Thursday, Oct. 17-Sunday, Oct. 20

Guten Tag, Tulsa! Tulsa Oktoberfest is back with more music, food, games and dances from Deutschland – you know the one we mean. The beer taps will be flowing again all around River West Festival Park, 2100 S. Jackson Ave., between Thursday, Oct. 17-Sunday, Oct. 20. You’ll want to go online to www.tulsaoktoberfest.org to see all the food on this year’s menu and the events lined up, including the wiener dog races and games. Admission is $6 at the gate. Kids 12 and under are free, and there will be plenty for them to do. Paid parking near the festival grounds is $5-$10, but free shuttle service will also be available. Check it all out online.

Let’s dance again to the astounding, the fleeting, the madness of Transexual Transylvania’s most happening haunted castle. Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma brings back its hit production The Rocky Horror Show, opening Wednesday, Oct. 16, at Lyric at the Plaza, 1727 N.W. 16th St., in Oklahoma City. The cult classic by Richard O’Brien was originally staged in 1973 in London and was followed by the 1975 film Rocky Horror Picture Show with Tim Curry. Unlike anything that had been seen before, Rocky gained a huge following with its rock-fantasy tribute to B-horror flicks and characters such as the corseted mad scientist, Dr. Frank ‘n’ Furter and his alien house staff. For all that, however, Rocky would be an altogether different experiment without its music. Can you imagine Riff Raff answering the door without the fanfare of “Time Warp?” Throw yourself in again. Shows run through Nov. 2, and tickets are $40, available at www.lyrictheatreokc.com. Go online for a show schedule and more.

Friday, Oct. 18-Saturday, Oct. 19

Looking for a good book to read? Why not write one, instead. The annual Nimrod Conference for Readers and Writers begins Friday, Oct, 18, with the 35th annual awards ceremony and dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Allen Chapman Activity Center on the University of Tulsa campus, 800 S. Tucker Drive. The night celebrates the year’s literary award winners and guests of the conference, including authors Cristina Garcia (“King of Cuba”). With a theme of “Hunger and Thirst: Fulfilling Desire,” the conference continues Saturday, Oct. 19, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Participants can register before participating in panel discussions, master classes and one-on-one editing sessions. Join such authors as Jacob M. Appel, Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Jon Katz at this special event. Registration for Saturday only is $50. Friday-Saturday passes are $100. Read more at www.utulsa.edu/nimrod.

Saturday, Oct. 19-Sunday, Oct. 20

Gamers, cosplayers and collectors knew this one was coming weeks ago, but for those who have only observed the most devoted of fandom from afar, the Green Country Comics and Gaming is almost here. The two-day showcase of comic and gaming art, tournaments and vendors will be Saturday, Oct. 19-Sunday, Oct. 20. Opening ceremonies will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday before participants split off to various game rooms and contests scheduled throughout the weekend at the Marriott Tulsa Southern Hills, 1902 E. 71st St. Registration is $20 for one day or $40 for both. Children 10 and under are free with the purchase of an adult pass. For more, visit www.comicsandgaming.com.

Friday, Oct. 18, and Sunday, Oct. 20

Tulsa Opera opens its 2013-14 season with one of the biggest comedies of opera. Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 101 E. Third St. Continuing the story of “Barber of Seville,” the barber Figaro is now the head of staff in the house of Count Almaviva, but after the count wed the beautiful Rosina (thanks to Figaro’s manipulations), the count has a new love interest. Now the clever Figaro must find a way to thwart his master’s attempt to disrupt Figaro’s impending nuptials to lovely Susanna, and he has a few allies to make it happen. Tickets are $25-$98 and available at www.myticketoffice.com. For more about Tulsa Opera, visit www.tulsaopera.com.

The weekend

If roots music is your sound, Tulsa is the place for you this weekend. The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, Cain’s Ballroom and the Guthrie Green, all located in downtown Tulsa, will feature a slate of musicians guaranteed to get your foot tapping. First up, Junior Markham and Little Joe McLerran plays the blues to put a smile on your face. The acclaimed Tulsa musicians play at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at the OJHF, 111 E. First St. Tickets are $10-$20 at www.okjazz.org.

