Nestled in downtown Tulsa at 314 S. Cincinnati Ave., Coracle Coffee is a perfect pit stop for housemade snacks and delicious coffee concoctions.
Winter drinks include Mr. Napkinhead – lovingly named after Jude Law’s character in The Holiday – a spicy mocha with ginger, cayenne and marshmallows. Looking to go more classic? Try the Gingerbread Chai Latte with housemade gingerbread syrup, or the Sugarplum Latte, with housemade plum syrup. Other can’t-miss drinks include the frozen hot chocolate and a bevy of hot teas. Snacks include sausage rolls, breakfast sandwiches, croissants and coffee cake.
For those who want to take the goodness home, Coracle also offers instant and whole bean coffee.
Clue; photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade courtesy Celebrity Attractions
It might still be freezing cold outside, but Oklahoma brings the heat with performances galore.
In Tulsa, the PAC welcomes ample showcases this month. Start with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet on Feb. 1; the Tulsa Symphony musicians will be playing Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” Stick around for the Bob Dylan Center’s presentation of Red Dirt Boogie on Feb. 6, as well as a performance from Escher Quartet on Feb. 9, courtesy Chamber Music Tulsa. Celebrity Attractions brings Clue, a new showcase, from Feb. 11-16, and Tulsa Opera presents the compact, intimate and scorching adaption of The Tragedy of Carmen on Feb. 21 and 23. Lastly, Tulsa Ballet presents Alice in Wonderland for the first time in its company’s history; the brand-new version of this beloved tale runs Feb. 27-March 2. At the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, see comedian Anjelah Johnson Reyes on Feb. 8; or if Tom Segura is more your speed, he performs his stand-up at the Osage Casino Hotel on Feb. 20.
In OKC, the Civic Center Music Hall is a hotbed of the arts. Start with OKC Ballet’s Swan Lake, running Feb. 7-16. Next up is Valentine’s Follies, a production from Adele Wolf Productions that includes dazzling showgirls and death-defying circus acts. The OKC Philharmonic returns this month with Symphonies East and West on Feb. 22, with special guest Arjun Verma on sitar. Other performance goodies in OKC include Lyric Theatre’s rendition of Waitress, Feb. 12-March 2 at Lyric at the Plaza, as well as a show from the Glenn Miller Orchestra on Feb. 19 at Rose Art Performing Arts Center.
Around the state, don’t miss comedian Gabriel Iglesias, Feb. 1 at Thackerville’s Winstar World Casino and Resort; ValenCline’s Day Dinner and a Show, Feb. 14 at Guthrie’s Dominion House; and stand-up expert Billy Wayne Davis, Feb. 14 at Grant’s Choctaw Casino and Resort.
Darryl Starbird’s Rod & Custom Car Show; photo courtesy Darryl Starbird’s Rod & Custom Car Show
It’s the month of love, and community events are around every corner.
Expo Square is the place to be in Tulsa. Enjoy a variety of events, including the Women’s Expo With a Cause on Feb. 1-2; the Tulsa Boat, Sport and Travel Show through Feb. 2; the 61st Annual Darryl Starbird’s Rod & Custom Car Show on Feb. 14-16; and the Vintage Tulsa Show on Feb. 14-16. Other highlights include downtown Tulsa’s First Friday Art Crawl on Feb. 7 and the State Fiddlers Convention, Feb. 13-14 at the Marriott Tulsa Hotel Southern Hills.
OKC is jam-packed. Start with Chocolate Decadence, an evening of chocolate, savory tasting dishes and coffee, on Feb. 6 in Automobile Alley. Next, venture to the OKC Convention Center for the Spring Remodel and Landscape Show, Feb. 7-9. Get active and enjoy local creators at the 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk, downtown on Feb. 14, or visit Love! On the Plaza on the same day at OKC’s Plaza District for live music, film screenings, food and drink, plus retail shopping. For a sharp change of pace, Monster Jam monster truck racing slams into the Paycom Center on Feb. 15-16. Lastly, the Backwoods Hunting and Fishing Expo rounds out the month, Feb. 28-March 2 at the OKC Fairgrounds.
