It’s time to meet the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra once again at the Guthrie Green for Symphony in the Park. The free outdoor concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, a 111 E. Brady St. in downtown Tulsa. Tulsa Symphony’s special performance will include arrangements from movies, classic pop hits and theater musicals. To top it all off, look for the fireworks display scheduled at the end. Other activities, including the Brady Arts District Art Crawl will start earlier in the evening. For more information, visit www.guthriegreen.com.
Grab a bowl of award-winning chili and listen to live music at this year’s Bluegrass & Chili Festival – Thursday, Sept. 4, to Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Claremore Expo Center. The weekend event will include a festival market with arts and crafts vendors, a car show, music and dance competitions and exhibitions and children’s activities. The big events, however, are the Mid-America Regional Chili Cook-Off and the big concerts scheduled through the event. Watch for bluegrass favorites Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and Doyle Lawson & QuickSilver on Friday evening. On Saturday night, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage take the stage along with other acts. Festival hours are 4-11 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Hours on Saturday are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is $10 per carload. The expo center is located at 400 Veterans Parkway in Claremore. For more information, visit www.claremore.org.
Sheila Hulsman offers up to 20 cupcake flavors – including Bringing Home the Bacon, Snow White’s Delight, Slow Poke, Sin Is In, Peanut Butter Surprise and 24-Carrot Baby – at her bakery, Not Your Grandma’s Cupcakes. Photo by Natalie Green.
Sheila Hulsman offers up to 20 cupcake flavors – including Bringing Home the Bacon, Snow White’s Delight, Slow Poke, Sin Is In, Peanut Butter Surprise and 24-Carrot Baby – at her bakery, Not Your Grandma’s Cupcakes. Photo by Natalie Green.
Frequenters of Main Street in Broken Arrow are very familiar with Not Your Grandma’s Cupcakes, and it’s no wonder. That first bite of the boutique bakery’s offerings is an unforgettable experience.
In May 2012, owner Sheila Hulsman opened the retail space. Since then, business has been sweet – so much so that Hulsman is in the process of expanding her store, and she recently bought a food truck.
Prior to opening her storefront, Hulsman worked a desk job that left her bored and unfulfilled, she says.
“I am way too creative for that and have way too much energy,” says Hulsman, who has a background in the hotel industry.
Photo by Natalie Green.
Photo by Natalie Green.
Photo by Natalie Green.
She began baking cupcakes for friends, and they were met with rave reviews. After Hulsman was laid off in 2011, she decided to turn her baking passion into a business.
Hulsman offers up to 20 flavors from which to choose. Some of the most popular and creatively named are the Slow Poke (chocolate turtle cheesecake), Cha-Cha-Cherry Cheesecake, Lemon The Dream and Death by Oreo.
Using social media to spread word of her business, Hulsman also found her creative cupcakes speak for themselves. And what they say is delicious. 1810 S. Main St., Broken Arrow. www.notyourgrandmascupcakes.com
They both won their season-opening games, but only one team will take the win Saturday, Sept. 6, when The University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team hosts The University of Oklahoma Sooners. The second game of the 2014 season promises to be a highlight for Oklahoma college football fans as TU looks to build momentum, while OU defends its advance in the Big 12 standings. The game will take place at H.A. Chapman Stadium on the TU campus, Harvard Avenue and 11th Street South in Tulsa. Tulsa fans will get to watch several hometown players in Sooner uniforms on the field, including linebacker Dominique Alexander, who will face his brother Derrick Alexander, a junior playing defense for TU. Some tickets still remain for the game, which starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Seats are $90 at www.tulsahurricane.com. You can also watch the game live on ABC stations.
The renowned Kingston Trio will bring fun and musical nostalgia to Midwest City’s Rose State Performing Arts Theater this weekend. One of the prominent groups of the folk music revival of the late 1950s through the ‘60s, the Kingston Trio continues to play music houses around the country and perform such favorites as “Tom Dooley” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” Show time is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6. The theatre is located at 600 Trosper Road, Midwest City. The show is presented by the American Banjo Museum, and tickets are $25 at www.myticketoffice.com.
