Support
will be available in cases of fatigue
or equipment failures, but bikers
are cautioned to choose their rides
responsibly, so try not to get too huffy.
» November 5 + Tickets, $45
(580) 369-2402
bikereg.com/hoot-hills-of-oklahoma-tour
GRAND OLE TIME
Covering songs from the ’60s and ’70s,
the Memory Makers Band performs
92 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
monthly at the Pauls Valley Opry at
Pauls Valley High School, joined by
local and touring musicians. Anyone
who remembers when Johnny Cash
was banned from The Grand Ole Opry
is sure to get a blast from the past, and
children twelve and younger, who get in
free, will leave with a whole new list of
bangers to soundtrack their TikToks.
» November 5 + Tickets, $10
(405) 830-8405 + paulsvalleyopry.com
SEW THERE
They say a stitch in time saves nine,
so just think how many you might
save at the Ruffled Feathers Stitching
Society at Prairie Moon Primitives in
Wayne. Working on wool appliqué
projects alongside other threaded-needle
enthusiasts at this monthly meetup,
you can learn new hand-embroidery
techniques. If appliqués don’t pique your
interest, you can also work on towel or
quilt block patterns or other non-medical
stitching because, despite their name,
this society sounds pretty easygoing.
» November 7 and December 5
Admission, free
(405) 650-5061 + prairiemoonprimitives.com
There’s something for everyone to
snuggle—and purchase—at the Beavers
Bend Folk Festival & Craft Show.
GET CRAFTY
If Simon & Garfunkel were looking for
parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme in
Oklahoma, their first stop might be
Beavers Bend Folk Festival & Craft
Show at Forest Heritage Center in
Broken Bow. With live music, crafting
demonstrations, wine tastings, and a
petting zoo, this free festival offers the
kind of fun people have been having
since folk songs were new releases.
» November 11-13 + Admission, free
(580) 494-6497
‘UKE JOINT
With their exacting standards and elitist
attitudes, some ukulele enthusiast clubs
can be too intimidating. Fortunately,
the Stillwater Ukulele Association
Meeting & Jam at Modella Art Gallery
in Stillwater promises a supportive
atmosphere where beginners are
welcome. Visit the association’s website
to download copies of the songs they’re
currently working on, or bring a few
copies of a song you’d like to play. Hey,
everyone starts somewhere!
» November 15 + Entry, free
(405) 624-0333
stillwaterukuleleassociation.com
GOBBLE IT UP
Against all logic, there are actually
people who wake up early on Thanks-
giving morning to run at events like the
Piedmont Turkey Trot, a 5K and one-
mile fun run starting at First Baptist
Church of Piedmont. Perhaps you, dear
reader, are one of these people. If so,
we can only salute your willpower and
stamina and implore you to please turn
the lights off on your way out. Some
of us are planning to sleep until the
turkey’s done.
» November 24 + Registration, $25-$35
(913) 428-6522 + piedmontoktrot.org
WATT-Y LIST
See Santa Claus alongside roughly
750,000 light bulbs at Woolaroc
Wonderland of Lights at Woolaroc
Museum & Wildlife Preserve in
Bartlesville. Take a wagon tour of the
illuminated landscape, listen to live
music, enjoy holiday refreshments, or
just have a leisurely stroll among the
strings of lights pitying whichever of
Santa’s helpers is in charge of finding
burnt-out bulbs. Flash photography is
probably redundant.
» November 25-December 18 + Entry, $1-$6
(918) 336-0307 + woolaroc.org
CHRISTMAS PAST
A tradition for more than thirty-five years,
the Territorial Christmas Celebrations in
Guthrie hearken back to even earlier times
before Oklahoma was a state. Following
the Christmas parade on November 26,
the newly appointed Territorial Governors
will light the tree in Honor Park. Visitors
can tour distinctive homes and historic
buildings during the day and take a
Victorian Walk at night on December
3 and 10, when shops will have living
reenactments of scenes from Victorian life
on display in their windows. Feel free to
don a top hat or bonnet if you don’t want
to feel underdressed.
» November 26-December 10 + Homes tour, $15
(405) 466-7720
guthriesterritorialchristmas.com
OklahomaToday.com 93
 OUT THERE
AS IN OLDEN DAYS
In Laura Ingalls Wilder’s On the Banks of
Plum Creek, Pa gets trapped under six feet
of snow in a blizzard and (spoiler alert) has
to eat the crackers and candy he was saving
for Christmas to survive. Fortunately, Olde
Tyme Christmas in downtown Tonkawa
doesn’t kick it quite that old school, but you
can stroll past historic buildings, get photos
with Santa Claus, and see the lighting of
a giant Christmas tree, just like you may
remember from childhood—assuming
you didn’t grow up in a little house on the
prairie worrying about grasshoppers eating
the wheat crop.
» December 1 + Entry, free
(580) 628-2220
GOING DEUTSCH
Inspired by traditional German Christmas
markets, Christkindlmarkt at German-
American Society of Tulsa Event Center
gives holiday shoppers the chance to
buy arts, crafts, and collectibles such
as nutcrackers and steins from several
vendors. This annual event also offers
children’s activities in the kinderstube and
adult beverages in the form of gluehwein,
warm spiced red wine that pairs well
with the food available: bratwurst with
sauerkraut, schnitzel sandwiches, potato
pancakes, and more.
» December 2-4 + Admission, free
(918) 744-6997 + gastulsa.org/christkindlmarkt
SHAKE IT UP
The series finale for 1980s hospital drama
St. Elsewhere infamously revealed that