Around the state, visit the Round Barn Rendezvous on Feb. 9 at Arcadia’s Round Barn, replete with performances from local musicians; Shawnee’s Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art for its showcase, Called by God: The Art of Religious Life, through Feb. 16; and the Stephens County Coin Club Show, Feb. 21-22 at 1618 S. 14th St. in Duncan.
You’ll find a sporting event that suits your fancy every weekend this month.
In Tulsa, basketball is a must. See the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane play at home – the Reynolds Center – on Feb. 1, 15, 19 and 26 for women and Feb. 2, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19 and 22 for men. Other team sports include the Tulsa Oilers hockey matches, running Feb. 1-2, 6-8 and 16 at the BOK Center. At Expo Square, watch the Oklahoma Invitational Black Rodeo on Feb. 8, or you can venture to River Spirit Casino Resort on Feb. 21 for XFN 399. The kickboxing and mixed martial arts event hosts a bevy of athlete celebrities including Tater McSpadden and Devin “Katdaddy” White.
OKC basketball fans have it made this month. First, the Thunder plays at home, the Paycom Center, Feb. 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 24. Stick around the venue for the OKC Blue’s one home game this month on Feb. 26. If you want to make the drive to Norman, the University of Oklahoma Sooners have games Feb. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 26 for men and Feb. 2, 10 and 20 for women, all at the Lloyd Noble Center. Other events include both the junior high and high school state wrestling championships, Feb. 6-8 and Feb. 27-March 1, respectively, at the OKC Fairgrounds.
If you haven’t tuckered yourself out on basketball, the Oklahoma State University Cowboys play at Stillwater’s Gallagher-Iba Arena Feb. 1, 9, 15, 19 and 25, and the Cowgirls play Feb. 8, 12, 22 and 26. Other events around the state include the Cinch Timed Event Championship, Feb. 27-March 1 at Guthrie’s Lazy E. Arena; and the Heart of Oklahoma Youth Rodeo, Feb. 28-March 2 at Duncan’s Stephens County Fairgrounds.
Captain America: Brave New World; photo courtesy Marvel Studios, all rights reserved
It’s the month of love – both for your significant others and for the cinema – and I’ve got a wildly diverse selection of films for you and your special someone to go see.
For your action/comedy mix, check out Love Hurts. Starring Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as a successful real estate agent, Marvin, the movie picks up when his past life as a hitman comes back to haunt him. As his own brother comes to town to hunt him down, Quan’s character shows off his comedic form – as well as some serious martial arts moves with bone-crunching sound effects – during the trailer. Directed by Jonathan Eusebio (The Bourne Legacy), a stunt coordinator with 80 films under his belt, the action will surely outclass the story – and sometimes, that’s all you need. It releases on Feb. 7.
If you want some behind-the-scenes footage of rock and roll legends, look no further than Becoming Led Zeppelin. A documentary that charts the band from their beginnings up to their meteoric rise in popularity in the ’70s, the story will be told by the remaining band members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, with archival and never-before-heard audio from John Bonham, who passed away in 1980. This is the first fully authorized documentary from the band, and a work-in-progress screened in 2021 to a ten minute standing ovation. Hopefully it’s only become better when it releases on Feb 7.
The obligatory superhero movie for this month is Captain America: Brave New World. Starring Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Sam Wilson/Captain America, the story finds Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, previously William Hurt) newly elected as president and immediately under fire due to an international incident. Full of plots that require knowledge of multiple other movies and TV shows to fully understand, the film looks to have all the normal Marvel pizzazz, explosions, one-liners and slick looking action when it hits theaters on Valentine’s Day.
