Friday, Aug. 23-Saturday, Aug. 24

The Norman Firehouse Art Center sounds the alarm for its Midsummer Nights’ Fair, 6-11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23-Saturday, Aug. 24, at Lions Park. For its 36th year, this popular evening festival is back with another group of artists working in glass, pottery, photography, textiles, metal and other artisan media. The fair is a juried art show event with extras and live music. Not only do spectators have the opportunity to purchase original fine art and craft works, they also get to watch the masters demonstrating their skills and visit with them. There’s also a chance for everyone, including the kids, to experience art personally. The night belongs to creativity at the corner of Flood Avenue and Symmes Street in Norman. Admission is free. For more, visit www.normanfirehouse.com.

Thursday, Aug. 22-Saturday, Aug. 24

You hear about storytelling being an art form, and events like this one prove the point. The Oklahoma Storytelling Festival, which begins Thursday, Aug. 22, celebrates the pleasure of spinning tales and listening with workshops on technique, special performances with nationally acclaimed storytellers and family events at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City. Whether they come from the cavernous depths of old tradition or breathe the contemporary air, good stories always find an audience. Tickets to Thursday and Friday evening performances are $10. The festival ends Saturday, Aug. 24, with a free evening performance at the Myriad Botanical Gardens lawn stage, 301 W. Reno Ave. Hear what happens next. Visit www.artscouncilokc.com for a complete schedule, more about the guest storytellers and information on workshops and passes to the complete festival.

Monday, Aug. 26-Wednesday, Aug. 28

You don’t have to be in the oil and energy fields to get the benefit of the Tulsa Pipeline Expo. The fifth annual show featuring a two-day trade show, lectures with industry leaders, professional development, jazz singer Eldredge Jackson and networking events takes place Monday, Aug. 26-Wednesday, Aug. 28, at Expo Square, 4145 E. 21st St., and at the Hard Rock Tulsa Hotel & Casino, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa. Not only does the expo showcase our region’s history in oil and gas, it also lets the world know what Oklahoma continues to offer as a leader in the field. That’s something worth knowing. Also look for the golf scramble and the benefit dinner with silent auction featuring keynote speaker Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and host of the talk show “Huckabee” on the Fox News Channel. Go to www.tulsapipelineexpo.com to register for the expo and select from a variety of packages. One-day trade show packages start at $30.

The Osage tribe is a vibrant nation with a long, storied history. That past and its present are expressed in dance when Wahzhazhe, An Osage Ballet plays in Tulsa and Bartlesville. Produced by Osage descendent Randy Tinker Smith in partnership with the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, Wahzhazhe, pronounced with emphasis on the middle syllable (“-zhaw-”), shares the people’s history and identity from historic homelands in Kentucky to the present. A ballet about the Osage would be incomplete, indeed, without tribute to Maria and Marjorie Tallchief, Osage sisters who became two of the world’s greatest ballerinas. The ballet, which premiered in 2012, was presented at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., in March. It next plays at the Bartlesville Community Center, 300 S.E. Adams Blvd, Bartlesville, at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9-10 and 2 p.m. Aug. 11. Tickets are $12-$18, available at www.bartlesvillecommunitycenter.com. The ballet moves to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center the following weekend with shows at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16-17 and 2 p.m. Aug. 18. Tickets are $12-$18, available at www.myticketoffice.com.
 

Wednesday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m.

The Cold War has ended (or so they say), but the Cold War Kids is still the same. Or is it? Last year, the band saw the departure of guitarist and vocalist Jonnie Russell, who wanted to quit touring and make his own change. The California band that made its big debut with 2006’s Robbers & Cowards and gained acclaim with the follow-up Loyalty to Loyalty in 2008, would reevaluate its focus along with its line-up. With a new guitarist, Dann Gallucci, serving double duty as also co-producer on the band’s newest work, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts, Cold War Kids has inevitably changed – and it seems that’s OK with everyone. Decide for yourself when the band returns to Cain’s Ballroom, 423 S. Main St., Tulsa. Band Papa opens the show at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 21. Tickets are $19-35, available at www.cainsballroom.com.

