OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
We think this year’s Best of OKC winners deserve recognition beyond last week’s issue, so we decided to throw a party, and invite you, too! Come celebrate with Oklahoma Gazette from 6:45 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in Lower Bricktown. We’ve roped in The Damn Quails to provide live music, with singer-songwriter Gabriel Kelley opening. Admission is free, because we love our readers!

Thursday

Hey! Read This:
• Best of OKC 2012 results  
• The Damn Quails interview   

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
In our backyard, we find dog poop. In Margaret Aycock’s backyard, she finds inspiration. For beautiful proof, attend the artist’s exhibit of oil paintings, Oklahoma, the Place Where I Call Home, on display daily through Sept. 16 in the Governor’s Gallery of the Oklahoma state Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln. Admission is free. Call 521-2931 or visit arts.ok.gov.

Daily, ongoing

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
This is no bull: The nation’s top 35 bull riders face the fiercest bucking bulls — be careful saying that phrase quickly — on the planet at the WinStar World Casino Invitational, at 8 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday in Thackerville, featuring performances by Randy Rogers Band and Kevin Fowler. Tickets are $15-$45. Call 800-745-3000 or visit winstarworldcasino.com.

Friday-Saturday

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
Anyone who saw the Disney films Cinderella, Tangled and The Princess and the Frog, and thought, “Meh, could use some world-class ice skating,” boy, are you in luck! Disney on Ice presents just that in Dare to Dream, with 10 performances scheduled between Thursday and Tuesday at the Oklahoma State Fair, 3001 General Pershing. Tickets are $14-$40. Call 948-6800 or visit okstatefair.com.

Thursday-Tuesday

Food and Drink Features
Greg Horton
A recently opened store in Oklahoma City hopes to spice things up, literally.

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
Festival alert! From noon to 10 p.m. Saturday at the 1700 block of N.W. 16th, it’s the Plaza District Festival, with live music, more than 40 artist booths, hourly dance performances, Kidapalooza art projects, a live mural painting, a Velvet Monkey Salon fashion show, food vendors, three beer tents, a Bigfoot calling contest ... and oh, yeah: shopping! Admission is free. Call 367-9403 or visit plazadistrictfestival.com.

Saturday

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
Act now and get the work of two renowned American Indian artists for the price of one, as Echoes and Rituals: The Artwork of Robert Taylor and Harvey Pratt begins a run through Feb. 9, 2013, at Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd. The exhibition opens with a free reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Call 602-6664 or visit sciencemuseumok.org.

Thursday, ongoing

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
Kids these days: Who knows what crazy things they’ll come up with? You, provided you attend The Spectacle: A New Media Collective Exhibition, showing from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 18 in the Fred Jones Art Center, 520 Parrington Oval in Norman. It’s full of film, video, tech art and — from the looks of Tania Khouri’s photo below — goo-smearing women! Admission is free. Call 325-7370 or visit art.ou.edu.

Daily

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
Prog rockers Coheed and Cambria like to do things different, and their brand-new release, The Afterman: Ascension, is not only a concept album, but the first half of a double album. (Got that?) Who knows what to expect when they play Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S. Eastern, at 7 p.m. Tuesday? The Dear Hunter and Three open. Tickets are $24. Call 866-977-6849 or visit diamondballroom.net.

Tuesday

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
Described as “honest songwriting delivered in a hauntingly beautiful yet gritty, neo-traditional Americana wrapper,” the East Nashville duo known as Doug and Telisha performs 8 p.m. Thursday at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley, in support of their current album, Ghost of the Knoxville Girl. Tickets are $15. Call 524-0738 or visit bluedoorokc.com.

Thursday