For some animated perfection, take a look at The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. The first original, fully animated feature in the Looney Tunes franchise, it features the voices of Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Fred Tatasciore, all noted voice actors. Early screenings have been overwhelmingly positive, praising the story, voice work and animation. Originally set to release on Max – where, in my opinion, it would have languished and died going almost fully unseen – it will now thankfully have a theatrical release on Feb. 28
Lastly, if fantasy and adventure are more your speed, don’t miss The Legend of Ochi. The story goes like this: In a remote village years ago, children are told not to go out after dark because of the fearsome creatures known as ochi. When a baby ochi is left behind, a young girl (Helena Zengel, System Crasher) takes it upon herself to return the creature to its family. The film also stars Willem Dafoe (Poor Things), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), and Emily Watson (Chernobyl). The movie seems to use a beautiful mix of puppetry, animatronics, animation and matte paintings to give the film a wholly unique vibe. It hits theaters on Feb. 28.
Main image credit: Captain America: Brave New World; photo courtesy Marvel Studios, all rights reserved
Creek Seminole College, opened in Boley in 1906, was founded by John C. Leftwich. Photo courtesy the OHS
When Matthew Pearce was doing his graduate studies at the University of Oklahoma, one professor assigned to his U.S. history students a book by James S. Hirsch: Riot and Remembrance.
“Students would tell him that reading that book was their first exposure to the Tulsa Race Massacre,” says Pearce, who is now the state historian for the Oklahoma Historical Society. And, he adds, many of those students had even grown up in Oklahoma.
More people have learned about the Tulsa Race Massacre since its 2021 centennial, and with the opening that year of Greenwood Rising, a museum that has drawn more than 60,000 visitors. It tells the story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District and Black Wall Street before and after the massacre, and is committed to the pursuit of justice through reparations and racial reconciliation.
Volunteers in Oklahoma’s historically Black towns also help to keep Black history alive – and taught. The towns that flourished early in the 20th century saw dwindling populations during the Great Depression. Town leaders now work to secure grant funding to restore historical sites, enhance infrastructure and attract economic development.
“The all-Black towns give people a sense of Oklahoma as a place of refuge and uplift,” Pearce says.
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, who assumed office in December 2024 and is the city’s first Black mayor, was raised in central Texas with a knowledge of Oklahoma’s Black history. The state is rich with the history of Black Americans who fought for civil rights, Nichols says, including Clara Luper, who led her students in lunch counter sit-ins, and Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, who in 1948 won her U.S. Supreme Court case seeking admission to the University of Oklahoma law school.
“Oklahoma was pushing the envelope on some of those big questions of civil rights,” Nichols says. “I hope there is a certain level of pride that people have, that we have always had people in Oklahoma that were fighting for justice.”
Pearce says he is inspired by the work of women such as Maude J. Brockway, for whom the Brockway Community Center in Oklahoma City was named.
“She was a milliner by trade, and very active in the women’s club movement. The community center housed club meetings and was a temporary boarding house for women needing a place to stay. She managed that house for them.”
Pearce says Brockway, who attended Arkansas Baptist College before moving to Oklahoma around 1900, “symbolizes someone who came to Oklahoma during the Great Migration. We commonly portray that as a mass movement of African-Americans from South to North. But she’s a reminder of that movement from the South to the West.”
Nichols says public and private initiatives in Tulsa include affordable housing, support for small businesses owned by race massacre descendants, and scholarships for descendants, “to do things that those visionaries would have been able to do had the Greenwood District not been burned down.”
Black History Month Must-Visits:
■ John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Parkin Tulsa memorializes the history of African-Americans in Oklahoma, including those whose lives were lost to racial violence. ■ The Fort Gibson Historic Site currently features an exhibit Dawes Commission in Cherokee Nation, which focuses on African-American Freedmen formerly enslaved by members of Indian tribes. ■ Honey Springs Battlefield Site near Checotah welcomes viewers to experience the Civil War battle of 9,000 troops – many of whom were Black – in 3D at their visitor center. ■ Bill Pickett’s grave site near Marland pays respect to a pioneer in the sport of rodeo. Pickett invented a cattle wrestling technique called bulldogging after joining the 101 Ranch Wild West show in 1905. Pickett, who moved to Oklahoma in 1908, was also the first African-American cowboy movie star. ■ The Oklahoma African-American Educators Hall of Fame in Clearview recognizes and honors significant contributions made by African-American educators. ■ The Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City prominently features Black history and culture in permanent and temporary exhibits, many of which can be discovered in the Research Center.
