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Tulsa
The Lofoten Islands – beautiful, untamed and north of the Arctic Circle in the tempestuous waters of the Norwegian Sea – bely their location as grateful beneficiaries of the Gulf Stream. The outcropping off Norway’s northwest coast enjoys mild winter and summer temperatures of 34 degrees and 54 degrees, respectively. While not Tahiti hot, it’s warmer than most places on...

Back to Aartvark

It was the coveted purse of a newborn fowl that first drew Keith Whitfield to the art world.  “Only in Oklahoma,” says Whitfield, who owns and operates Aartvark Graphic Design in Owasso with his wife, Dana. “I’ve been drawing since I can remember. I won a drawing contest in first grade – the prize was a live baby chick.”  As a...
Wrongful convictions are not easy to overturn, even when the defense has DNA evidence on its side. Five to seven years is a typical timetable for working toward exoneration, says Vicki Behenna, executive director of the Oklahoma Innocence Project, which tries to reverse wrongful convictions in the state. “We call it the innocence movement,” says Behenna, who spent 25 years as...

The Tulsa Zeitgeist

A couple of months ago in this space, I wrote about a then-upcoming event at Tulsa’s Will Rogers High School auditorium, honoring the musical legacy of one of its most famous alumni, Leon Russell. The tribute concert included the dedication of the refurbished Baldwin piano that Russell played in the ’50s for the amusement of his high school peers during their...
Anytime Edmond native Josh Richardson returns to this part of the country during the NBA season, the fourth-year Miami Heat player always stops at a specific Oklahoma City-based chain. “I love Braum’s,” he says after a morning shoot-around before a game in Dallas. “Anytime Oklahoma or Texas, I try to go to Braum’s.” Richardson, Miami’s second-round pick in the 2015...
In 2017, then-Gov. Mary Fallin addressed an audience in Washington about what she called Oklahoma’s “dubious honor.” For decades, the state has led the nation in female incarceration by staggering numbers. That year, 151 per every 100,000 women in the state were in prison – many for drug-related crimes. As the incarceration rate has ballooned in recent years and more...
Be it cotton, wool or paint, the art from Sullystring has bright colors and eye-catching patterns and begs the observer to touch it – or cuddle, in the case of soft pillows. The story behind this Tulsa brand – the woman who runs the show – is even more compelling and inviting than the soft textiles and friendly murals...

Headin’ Downtown

OKC Grub Vast Nestled at the top of the 50-story Devon Tower, Vast offers fine dining and an exquisite panorama of the city. vastokc.com Patrono Patrono is a fantastic place to nab sophisticated yet affordable Italian fare before a show at the Civic Center Music Hall. patronookc.com Kitchen 324 Another feather in the cap of the Good Egg Dining Group, Kitchen 324 is a favorite...
The exterior of a new Edmond residence has an upscale, sophisticated design, which is “exactly what the homeowners wanted,” says Andrew French, owner of French Construction Co. That’s definitely the first impression the homeowners wanted to make … but step across the threshold into the large entry and there’s a warm, comfortable, inviting aura. The entry sets the stage for...

Go With the Flow

Nearly 500 years ago, philosopher Francis Bacon penned a notable phrase about finding alternatives. And it could apply – with a twist – to landlocked Oklahoma. “If the Hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill,” the English statesman wrote in his famous collection, Essays. That take-charge approach is apropos to the Sooner State, home to...