Opens Saturday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m.

Aïda is often thought of as the most lavish of operas, and Tulsa Opera is treating it no differently. Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of an enslaved Ethiopian princess and her forbidden love affair with the leader of the Egyptian army is high on drama and complete with jealousy, deception and betrayal. And, it is set in the age of the pharaohs, which adds an exotic touch to this favorite work. Tulsa Opera revisits this tale sung in Italian with English subtitles. Adrienne Danrich stars in the title role along with Dana Beth Miller and Peter Lindskoog. Find them in sync with the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, Tulsa Ballet II and the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra at Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Chapman Music Hall, 101 E. Third St. Aïda opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, and continues at 7:30 p.m. April 26 and at 2:30 p.m. April 28. Tickets are $25-$98 each, available at www.tulsaopera.com.

Tuesday, April 23-Sunday, April 28

Downtown Oklahoma City completely gives itself over to the arts one week out of the year, and that time is Festival of the Arts. The spring event is back beginning Tuesday, April 23, and highlights the arts in three areas – visual arts, culinary arts and performing arts – with special art exhibitions, street performers, live entertainment, wine area and specialty food vendors on International Food Row. Children get into the fun, too, with special festivities such as face painting, pottery making and more. See all the works at the artist market including pieces submitted for the festival juried art show in various categories (jewelry, wood, leather, glass, clay, photography, etc.). See it all at the Festival Plaza, Myriad Botanical Gardens and on Hudson Avenue – roughly the vicinity of Walker to Robinson avenues and Reno to Sheridan avenues. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, April 28. No pets will be allowed. Admission is free. For all the details, go to www.artscouncilokc.com.

Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

What began as a small street sale in downtown Sand Springs is now one of the biggest springtime festivals of gardening, art and food in northeastern Oklahoma. That’s right, Herbal Affair & Festival is back with more heirloom plant vendors, herbal products, folk art and delicious foods inspired from all over the globe. The 24th annual event takes place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, on Sand Springs’ Main and Broadway streets near the Sand Springs Museum. Trolley service will be available as parking and traffic can get complicated with the closed streets. Admission is free. For more, see www.herbalaffairandfestival.com.

Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 20

Rodgers and Hammerstein never saw it coming. When an unemployed actor decided to create his own opportunity back in the early 1980s, the world discovered Forbidden Broadway, a satire-laden revue filled with parody-after-parody of classic Broadway staples. Creator Gerard Alessandrini has updated the show many times over to include the newest works to hit the Great White Way – from Phantom of the Opera to Wicked to Spider-Man – along with its most brilliant personalities (Gwen Verdon, Kristin Chenoweth and Bob Fosse among them). And thanks to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust, the 30th anniversary show makes its way to the Tulsa PAC’s John H. Williams Theatre, 110 E. Second St. Look for it at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 20. Tickets are $35, available at www.tulsapactrust.org.

Continues Thursday-April 18-Sunday, April 21

The story of a former foster child returning to the home, where she grew up, is the centerpiece of Oklahoma City Theatre Company’s growing spotlight on Native American art, which shines on this weekend at Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall’s CitySpace Theatre, 201 N. Walker Ave. Chalk in the Rain, a full-length drama by Oklahoma playwright Bret Jones, goes into its second weekend as the Native American New Play Festival kicks up the activity level with staged play readings of new work by other American Indian authors, Comanche and Kiowa singing, native dancers and a performance monologue commemorating the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. Chalk in the Rain starts at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 18-Saturday, April 20. Festival activities begin at 1 p.m. Saturday and at noon Sunday. Go to www.okctheatrecompany.org for a complete schedule of events.

Saturday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m.

It will be, indeed, a “Boys’ Night Out” at the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center this weekend. Country music’s the Oak Ridge Boys and those living legends of gospel, the Blind Boys of Alabama, headline a big show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20. Both groups, praised for their harmonies, have longevity on their side. With numerous awards and accolades between them, the Boys and the Boys find themselves in the Spotlight Series as the final show of the BA PAC’s big season of entertainment. Tickets are $45-$60, available online at www.thepacba.com and at the PAC box office, 701 S. Main St., Broken Arrow.