Thursday, Aug. 15, 8 p.m.

If you attended a rock concert in the 1990s, chances are pretty good you saw one of the bands touring to the Joint at the Hard Rock Tulsa Hotel & Casino, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa. “The Under the Sun Tour” heads Tulsa’s way with Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray and Gin Blossoms. Show is at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. Smash Mouth (“Walkin’ on the Sun”), Sugar Ray (“Fly”) and Gin Blossoms (“Hey Jealousy”) hit the music charts with snappy pop rock songs that happily stood out in the decade when grunge met hip hop oh so briefly. Tickets are $45-$55, available at www.hardrockcasinotulsa.com. Because the show will be at the casino, the show is also for 21 and over only, which is no problem, since those of us who jammed to them back in the day are well over that age.

Thursday, Aug. 15, 6 p.m.

The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges prepares to set sail on Grand Lake again. Join the organization for a dinner, silent and live auctions, raffles and more fun at the Center, 815 S. Utica Ave., Tulsa. The Bartlett Regatta launch party heralds the 2013 Bartlett Regatta, Sept. 21, at Arrowhead Yacht Club Marina, 33152 Browning Lane, in Afton on Grand Lake. This weekend’s launch party will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, and supports the Center’s ongoing service to people with physical disabilities. Tickets are $75 each. For more about the launch party and the Bartlett Regatta, go online to www.tulsacenter.org.

Friday, Aug. 16, 8 p.m.

Did you ever wonder why Dwight Yoakam pulls his cowboy hat down so low over his eyes? Is it due to a case of crippling stage fright? Is it to build an enigma? Or maybe that’s just the way Dwight does it – easily rocking country into the fringes of undiscovered musical genres. Dwight’s eyes are fixed on the present, but his present is miles ahead of most musicians riding popularity’s current wave. The Riverwind Casino welcomes Yoakam to the stage for a show at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. Tickets are $50-$70. The casino is located at 1544 Oklahoma 9, in Norman. For tickets, visit www.riverwindcasino.com.

Wednesday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m.

Love him or hate him, Lil Wayne is at the top of the entertainment game, and he’s about to bring it to Oklahoma City. The rap superstar behind multiplatinum-selling albums (Tha Carter III) and the powerhouse hip hop recording label Young Money Entertainment (with includes Drake and Nicki Minaj among its contracted artists) takes a break from making tabloid headlines and dissing other rappers for a show at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., Oklahoma City. Special guests T.I. and 2 Chainz open for Lil Wayne. Tickets are $49.75-$89.75, available at www.chesapeakearena.com. The “2013 America’s Most Wanted Music Festival” looks on track to at least match his 2009 tour, which took in about $42 million and made Lil Wayne into one of the most recognizable names in music. Where will this next tour take him? No one ever called Lil Wayne predictable.

Friday, Aug. 16-Saturday, Aug. 17

It’s man versus bull again with the top 35 riders in bull riding taking a turn at 8-seconds of glory and big cash prizes. The BOK Center hosts the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series Tour. Not only will you see PBR champions such as Silvano Alves, Renato Nunes, Guilherme Marchi and Mike Lee, but also watch for favorites J.B. Mauney, Luke Snyder, Shane Proctor and defending PBR Tulsa event champion Kody Lostroh as well as Oklahoma cowboys Ryan Dirteater of Hulbert and Austin Meier of Kinta. These nice guys go head-to-head with some bad bulls with names like “Bushwacker,” “Meat Hook,” “Smackdown” and “I’m a Gangster.” PBR action happens Friday, Aug. 16-Saturday, Aug. 17, at 200 S. Denver Ave., Tulsa. Tickets are $17-$102. Get them at www.bokcenter.com.