With across-the-city-or-country moves, downsizing, inheritances or side gig overflows, Oklahoma and the country at large are experiencing a rise in storage unit business in recent years.
“Self-storage is a need-based industry,” says Herb Dierking, division vice president of Oklahoma and Texas at Extra Space Storage. “As the customer need increases, so does the amount of facilities in an area. Self-storage has steadily become more common worldwide and has been gaining popularity in the U.S. since the early 1970s. This trend is often linked to U.S. culture, which values both practical and esoteric possessions.”
As for Oklahoma, Dierking believes the rapid growth of self-storage here is tied to overall expansion in the Midwest. As the population grows, so does the demand for storage space – especially in areas where there is a lot of movement into a city.
The reasons why people rent storage units, says Dierking, vary depending on the customer.
“The most popular reason for storing is because of a housing move – moving to a new city or to a new home,” he says. “The second most popular reason to store is due to a lack of space – many homeowners and apartment dwellers need the extra space for items that aren’t used every day. Some other uses we see are people in life transitions, such as getting married or divorced, or customers using storage as a staging area. People also rent parking spaces, which are used for boats or RVs. Businesses often rent units for overflow and inventory. Pharmaceutical and marketing companies store promotional materials and supplies. The reasons for renting really run the gamut.”
Working at a storage unit business means a self-driven manager wears many hats, says Dierking. They handle customer service, minor property maintenance, security checks and safety inspections. They keep facilities clean, make follow-up customer calls, and manage various administrative tasks throughout the day.
Self-storage units can range in size, with additional options for climate-control and drive-up access. Photo courtesy Extra Space Storage
Pricing is similar from company to company, with a rise in cost for climate controlled units.
“Our units range in size from small, 5×5 lockers to larger, 12×40 spaces and beyond,” he says. “The most popular sizes are 5×10, 10×10, 10×15 and 10×20. Some units are climate controlled, others have drive up access. There’s a range of options. Pricing depends on those factors and more, including market conditions, supply, demand and seasonality.”
While you may not think twice when passing a storage facility, Dierking says the industry itself is unique, because it spans multiple disciplines.
“While it’s primarily a property management business, it also involves customer service, sales, marketing, administration and legal compliance,” he says. “While it can seem like a simple business model – three walls and a door – it is actually very dynamic.”
While the majority of renters are responsible, there are always those who abandon their possessions or don’t pay rent as required. So – what happens to those belongings? As depicted on reality television, sometimes the answer is an auction, open to the public with no more than a peek from outside the unit, to clean out and acquire the contents.
“Auctions aren’t our primary focus,” says Dierking. “In fact, we do everything we can to avoid them. However, when customers default on their rent, we sometimes have no choice but to follow state laws for processing the units for auction. This allows us to free up the space for a new paying customer.”
Dierking continues: “One little known fact about storage auctions: self-storage companies cannot make a profit from them,” he says. “When the unit is sold, the funds can cover any debt the customer may have to the storage company and any additional money is returned to the customer.”
Are you fascinated by fun facts? Got a talent for sport statistics? Have a mind full of music and movie knowledge or a brain that fixates on science and history? Then create a team and make your way to the nearest trivia event in your community. Turns out, you’ll find plenty of options in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metros.
Trivia enthusiasts in both communities say the pastime is a way to have fun with friends and family, support local bars and restaurants, and test their knowledge on a variety of subjects.
The Tuesday trivia nights at Shuffles Board Game Cafe in Tulsa draw a large group of players, says owner Eric Fransen.
“We love trivia; we’re all about games,” says Fransen, whose café features a large selection of games to try, alongside food and drink.