(spoiler alert) a bored child imagined the
entire six-season series happening inside
PERFECT
of a snow globe. The closest you can get
Only without four years of snow globe medical
$49 .95 school might be Christmas in the Valley
1 Year
for tax and S&H
FOR EVERY
plus
hosted by the Pauls Valley Chamber of
Commerce. Walk along the town’s brick
GOLFER
Membership benefits include:
streets hearing carolers, browsing the
• TWICE as many courses in MORE
states than other golf passes arts and crafts fair, playing games, and
• HUGE savings all year long eating s’mores, just like a scene a kid might
• Play private courses extrapolate from a shakeable holiday
play more than 278 facilities
across seven states • Complementary green fee offers tchotchke. Then, to really put the star on
*average savings of $18/round • Pays for itself after only two uses the tree, you can actually get your photo
taken inside a giant snow globe. Everybody
Oklahoma Arkansas Kansas Missouri Illinois Texas New Mexico say, “Rosebud!”
405-949-0011 thegolfpassport.com » December 3 + Entry, free
(405) 238-6491 + paulsvalleychamber.com
94 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022
MAIN EVENT
After you’re finished shopping for gifts
from the vendors at Christmas on Main in
Chelsea, you can enjoy the holiday parade
featuring floats, horses, bands, and vehicles.
This year’s parade is inspired by Dr. Seuss’
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, so will you,
like the titular green grumpus, feel your
heart grow three sizes that day? We’re no
doctors, but you should probably get that
checked out at the Whoville Hospital.
» December 3 + Entry, free
(918) 789-2220
chelseaareachamber.com/events
BRADY FOSTER/RED CHAIR MEDIA
GIVING GOODS
Get one-of-a-kind gifts for the one-of-
a-kind people on your holiday shopping
list at Native American Christmas
Market at Glenpool Conference Center
in Glenpool. Look for handmade leather
goods, turquoise jewelry, beadwork, Visit the Christmas village, shop for gifts Before they gobble down the holiday carbs,
original art, and more, and enjoy a variety from more than a hundred local and runners will take to the streets for the Piedmont
of food, live music, and entertainment. national vendors, see the Parade of Angels Turkey Trot on November 24. (page 93)
It beats cramming into a big-box store Christmas Show, and hear carolers caroling.
and hearing Paul McCartney repeatedly All these things and more, including catching time between magic tricks and
having a “Wonderful Christmastime” storytime with Mrs. Claus and pictures things that just look like magic.
while you line up to buy the same mass- with Santa, will supersize your season. » December 22-23 + Tickets, $30-$95
produced gifts as everyone else. » December 10-11 + Admission, $10 (405) 594-8300 + okcciviccenter.com
» December 3 + Admission, free (918) 684-6305
(918) 998-4549 + greencountryok.com facebook.com/thebigchristmasexpo BIG BUCKS
Unlike those comely fighter pilots extolled
AUSTEN POWERS SWING MUSIC in the Kenny Loggins power ballads of
Adapted from the author’s novels and Raised in Mustang, Bartees Strange sang yore, competitors in the DangerZone Bull
letters, Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker opera and played football, but music Riding World Finals at Claremore Expo
at Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park in tastemaker Pitchfork used a baseball Center will be attempting to ride living,
Oklahoma City is an interactive theater metaphor to describe his latest album, Farm horned creatures weighing upwards of a
experience with carols, dancing, and parlor to Table: “Strange only works in big swings, ton. Watch competitors in the Legend and
games—something like a Regency-era and the contact high of his music is partly Young Guns categories struggle to see who
holiday party Emma Woodhouse might’ve from his own audible elation when he can get the best piggyback ride from a half-
attended. To quote the title character of connects.” Hear Strange connect hip-hop, minotaur while equipped with only the
Austen’s Emma, “Silly things do cease to be indie rock, R&B, and more when he plays ejector seats their mamas gave them. A ride
silly if they are done by sensible people in Beer City Music Hall in Oklahoma City. into the danger zone, indeed.
an impudent way.” We’d have to double- Openers Pom Pom Squad and They Hate » December 31 + Tickets, $5-$15
check a dictionary to be sure, but that Change will get the crowd pumped first. (918) 430-6884 + dangerzonebullriding.com
sounds like our kind of party. » December 16 + Tickets, $18
» December 9-23 + Tickets, $24-$48 (405) 896-8716 + beercitymusichall.com
(405) 235-3700 + okshakes.org Looking for more to do in Oklahoma?
HOLIDAY MAGIC Visit TravelOK.com for a comprehensive
HOLIDAY MASSIVE Magician Lucy Darling hosts a holiday- calendar of events. To have your events
Having yourself a merry little Christmas themed showcase for feats of flexibility, considered for publication in Oklahoma
is fine enough, but yuletide enthusiasts dexterity, balance, and of course, daring-do Today, please email details to
looking for more Kris in their Kringle can at A Magical Cirque Christmas at Civic Editorial@TravelOK.com.
guide their sleighs to The Big Christmas
Expo at Hatbox Event Center in Muskogee.
Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City. Live
musical performances will provide breath-
OklahomaToday.com 95
LACI SCHWOEGLER/RETROSPEC FILMS
OFF THE MAP

