The fascinating portraits of Lakota (Sioux) people by photographer Gertrude Käsebier tell a story of American history complex, beautiful and tragic in its scope. When Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show traveled to New York in 1898, Käsebier watched the Native American people sentimentally paraded as artifacts of a disappearing American frontier and Native American way of life. Käsebier invited the Lakota into her Fifth Avenue studio and captured some of the most compelling pieces of her already impressive body of work. More than a century later, Gilcrease Museum introduces us to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors, an exhibit of more than 40 original platinum and gum-bichromate photographs from the collections of the Smithsonian and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo. This exhibition not only demonstrates the artist’s technical capacity for photography but an ability to reveal the inner lives of her subjects, and in these, we witness strength of identity despite an uncertain future. The exhibit runs through Jan. 26 at Gilcrease, 1400 N. Gilcrease Road. For details, hours and admission, visit www.gilcrease.utulsa.edu.
You know it’s the holidays when homes, businesses and parks outlined in a cheerful glow of multicolored lights stand out from those dark winter nights. It’s a tradition, really, to jump in the car and drive around to catch all the displays. For 40 years, Utica Square has had a unique celebration that has become a Tulsa tradition in itself. Join the shops of Utica Square, 21st Street and Utica Avenue, for Lights On, a lighting ceremony and evening with Santa and holiday carolers. The park lights up for the first time this year at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 28. Stroll the shops with hot chocolate in hand and enjoy with friends and family. For more, see www.uticasquare.com.
John Mayer’s career has had many incarnations. The Connecticut singer-songwriter found immediate success with his early pop albums and singles such as “Your Body is a Wonderland,” which earned him critical kudos and a Grammy Award. Next, he turned to the blues for inspiration. Now, he’s in a more Americana state of mind, and his latest album, Paradise Valley, is considered Mayer’s most genuine musical offering in a while. He may have ducked out of the tabloid spotlight on his high-profile romances in recent years, but he’s not shy about returning to the road. Mayer plays the Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., in Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30. Tickets are $49.50-$69.50, available at www.chesapeakearena.com.
Who knew little bikes could create such a stir. The USA BMX Grand Nationals bring professional BMX bike racers and teams from across the country to Tulsa and Expo Square’s River Spirit Expo Friday, Nov. 29-Sunday, Dec. 1. The Pro Series Final will decide titles and bragging rights for another year. Presented by the Tulsa Sports Commission, the main event takes place Saturday, Nov. 30. While you’re there, check out the President’s Cup/Race of Champions, NAG 5 Challenge and industry vendors. How’s that for some Black Friday Weekend action? Admission is free for ages six and under, $10 for all others. Visit www.usabmx.com for other details.
Oklahoma City waits all year for Downtown in December to return, and this year is no exception. The season brings with it outdoor ice skating, a winter market, snow tubing and a host of activities that all begin Friday, Nov. 29. The Devon Ice Rink opens again in the Myriad Botanical Gardens at the corner of Robinson and Sheridan with fun planned every day of the week. The activity doesn’t stop there: Downtown in December is a host of events that includes the SandRidge Tree Lighting Festival (5-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29) at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Santa’s Adventures on the Oklahoma River (weekends beginning Friday, Nov. 29), the Oklahoma City Philharmonic’s Christmas Show (Dec. 5-7), the SandRidge Santa Run (Dec. 14) and so much more. Go to www.downtownindecember.com to see everything OKC has to offer.
Families have split over it, and the college football rivalries that divide sooner from cowboy are the stuff of legend. But the farmer and the cowman should be friends, as Aunt Eller once sang in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma, and so should the house of Oklahoma State University unto the house of University of Oklahoma. The Dye Hard Fan Dash is just the place to make that happen with a 5k color run, chili cook off, live music and fun for all ages beginning at noon Saturday, Nov. 30, at the Guthrie Green, 111 E. Brady St. Show your support for your favorite team – OSU, OU, RSU, NSU, etc. – and you’ll also show your support for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and its work to cure Type 1 diabetes. Registration starts at $45. Go to www.dyehardfandash.com for more.
When you’ve stuffed yourself with pie, turkey, stuffing and all those marvelous morsels of Thanksgiving, don’t give yourself a hard time. Treat yourself to some leftovers. The 8th Annual Leftover Turkey concert stars two Oklahoma Red Dirt favorites – Jason Boland & the Stragglers and the Turnpike Troubadours – in one great show at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St., Tulsa. Show time is 8:30 p.m., and tickets are $25-$40, available at the Cain’s box office and online at www.cainsballroom.com. With these leftovers, you don’t have to worry about potential salmonella poisoning, but we’re not guaranteeing against any two-step injuries.
What do you think when you hear young professional? Do you see a young man in a starched white shirt and tie? Or a mid-20s woman with a briefcase and a Bluetooth? What about when you see a musician jamming away on his guitar? Or a slam-poet rhyming through her latest piece? They, too, have spent hours honing their skills and perfecting their pitches; but too often those skills don’t go on a resume, and their pitches won't be heard in a board meeting.
