Next Issue: Young Worshippers Flock to OKC’s District Churches
P. 27 With more young people moving to the central neighborhoods, a new breed of churches is tailoring the worship ex- perience to a new generation of Oklahoma City faithful. By Laura Eastes Cover by Karson Brooks
Summer Guide: Decked halls
If there is one thing this state is not short on, it is quality museums. It does not matter if you want to stick to the metro or venture out for a daytrip somewhere a few hours down the highway. Either way, you can bet there is a worthwhile and enlightening collection awaiting you somewhere…
New path
If asked to guess which national political party affiliate was the first to elect a transgender person to its executive board, most people probably would not think of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma. But maybe they should. Norman resident and University of Oklahoma (OU) political science student Traci Baker made history when she was elected…
Summer Guide: Baby builders
Now back by popular demand: household chores. Building Buddies, an interactive exhibit designed for small children, is currently making its second appearance at Science Museum Oklahoma through September. A creative collaboration between Oklahoma Museum Network and design group Toboggan produced with a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the exhibit tasks children with helping…
Summer Guide: Festival eats
Summer is a time for abundance, and what better way than to celebrate the harvest by enjoying some Oklahoma specialties at food festivals across the state? Through August, from crawfish to blackberries, there is a food festival for every hungry Oklahoman. Chisholm Trail & Crawfish Festival June 2 | Free Mollie Spencer Farm 1001 Garth…
Summer Guide: Summer fun
The school year is stressful for parents and kids, and come summertime, everyone deserves a break. Three months of video games and TV are a tempting distraction, but there are better options to keep young minds occupied. Local summer camps give your children a chance to learn new skills, prepare for higher learning and supplement…
Groundbreaking play
Playgrounds — they’re quintessential sites of childhood, places of laughter, fun and imagination. For frequenters of the Children’s Garden at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 E. Reno Ave., there’s now more for kids of all abilities to enjoy. Through a $75,000 donation from Thunderbird Telecom Pioneers, Myriad Botanical Gardens installed three new accessible pieces of playground…
Coding games
Introduced as a learning tool to get students engaged in technology and engineering, robotics has captivated students of all ages with its hands-on learning and friendly competitions. In Oklahoma’s urban and rural districts, robotics has become the norm. F.D. Moon Academy, a northeast Oklahoma City school for prekindergarten through sixth-grade students, has the building blocks…
Summer Guide: Explore Oklahoma’s camping grounds
Head out of OKC in almost any direction and you’ll soon see the abundant and diverse nature the state has to offer. Mountain ranges, canyons, lakes, rivers and waterfalls all await anyone willing and able to take a short drive. They’re just far enough for a weekend getaway but close enough you could change your…
Glass glow
Museums all over the world display works by influential glass artist Dale Chihuly, but part of Oklahoma City Museum of Art is specifically built to house one. Chihuly’s 2002 work Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower is 55 feet tall, and the museum commissioned it as a signature piece, installing a sky-lit atrium to display the…
Bouncing back
Calling Oklahoma’s November 2014 statewide election turnout disappointing might be an understatement. An August 2015 U.S. Census Bureau report on midterm state elections showed fewer Oklahomans participated in 2014 than in any statewide election over the previous 45 years. In Oklahoma, only 34.2 percent of adults cast a vote in the 2014 general election. Several…
Summer Guide: Party mindset
Rocklahoma is always one of the biggest and best annual parties this state has to offer, but the annual Pryor rock pilgrimage shifts into a higher gear when party-life philosopher and metal maestro Andrew W.K. hits the stage. W.K. (short for Wilkes-Krier), has had a presence on the national music scene since the early 2000s,…
Summer Guide: Park season
As the OKC metro becomes increasingly, well, metropolitan, it’s nice to remember there are several places nearby to stop and smell the roses (or play disc golf, or race a mountain bike or hit the water slides or…). You get the idea. Myriad Botanical Gardens 301 W. Reno Ave. myriadgardens.com 405-445-7080 Located downtown, this 15-acre…
Gazedibles: Sizzling solstice
Rococo Restaurant & Fine Wine 2824 N. Pennsylvania Ave. rococo-restaurant.com 405-528-2824 Perhaps it doesn’t have the same cache as Rococo’s famous crab cake or Love Salad, but the lobster roll, which was added to the menu full-time in 2017, is summer on a roll. Rococo’s version pushes fresh Maine lobster to the forefront; it’s not…
Clothing careers
Clothes, like names, are vital signifiers of outward expression. They can make or break first impressions. But there’s always more than meets the eye, and Dress for Success Oklahoma City is no exception. “I think what we’re best known for, or people just assume because of our name, is that we just give clothing out.…