Fransen works with the trivia business Questionable Company to host the weekly event. Questions posed to the audience cover topics such as science, geography, entertainment and general trivia.
Tulsan Francine Adams plays at Shuffles with her team weekly, and loves the atmosphere and the assortment of queries.
“There are questions for everybody – but they make sure that some of them are challenging for people that play on a regular basis,” she says.
Adams and her team, known as the Slayaz, have been playing trivia for seven years. They range in ages and backgrounds and have become close friends over the years. Part of the fun of trivia nights, she says, is to blend together the interests and knowledge of other players. Adams encourages any interested to give it a go. And, sure, sometimes a wrong answer happens, but that shouldn’t stop you from playing.
Wade Pierce of Oklahoma City is a longtime trivia fan who now gets the opportunity to host and write questions for trivia nights around town. Pierce is the owner of BanjoBug Trivia, a company that is hired by bars and restaurants to host events.
Pierce says he enjoys writing questions, and that you have to have “a blend of questions that’s appealing to a large group of people.”
He also believes the host plays a key role in trivia.
“It has to be someone that’s energetic,” he says. “The questions have to be good – but the host has to be fun and silly, too.”
Another perk of a trivia night is the potential for prizes. In some cases, winning teams can go home with a gift card from that particular bar or restaurant. And for teams who excel in the game, there’s the chance to compete on a higher level, like the Oklahoma Trivia Premier League.
Teams can earn points when they play trivia at a BanjoBug trivia night. At the end of the season, top teams play in the finals where they compete for cash and prizes.
Aside from tangible rewards, trivia also offers other benefits, enthusiasts say.
Playing games to boost knowledge “helps in keeping a young, more pliable brain,” says Fransen. Adams agrees.
“With trivia, you get people who still want to learn more,” she says.
Pierce mentions that trivia is also a great way to get friends together and give each member a chance to shine in their favorite subject areas. Having players on a team who are different ages is also helpful.
“The teams that do really well have a really good variety of interests – but also a really good variety of ages,” Pierce says.
Trivia for You
Ready to challenge yourself with trivia? Here’s a quick quiz (with answers below): 1. What is James Bond’s code name?
2. Who is considered the “Father of Relativity?”
3. What do you call a group of flamingos?
4. Relative to the internet, what does “URL” stand for?
5. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, what’s the best-selling book of all time?
Wade Pierce is the owner of BanjoBug Trivia, a company based in Oklahoma City that is hired by bars and restaurants to host games. Photos courtesy Wade Pierce
Answers: 007; Albert Einstein; a flamboyance; uniform resource locator; the Bible
Did you know Oklahoma is totally encompassed within two large drainage basins? These are the Red River and the Arkansas River. The two bodies of water, as well as their many tributaries, flow into Oklahoma from all six of our neighboring states; however, all surface water leaves Oklahoma by way of the Red, Arkansas and Little Rivers, as well as Lee Creek. Most rivers and tributaries flow generally to the east and southeast across the state. Oklahoma has approximately 78,603 miles of river; we break down the details of some of the state’s most notable of these.
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Arkansas. The river’s source basin lies in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley.
The headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Sawatch and Mosquito mountain ranges. It flows east into Kansas and finally through Oklahoma and Arkansas, where it meets the Mississippi River. Three major cities are situated along the banks of this river that drains nearly 160,500 square miles of land: Wichita, Kan.; Tulsa, and Little Rock, Ark.
At 1,469 miles, it is the sixth-longest river in the United States, the second-longest tributary in the Mississippi–Missouri system, and the 45th-longest river in the world.
Red River
The Red River is the second-largest river basin in the southern Great Plains. It rises in two branches in the Texas Panhandle and flows east, where it serves as the border between the states of Texas and Oklahoma.
It forms a short border between Texas and Arkansas before entering Arkansas, and forms much of the eastern border of Miller County, Ark., turning south near Fulton and flowing into Louisiana, where it feeds the Atchafalaya River.