The Oklahoma arts industry creates $29 million in state and local tax revenue. This ill-acknowledged professional sector also creates a tourist destination in a widely accepted aerospace-and-energy city. Tourism is one of the largest business sectors in the United States, by the way. In order to be considered a vacation destination, Tulsa's creative professionals must be taken just as seriously as traditional young executive. When visiting Pittsburgh, I learned that the economic impact of the arts is more lucrative than the city's three professionals sports teams – Steelers, Pirates and Penguins – combined. The city understands this impact by investing one percent of its sales tax income to the arts.
The truth is, when we say young professional, what we’re really talking about is young talent. How can we, as a community, retain and attract all young talent, including the young, vibrant, creative people?
Young people must feel that they can pursue their creative dreams here, not just in New York or L.A. In the last few years, Tulsa has risen to the top of the national music scene. Festivals like the Center of the Universe and venues like Cain’s Ballroom bring world-class music of all genres to this city while also highlighting our local talent. However, we still need to change the minds and perceptions about young artistic professionals in Tulsa.
The truth is that creative entrepreneurs feel left out of the young professional umbrella. Is it because traditional young professionals haven’t included them, or is it because they haven’t learned to embrace the title for themselves?
Take Colleen McCarty, for example. By day, she works 9 to 5 as a communications specialist. But after the 28-year-old's husband and daughter go to bed, she writes. McCarty launches her debut novel, Mounting the Whale, in December to a burgeoning fan base.
“People who have read the book love it,” she says. “It’s about the Pierce family; a dysfunctional brood who learns their sister has been kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel. The wealthy family borrows a $50 million yacht for a half-cocked rescue mission. Think The Big Lebowski meets The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.”
Colleen McCarty says that living in Tulsa allowed her publish her debut novel. Photo by Jeremy Charles.
McCarty says Tulsa writers have challenges.
“When you send out a query letter to an agent, they’re in New York," she says. "They see your address on the front of the query, and there’s a perception that someone from a ‘flyover state’ is less capable than someone living in, say, Brooklyn.”
Although Oklahoma is home to great writers, including S.E. Hinton, P.C. Cast and the late Ralph Ellison, there is still a stigma.
“There are many pluses to living here, though,” she chimes in. “I would never have been able to afford to work with the best editors and book designers if I lived in New York."
McCarty says another Tulsa bonus is that local businesses have embraced her book. Her launch party will be hosted at a local coffeehouse, and three local businesses agreed to stock the novel.
“It is really great to see an organization like TYPros create an Arts and Entertainment initiative,” she says. “Being a young professional shouldn’t be about status or take-home pay – it’s a shared support system. It’s a dynamic, ever-changing community that should make young people stop and say, ‘Maybe I don’t need to move to the coast. Maybe I can make it in Tulsa.’”
Isaac Rocha is the 2014 Chair of Tulsa’s Young Professionals, an organization created to attract and retain Tulsa’s brightest young talent, the region’s next generation of leaders. Isaac writes about current issues affecting young professionals, challenges facing the TYPros mission, and other musings from a Tulsa YP. For more information about TYPros visit: www.typros.org.
Darrin Davis is director of bands for Broken Arrow Public Schools. Now in his 21st year with the program, he oversees a staff of 15 teachers and show designers. During his tenure, the Broken Arrow Pride marching band has brought home several state, regional and national championships. This year, the Pride took first place at two super-regional Bands of America competitions as well as first in the Oklahoma Bandmaster’s Association 6A state competition.
I am a graduate of Broken Arrow High School and [an alumnus] of the band I teach. I was hoping to return home and be director of my home band. I am in my 21st year of teaching at Broken Arrow. My career has been pretty special.
[The championships are] driven by kids that are hungry to get better every single day. There is the expectation amongst the students that they push each other to make each other better; they are amongst the most disciplined kids I’ve ever been around. It makes the education part better. I also have an incredible staff of teachers and designers that put together state-of-the-art programs for our kids. It takes a lot to make that happen.
I’ve often had people ask me which show has been my favorite over the years; they’re all very special. In 2006, when we won the national championship for the first time, we were known as a national level band, but we weren’t at that top level. This year’s group was also very special and won back-to-back regionals, and they took every minute we had to grow as a group and in their performances. We also have an incredible community that supports its band and an administration that allows us to travel and produce at the highest levels.
We talk to our kids about how it’s not about the place you receive. What really matters is how you feel after you perform. We hope for them that they’ll make lifelong memories and that they’ll feel good about their performance. Regardless of the results, we really don’t care because we’ll congratulate the champion and make a bunch of friends. We never go in planning to win. It’s down to seven judges’ opinions. It’s like going to an art gallery, and each person will have a different favorite painting.
