Commentary: Prayer vigilant
The inauguration of Oklahoma’s new governor, Kevin Stitt, was a series of celebratory events around the state. It ended with a prayer service the day after the inauguration that was timed as a way to symbolize how Stitt will put God first in his new administration. As a preacher, I applaud the effort of the…
Fire Woods
When he released his long-awaited 2013 album The 20/20 Experience, a lush and expansive collection that furthered his bona fides as a deserving star, Justin Timberlake was, as Pitchfork noted in its review, auditioning for an open position: King of Pop. His Saturday concert at Chesapeake Energy Arena in support of his most recent album,…
Iliza millennia
Iliza Shlesinger will bring her kinetic, elastic comedy to Oklahoma City as part of her Elder Millennial Tour. In the Elder Millennial Netflix special, Shlesinger reflects on a time before social media, on relationship complexities in the 2010s, and the differences between men and women. The 35-year-old comic, originally from Dallas, is the only female…
Living Legacy
Shortly after midnight on Dec. 18, 2017, 20-year-old Ada-born musician Connor Hicks died in a traffic accident on a foggy two-lane road in Seminole County. A little over a year later, Legacy, a collection of his previously unreleased songs, gives listeners one more chance to hear new music from Hicks. “We actually had a few…
Oklahoma turnaround
Oklahoma’s 28th governor took the oath of office last week, right before giving an inaugural address that echoed many of his campaign promises. But beyond getting a fresh face, Oklahomans want Gov. Kevin Stitt to look at issues that might be outside his agenda. Mary Fallin was Oklahoma’s governor for the past eight years. Much…
Pack mentality
The Wolves Jan. 31-Feb. 3 The Burg Theatre 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave. okcu.edu/theatre 405-208-5227 $15 The Wolves pounces from the opening lines with a flurry of overlapping conversations about Nuon Chea, the 90-year-old right-hand man to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, who was responsible for the Cambodian genocide of over a million people. All while…
Hard truths
The Jerome M. Westheimer, Sr. & Wanda Otey Westheimer Distinguished Visiting Artist Chair: Mildred Howard Thursday-April 7 Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art University of Oklahoma 555 Elm Ave., Norman ou.edu/fjjma 405-325-3272 Free Writers often expend considerable chunks of their word counts describing Mildred Howard’s work, but she classifies everything she has created in her…
Working women
Hannah Schmitt is editor of the local parenting magazine Metro Family. As her own boss, she chose to work from home for the past four years. She called this set up “kind of fine” until she and her husband Brian Schmitt had their son two years ago. Suddenly, lines between work, family and the home…
Tending flower
How does one become a budtender? Some start their own dispensaries. Others know people who do it. Some patients parlay their knowledge of the medicine into a job opportunity. But others are looking for any chance to get their foot in the door, and HempStaff aims to help. The company will be holding two of…
Local viewing
The operators of the new Chalk sports bar, which hosts its grand opening in Chisholm Creek Feb. 3 following initial service that began last week, want to alleviate the biggest concern of trying to watch a specific sports event right as the customer enters the door. The 7,500 square-foot two-story restaurant and bar with 100…
Tunnel out
The downtown Oklahoma City transportation hub will not feature a tunnel connecting Santa Fe Station to Bricktown, but the city will still enhance the existing connections for pedestrians. “The intermodal hub for Oklahoma City is a large project that included the remodel at the existing Santa Fe Station. It also included the reconstruction of a…
One Eno
Independent Creativity 8 p.m. Saturday Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. okcphil.org 405-594-8300 $19-$83 Freemason symbolism and a spacey soundtrack created by an “ambient god” are included in Oklahoma City Philharmonic’s upcoming concert celebrating artistic freedom. Independent Creativity 8 p.m. Saturday at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., features Leonard Bernstein’s…
Musical magic
New Horizons Ensemble 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater Oklahoma City Community College 7777 S. May Ave. tickets.occc.edu 405-682-7579 $10-$25 Music has the power to inspire, shape careers and take listeners on journeys, as is the case for New Horizons Ensemble, a six-person contemporary acoustic group coming to Oklahoma City Community…
Chicken-Fried News: True pastime
Although baseball is still referred to as “America’s pastime,” the metrics surrounding the game’s star power are reaching crisis levels. Last year, ESPN released its ranking of the 100 most popular athletes in the world, and it did not include a single baseball player. (Russell Westbrook checked in at No. 34.) The proverbial “hot stove”…
Gazedibles: Small plates
When you are feeling hungry but you’re not exactly sure what you want to eat, these seven restaurants will let you try a lot of different options with friends and family for a great time to socialize. By Jacob Threadgill with photos provided and Gazette / file En Croûte 6460 Avondale Drive, Nichols Hills encrouteokc.com…
Uptown misstep
Alley Café447 NW 23rd St. 405-225-1058 What works:What’s billed as an Italian beef sandwich actually works as a pot roast sandwich. What needs work:The menu doesn’t always deliver what is advertised, like the sushi, which are actually spring rolls. Tip:Ring the bell for service. 7/17/19 Update: Alley Cafe has changed its concept under the direction…
Cash on hand
The MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board will meet Thursday to vote on how to distribute more than $20 million in surplus funding. The money comes from excess collections and/or interest from the Oklahoma City Capital Improvement Sales Tax Fund and potential savings from the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) 3. A total of $51 million will…
Simon’s stories
Barefoot in the Park Thursday-Feb. 17 Jewel Box Theatre 3700 N. Walker Ave. jewelboxtheatre.org 405-521-1786 $20-$25 First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes … a disastrous first apartment. Or at least that’s the case in Neil Simon’s 1963 classic Barefoot in the Park, which runs Thursday-Feb. 17 at Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker…
TV reality
Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) and OETA Foundation have been partners for more than 30 years, but mounting disputes have led to a legal battle between the two entities. After about a year of arguments, the OETA board of directors voted Jan. 8 to cut ties with OETA Foundation, its charitable partner tasked with helping…
Fully Applied
Applied Music Program, Carly Gwin and the Sin and Lacey Elaine 9 p.m. Feb. 2 51st Street Speakeasy 1114 NW 51st St. 51stspeakeasy.com 405-463-0470 $3 21+ Oklahoma music fans will have the rare opportunity to see several local bands perform together at an upcoming show at 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., on Feb.…
Chicken-Fried News: Sooner grown
Among the Oklahoma-centric news alerts this month were the all-too-usual national embarrassments: fracking-induced earthquakes, negligent parenting, prison violence and Kevin Stitt sworn in as governor. But a closer look at Oklahoma’s mentions revealed something unexpected: In at least two areas, our state is something of a progressive trendsetter. A Jan. 9 Associated Press story on…
Chicken-Fried News: Bats crazy
Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has a project to rebuild a stretch of Oklahoma Highway 16 between Okay and Wagoner, and (surprise) it’s going to take longer than anticipated. But this time, bats are to blame. Kind of. Although ODOT studied the Highway 16 project and took precautions years before, some factors like Oklahoma’s rainy…
Collateral effects
In early December 2018, Jake Keyes fulfilled a lifelong dream of opening his own commercial brewery — Skydance Brewing Co. — at Brewers Union with the news of a potential federal government shutdown looming, but its potential effect on his new business didn’t hit home until it was too late. As the federal shutdown, which…
Gentle warrior
It was a sunny, warm October day when Cannabis Aid, 1612 NE 23rd St., began selling the products that gave the dispensary its name, but the rain is unending and the skies a deep dull gray on the first day doors open after the murders of founder Elijah Malachi X Mothershed Bey and his family.…