The total length of the river is 1,360 miles, with a mean flow of over 57,000 cubic feet per second at the mouth.
Washita River
The Washita River forms in eastern Roberts County, Texas, near the town of Miami in the Texas panhandle. The river crosses Hemphill County, Texas, and enters Oklahoma in Roger Mills County. It cuts through the Oklahoma counties of Roger Mills, Custer, Washita, Caddo, Grady, Garvin, Murray, Carter and Johnston before emptying into Lake Texoma, which is the modern border between Bryan County and Marshall County.
The river bisects the heart of the Anadarko Basin, the fifth-largest natural gas formation area in the United States. When the river reaches the Arbuckle Mountains, it drops 30 feet per mile as it cuts through Big Canyon, a limestone gorge 300 feet deep.
The Washita’s river bed is made up of unstable mud and sand, and its banks are composed of steeply incised and erosive red earth. This makes it one of the most silt-laden streams in North America.
Salt Fork Red River
The Salt Fork Red River is a sandy-braided stream about 193 miles long, heading on the Llano Estacado of west Texas about 1.8 miles north of Claude of Armstrong County, Texas, flowing east across the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma to join the Red River about 13 miles south of Altus in Jackson County.
The Salt Fork Red River rises in northern Armstrong County, Texas, just to the south of Carson County. It flows southeast across Donley and Collingsworth County, crossing into Oklahoma at the 100th meridian. It then flows through Harmon County and Greer County, turning south near Mangum, and flows through central Jackson County, to its confluence with the Red River.
Oklahoma is home to a plethora of beautiful landscapes. Black Mesa, an area of land that covers Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma, is one of the best places to take in the natural sights of the Sooner State.
“Black Mesa provides guests with some of the best stargazing in the state,” says Chase Horn, the communications director for the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. “The dark skies bring hundreds of visitors to the park every year for the annual Okie-Tex Star Party, and it’s the perfect spot for astrology enthusiasts to view the Perseid meteor shower.”
The short grass prairie has abundant wildlife including mountain lions, butterflies and Texas horned lizards.
In fact, says Horn, “Black Mesa State Park is also the only place in Oklahoma where you can find bighorn sheep.”
In centuries past, the area was home to the Plains Indians, including Anasazi, Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Evidence of Indian habitation dating back thousands of years has been found in caves around Kenton.
The area was also home to outlaws during the early 20th century, such as William Coe and Black Jack Ketchum. The Panhandle, then a no man’s land with very little law enforcement, saw an influx of criminal activity until it was eventually settled by miners and farmers.
As for the present day, the mesa still has plenty for travelers.
Today, Black Mesa State Park offers stunning high-altitude views and outdoor recreation. Photos by Lori Duckworth/Oklahoma Tourism
“When visiting Black Mesa State Park, guests have the opportunity to hike the 8.4 mile round trip to the state’s highest point,” says Horn. “The park has 25 RV sites and 25 campsites, so guests can stay overnight and take advantage of some of the darkest skies on publicly accessible land in the country.
“The park has taken steps to minimize light pollution, like putting up shielded lights, to make sure stargazers have an amazing view,” he says.
Along with the beautiful views and other wildlife, there are also plenty of birds for those looking to catch a glimpse of golden eagles, scaled quail, black-gilled magpies and pinyon jays. Prehistoric-centered activities exist as well.
“There are dinosaur footprints on private land next to the park that guests are allowed to visit,” says Horn. These tracks were discovered in the 1980s and due to erosion, only a third of them still remain today.
Although the mesa itself has been around for quite some time, the park isn’t nearly that old.
“Black Mesa became a state park in 1959 and gets its name from the layer of black lava rock that coated the mesa years ago,” says Horn. “If you hike to the highest point, you can see this volcanic field in the distance including Sierra Grande, an ancient shield volcano, and Mount Capulin, a cinder cone volcano,” Horn says. Both volcanoes are extinct but offer stunning views from the highest point in Oklahoma.