After purchasing the property, the current

owner remodeled the cabins to fit the classic
New Mexican stucco style.

Stay to Play TUCKED IN THE trees of Green Country
near the Illinois River, there is a quaint,
enchanting overnight resort where the
A creative community spirit sounds of local musicians are heard over
makes this place an overnight the distant buzzing of bees, and where
oasis like no other. strangers share stories and s’mores by the
fire and leave as lifelong friends.
BY Z O E T R AV E R S This hidden gem sometimes is described
as “magical,” with beautiful pollinator
gardens, a charming 9,000-square-foot
courtyard, and outdoor kitchens home
to recurring pizza nights made with fresh
vegetables from the community garden.
Visitors often spend their days fishing,
kayaking, birdwatching, hiking, or resting
in nature at the nearby lake or river. Some
guests prefer staying onsite, spending their
sojourn tranquilly painting or crocheting in
the courtyard with friends.
This historic motor court had its first
surge of popularity in the 1950s. But in
intervening years, it sat neglected and
eventually vacated, even losing some
original buildings to highway expansion
in the 2000s. In 2006, present owner Jane
JJ RITCHEY
In 2009, Honiker reopened the doors of
the iconic space. The resort now has found
a loyal following, especially among those
who share Honiker’s dedication to the arts
and to communal and sustainable living.
In 2016, Honiker started the Oklahoma
Singer-Songwriter Series, a listening-
room-style showcase. Abbigale Dawn, a
musician from Norman who has played
the series, says the resort serves as an
oasis for creatives.
“It’s a very special place,” Dawn says. “I
actually have a line about one of the cabins
in a song of mine.”
Honiker’s hope is that folks leave with a
sense of peacefulness and an appreciation
for the earth and their community. Guests
write to Honiker saying they formed life-
long memories and learned how to escape
from the chaos. In these moments, Honiker
sees her labor of love in action.
What is this endearing overnight resort
in eastern Oklahoma, and in which city is
it located?

The Singer-Songwriter Series features
more than a dozen shows per month.
Honiker took it under her wing.
She almost immediately began refurbish-
ing, taking design inspiration from a trip to
New Mexico, modeling the cabins after the
region’s vibrant stucco style.
Mail entries with your name and address to
“Off the Map,” P.O. Box 248937, Oklahoma
City, OK 73124 or email them to Letters@
TravelOK.com. The answer to last issue’s ques-
tion is the Grey Snow Eagle House in Perkins.

96 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2022