Saturday, April 20, at 9 a.m.

There’s no such thing as a basic white T-shirt at the Tulsa Color Run 5K. These blank canvases, worn by the hundreds of runners signed-on to run the Saturday, April 20, event won’t stay clean for long as participants toss colorful powders through the air, dowsing everything in a spectrum. Run solo or as a team with friends, family or co-workers. Race time is 9 a.m. with the course beginning at Veterans Park near 21st Street and Denver Avenue. The course runs south on Riverside Drive before turning back to finish again at Veterans Park, where the color flies. Individual registration starts at $40. Go to thecolorrun.com/tulsa/online for all the details and to sign up.

Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 20

Oklahoma actor Wes Studi (Avatar, Dances with Wolves) is among this year’s class of inductees to be honored by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum during the Western Heritage Awards Weekend, Friday, April 19-Saturday, 20. The Western Heritage Awards acknowledges artists contributing to the legacy of Western culture in literature, music, film and television. Other honorees are Duncan Renaldo, Leo Carrillo, John W. Lacey, Kenneth Eade and the late Robert Mitchum. Boots O’Neal is the 2013 Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award recipient. Meet the (living) honorees at the annual Jingle Jangle Mingle, a casual night of hors d’oeuvres and autographs at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The black-tie affair is set for 5 p.m. Saturday. Go online to www.nationalcowboymuseum.org to register and for more information.

For millions of Americans captivated by the world of fashion, the elaborately dressed mannequins showcased inside store windows stand as a symbol of the display of garmented beauty.

Beyond the glass barrier, however, a select few individuals have the privilege of seeing those mannequins as the symbol of their garmented creation.

The balance of the fashion industry is quite simple. Many have the desire to wear beauty. Few have the ability to create it.

On April 16, the nation’s top independent accessories designer, Rebecca Minkoff, will travel to Tulsa to promote her spring line at Saks Fifth Avenue. As she meets with adoring fans throughout the area, one fact will be apparent: Minkoff has that ability.

Although Minkoff sits atop the world of elite designers, her passion for style was not birthed in a public showing, with millions of fans and admirers. Rather, her love for the craft began in her childhood home in San Diego, with simple fabric and an old sewing machine.

“When I was about 8, I wanted to buy this dress, and my mom wouldn’t buy it for me, but she said I’ll teach you how to sew,” recalls Minkoff. “I think that was the catalyst for my falling in love with design.”

Girls Night Out
Meet Rebecca Minkoff
Saks Fifth Avenue
Tues., April 16
6-8 p.m.
10% of event sales benefit
Tulsa Young Professionals
2013 community partner,
the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa.

Minkoff began making her own clothes and attended a performing arts high school, where her talent and interest in design grew exponentially. After high school, Minkoff decided to leave California and took an internship in New York City. Despite the competitive nature of the fashion industry in the Big Apple, Minkoff stood out, and in 2001 gained national recognition for an “I Love New York” t-shirt she designed. The design became popular and set the stage for the Morning After Bag she launched in 2005.

“I think (the ‘I Love New York’ design) was really important, not necessarily having anyone respect the design of it, but getting the name recognition out there,” says Minkoff.

The Morning After Bag quickly became a must-have for droves women around the country, including celebrities like Keira Knightley, Lauren Conrad, Reese Witherspoon and Halle Berry. She eventually built on this success and established an apparel design collection in 2009.

“I didn’t think that would ever happen,” said Minkoff. “Obviously I was positive about things, but so many things were once in a lifetime.”

Minkoff has come a long way since she first created dresses in her home as a child. In addition to her stores in Tokyo and Los Angeles, she plans to open another location in New York City toward the end of this year.

Minkoff’s rise to success has been ironed, pressed and threaded for excellence.

For this reason, when fans of hers observe either her designs or her story, their response is usually the same. “Amazing.”