On Sunday, Oct. 20, the Woody Guthrie Center holds a special fall concert across the street at the Guthrie Green, 111 E. Brady St. At 2 p.m., the father-son duo Kevin & Dustin Welch open the concert followed at 3 p.m. by the Ellis Paul Family Show featuring the Paulettes (AKA the Red Dirt Rangers) as backup band. The Red Dirt Rangers close the show with their own work beginning at 4 p.m. The concert is free, but donations of canned and prepackaged food, toiletries and other items will be accepted for the Women in Recovery program, which helps women recover and find a permanent way out of the criminal justice system. Read more at www.woodyguthriecenter.org.

Finally, St. Louis bandleader Pokey LaFarge, best known for his style and undying love for a good old-timey tune, takes the stage at Cain’s Ballroom 423 N. Main St., on Sunday, Oct. 20. Shawnee’s Samantha Crain opens for LaFarge at 7 p.m. Tickets are $14-$29, available at www.cainsballroom.com.

Saturday, Oct. 19

Country music superstar Keith Urban is about to join the judges table of “American Idol,” but not until he’s made a stop or two in Oklahoma. Urban brings his “Light the Fuse Tour” to Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., on Saturday, Oct. 19. Little Big Town and special guest Dustin Lynch open for Urban at 7 p.m. Urban then takes the arena stage with his hits such as “You’ll Think of Me” and “Somebody Like You” as well as those off his new album, “Fuse,” which hit No. 1 on music charts in the U.S. Canada and Australia. Tickets to the show are $38-$62.50, available at www.chesapeakearena.com. Can’t make it to the city? Urban plays the BOK Center in Tulsa on Oct. 25.

Thursday, Oct. 17

The OKC Thunder rolls back into the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave., with a preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the team strike at 7:10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17. We like to think of the BOK Center as a second home to the state’s one and only professional basketball team. No doubt, Tulsa will make the team feel welcome once again as it gets ready for a new season of NBA play beginning Oct. 30 in Utah. Tickets to this week’s preseason game are $22-$327 and in demand. Get yours at www.bokcenter.com.

Saturday, Oct. 19

Comedian “Weird Al” Yankovic must have a soft spot in his heart for Tulsa. The comedy singer-songwriter appeared at T-Town’s Circle Cinema only in September for the 25th anniversary celebration of filming “UHF,” his 1989 movie about the unlikely manager of local television that suddenly becomes a hit. The film was partly shot in Tulsa. Now Weird Al returns to close his “Alpocalypse Tour” Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Brady Theater, 105 W. Brady St. From Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga and Chamillionaire, Yankovic has made a long and successful career parodying pop hits. As long as the satirist in him keeps them coming, we’ll be there when Weird Al calls on Tulsa. Show time is at 8 p.m. Tickets, $29.50-$69.50, can be purchased at www.bradytheater.com.

Opens Friday, Oct. 18

Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies involved death, murder and mysteries of the human soul. If those are the prerequisites for great theater, Last Chance Productions’ “Evil Dead: The Musical” has buckets of culture in store for its audience. As part of the annual Scream Country Haunted Forest attraction in Drumright, “Evil Dead: The Musical” plays for two weekends beginning Friday, Oct. 18-Saturday, Oct. 19. Based on the “Evil Dead” horror flick franchise, the musical features all the hallmarks of its namesake along with plenty of camp, dance numbers, singing and splatter. In fact, you choose your ticket price by how “clean” you would like to remain when the show is over – prices for the “X-treme Splatter Zone” are $34, $29 for the regular splatter zone and $19 for the non-splatter zone. The musical continues Oct. 25-26, and show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays. Afterward, stroll through the haunted forest or take a hayride. This isn’t your typical night at the theater. Scream Country is located at 51853 W. 101st St. South in Drumright. For details on the trail attraction or combination show and trail tickets, visit www.evildeadtour.com.