Families are invited to the Governor’s Mansion and Oklahoma History Center for the 18th annual Septemberfest, taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. Visitors receive free admission to the history center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, in Oklahoma City and can enjoy all the activities, which include learning stations, storytelling, antebellum music and live performances with historians in Indian Territory-era period dress. Nearby at the Governor’s Mansion, 820 N.E. 23rd St., families can see other historical reenactments, participate in crafts and meet Gov. Mary Fallin and her family. Events are free and open to the public, plus everyone is invited to picnic on the lawn. For more, visit www.okhistory.org and www.ok.gov/governor.
Enjoy the blend of blues, country and early folk music in the sound of American roots artist Pokey LaFarge. LaFarge and his band return to Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St., in Tulsa for his Central Time Tour, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10. Music acts Dom Flemons, Joel Savoy, Jesse Lége & The Cajun Country Revival, The Tillers and The Loot Rock Gang join LaFarge on the road for a night of music that might have been heard on the radio nearly 100 years ago. In the hands of LaFarge and his cohorts, however, what was old is rediscovered and timeless. Tickets are $15-$30 at www.cainsballroom.com.
Stand-up comic and actor Aziz Ansari will take the stage at Rose State Performing Arts Theatre in Midwest City at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9. Best-known as co-star on the NBC comedy series “Parks and Recreation,” Ansari’s career includes film acting (Funny People, 30 Minutes or Less) and now author – his first book will look at modern romance and is due out next fall. No doubt, it won’t be your average guide to the single life, since the rising star has been called one of the hottest comics under 30. The Rose State Performing Arts Theater is located at 600 Trosper Road, Midwest City. Tickets are $39 at www.myticketoffice.com.
“Meeting Your Future Wife at Bed Bath and Beyond” (STRONG LANGUAGE)
The new Helmerich Center for American Research will add square footage for archival projects as well as research. Photo by Brandon Scott.
Gilcrease Museum is debuting the new Helmerich Center for American Research, an ambitious project that has been several years in the making, says Dr. Duane King, executive director for the new research center.[pullquote]“People are often surprised [that] something of this caliber is outside a major metropolitan area,” says King. “Tulsa has many important assets, and Gilcrease Museum is one.”[/pullquote]
In 2008, the City of Tulsa and The University of Tulsa entered into an historic partnership to preserve and advance Gilcrease Museum. In its new role as steward of the museum and its collections, TU is leveraging its nationally recognized academic expertise in western American history, art history, anthropology and archaeology to propel Gilcrease into a new era.
“The research center has been our most ambitious project,” says King. “The support shown by the city and the Tulsa community has been remarkable. It shows how much the citizens of Tulsa care about this museum and its collection.”
Since 2008, $58 million has been raised for improvements to Gilcrease Museum and museum operation.
“The center is named after Peggy and [the late] Walt Helmerich,” adds King. “They provided the initial gift to make it all possible.”
The Helmerich Center will add more than 25,000 square feet to Gilcrease, housing the museum’s library and archive, a paper conservation and digital laboratory, exhibition space and a research reading room, as well as meeting and special events spaces.
Photo by Brandon Scott.
“The exhibition space will host art and pieces of the archive,” says King. “The first exhibit is on Native American artwork.”
The museum’s collection, which contains books, manuscripts, maps and artifacts in addition to artwork, was given to the City of Tulsa in the 1950s.
“The core of the collection was compiled by Thomas Gilcrease,” says King. “We are still adding today, yet very selectively. [The collection at Gilcrease] really represents the story of the American experience. It is, today, one of the finest collections of American Western art and Native American material, ethnography and art. It is an extremely important resource for the city and the people who live here.”
Photo by Brandon Scott.
The archival collection contains some of the earliest documents printed in the Western Hemisphere, many of which have never been translated. Included are documents that relate to the conquest of the Spanish colonies, a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a friend and containing details about the Declaration of Independence, many important documents about the formation of democracy in the U.S. and a large group of documents pertaining to relations between the U.S. government and American Indian tribes.
“People are often surprised [that] something of this caliber is outside a major metropolitan area,” says King. “Tulsa has many important assets, and Gilcrease Museum is one.”
The Helmerich Centerfor American Research kicks off its opening weekend Sept. 6-7 with a series of events at Gilcrease Museum.
Activities include American Indian dancing, special exhibitions, lectures on history and art, coffee demonstrations, music performances, Chautauqua-style presentations and more for all ages. Events are free and open to the public.