Soul comfort
Vesa’s Soul Food 8937 NE 10th St., Midwest City facebook.com/vesasokc 405-455-6650 What works: The catfish batter is filled with spices, and the filet is juicy. What needs work:The cornbread might benefit from fresh pepper. Tip:Get a side of sweet potatoes. Travessa Burge always enjoyed cooking the recipes she learned while growing up in New Orleans…
Community ministry
Being Your Best at Any Age 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. May 31 Northeast Regional Health and Wellness Campus 2600 NE 63rd St. 405-427-6863 Free Several years ago, members of northeast Oklahoma City’s Redeemer Lutheran Church were polled about what ministries to pursue. They overwhelmingly supported community ministry. As a church limited in resources, leaders called upon…
Chicken-Fried News: Pack mentality
The latest weird and wild news from Oklahoma that achieved national headlines is the tragic story of an Ardmore woman killed in an attack from seven short-legged dachshund-mix dogs. Tracy Garcia, 52, died May 10 after her neighbor’s dogs mauled her outside her home, according to KXII. The story appeared on both the Yahoo! and…
Chicken-Fried News: Es-Tate auction
Chicken-Fried News loves happy endings, but it’s taking so long for Tate Publishing & Enterprises founder Richard Tate and his son, former CEO and Oklahoma Gazette cover model Ryan Tate, to go to trial, the team is starting to not believe in them anymore. But while the preliminary hearing for the Tates on matching sets…
Mall shook up
During the day, determined mall walkers march past The Liszt Nightclub + Lounge’s dark glass entryway. The smell of nearby Billy Sims Barbecue wafts from down the hall, and the cycled flow of several indoor fountains produces a soothing white noise inside The Shoppes at Northpark’s brightly lit corridors. But in the evening, a different…
Summer vibes
Oklahoma Singer Songwriter Series: Felina & The Feels nightfall (around 9 p.m.) June 1 Blue Doors at Tenkiller 98413 Oklahoma Highway 100, Gore bluedoorsattenkiller.com 918-489-2174 $10 Norman-based singer-songwriter Felina Rivera played her first set at Blue Doors at Tenkiller in September during the inaugural Indigo Fest — an environmentally conscious music and art festival focused…
Smoke session
Both bodies of the Oklahoma state Legislature adjourned earlier this month with several lawmakers eager to hit the campaign trail ahead of the June 26 primary elections. But legislators did not leave the Capitol with a clean plate of tasks and will likely be called back to the table shortly after next month’s polls close.…
Summer Guide: Movie music
Brightmusic Goes Hollywood: The Chamber Music of Film Composers 7:30 p.m. June 14, 16-17, 19 and 4 p.m. June 17 St. Paul’s Cathedral 127 NW Seventh St. brightmusic.org 405-550-1484 Free-$20 Picture someone getting stabbed in the shower and odds are good you’ll hear a specific song. Bernard Herrmann’s theme for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is so…
Motherly influence
Mother’s Day 2017 was a difficult day for the Kahoe family, as the matriarch Carol died, but by Mother’s Day 2018, her son Brian and husband Jim Kahoe were hosting a packed house at a Norman restaurant named in her honor. Carol’s Kitchen opened in early March at 2620 Classen Blvd. in Norman with a…
Hemp rebirth
Mid-America Medical Cannabis Conference and Expo June 1 and 2 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds 3101 Gordon Cooper Blvd. maccok.com 405-2017453 $17.50- $60 In 1942, the United States government produced the film Hemp for Victory, which encouraged farmers to grow hemp for military use, but the film’s existence was denied by federal agencies until two copies were…
Volunteering ventures
For children taken into protective custody, the experience can be jarring and disorienting. Difficulties with school and learning can also manifest. Two programs from Oklahoma Lawyers for Children (OLFC) rely on volunteers to provide various kinds of support to children in protective custody. Founded in 1997 by Don R. Nicholson II and D. Kent Meyers,…
Bird’s eye
What began as a 4-H project with a local student setting his sights on achieving something memorable is now state law. After researching Oklahoma’s raptors — birds of prey that include eagles, hawks, kites, falcons and owls — Ephraim Bowling, a 10-year-old who lives in Crown Heights, learned that only Idaho recognizes an official raptor.…
Chicken-Fried News: No protection
With all the awful stories about Scott Pruitt’s paranoia, venality and extravagance, sometimes his horrible polices get swept aside. To paint a proper picture of just how terrible the current Environmental “Protection” Agency’s administrator is at actually protecting the environment, let Chicken-Fried News take you back five years to an awful day in a little…
Chicken-Fried News: Money followed
John Pettis paid no mind to members of the press as he quickly marched out of the Oklahoma County jail and into his car on the morning of May 15. If the criminal charges against the Oklahoma City councilman are true, attention to the media is not the only thing Pettis has not paid within…
