Saturday, Jan. 5-Sunday, Jan. 6

What’s big, bad and rolls over its competition to the delight of hundreds of spectators? That wasn’t so hard, because everyone knows that Monster Jam is headed for T-Town and the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. This event for motor enthusiasts and their families brings in custom-designed trucks and vehicles created to smash anything that gets in its way. The fun starts at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 and at 3 p.m. Jan. 6. Tickets are $27-$37 each available online at www.bokcenter.com.
 

Opens Friday, Jan. 4

Art can be a lonely pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be. Processed: Silkscreen Prints by Schmickle, Yang and Live4This is the next show at Living Arts of Tulsa, 307 E. Brady St., where audiences can view pieces by artists Denny Schmickle, May Yang and Live4This (Aaron Whisner and Darshan Philips). Described as the intersection of graphic design, fine art and pop culture, silkscreen printing asks an essential query: What is art and what is design? Together, these artists explore answers. The show runs Jan. 4-24, and opening night is 6-9 p.m., part of the district’s First Friday Gallery Walk features. For more, go online to www.livingarts.org.

Friday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m.

Western swing plays on with Asleep at the Wheel. The Austin-based band plays the Sooner Theatre in Norman at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. Ray Benson and his gang bring on the country, echoing the sounds of Route 66 and dusty troubadours riding train cars along with sharp-dressing cowboy jazz bands such as those under Bob Wills and his like. After four decades on the road, Asleep at the Wheel is still going, and entertains, once more, in Oklahoma. Tickets for the Sooner Theatre show are $40-$50, available online at www.soonertheatre.com.
 

Concludes Sunday, Jan. 6

Oklahoma City Museum of Art is about to wrap up an exquisite exhibit of 57 works by well-known American artists. American Moderns, 1910-1960: From O’Keeffe to Rockwell runs through Sunday, Jan. 6, and includes work by Georgia O’Keeffe and Norman Rockwell – referenced in the title – as well as Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Elie Nadelman, Joseph Stella, Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove and others. As a sampling of work lifted from a 50-year span, the collection from the Brooklyn Museum is unrivaled in its scope of the period. And, if it’s true that art is an exercise of the spirit, then American culture of the mid-20th century was as varied and magnificent as images it rendered. The exhibit will open next at Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, N.Y.,  on Feb. 15. OKCMOA is located at 415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, and hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day except Thursday (10 a.m.-9 p.m.) and Sunday (noon-5 p.m.). Admission is $5-$12. Go to www.okcmoa.com for more.
 

Friday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m.

Old rivals clash again as the University of Oklahoma Sooners face Texas A&M’s Aggies at the AT&T Cotton Bowl. The game will be in Arlington, Texas, at Cowboys Stadium, but you can watch from home on the Fox television network beginning at the 7 p.m. kick-off on Friday, Jan. 4. The No. 9 Aggies may have pushed on to the Southeastern Conference and left the Big 12 to the Sooners, but there’s plenty of healthy team rivalry left between them, which should satisfy supporters of both teams. Learn more about the Cotton Bowl at www.attcottonbowl.com/gameday.
 

Ends Sunday, Jan. 6

Don’t let this be the year you swore you’d learn how to ice skate and didn’t. Winterfest at the BOK Center bids the season farewell when it closes Sunday, Jan. 6, which means the Third Street corridor will reopen once the giant Christmas tree has been taken down, the strings of lights removed, the temporary shelters and tables hauled away and the skating rink that has been the center attraction since Thanksgiving melted (or whatever is done to dismantle it). Head out now at Third Street and Denver Avenue to take advantage of carriage rides, outdoor ice skating, concessions and more fun before it’s gone. Go to www.bokcenter.com for schedules and more.
 

Friday, Jan. 4

Don’t let the cold keep you from the exciting experience of discovering new art. Tulsa’s Brady Arts District and Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District open the doors to the public the first Friday of every month with exciting new works on exhibit by both established and emerging artists. The Paseo’s 17 galleries (including JRB Art at the Elms and Visions in the Paseo Art Gallery) are all within walking distance of one another, as are the growing Brady venues, which includes Living Arts of Tulsa, the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition Gallery, Tulsa Glassblowing Studio and the new arts centers at the Zarrow Center for Art and Education and Hardesty Arts Center. Many have opening night receptions on First Friday, which means, you’ll often enjoy meeting the artists, too. The Brady walk begins at 6 p.m. Friday. Stop at the local restaurants, pubs and bars for even more entertainment and activity. In Tulsa, crawlers can hop the downtown trolley and visit the other hotspots in downtown Tulsa. The Paseo walk begins at 6 p.m. Friday and lasts until 10 p.m. It continues Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. Think of it as an adventure, because with discovery, it always is. For more, go to www.thebradyartsdistrict.com and www.thepaseo.com.
 

Concludes Thursday, Jan. 3

Oklahoma City State Fair Park becomes Paint Horse Central for the eighth annual Oklahoma Paint Horse Club winter event that includes specialty shows, classes and much more. The show concludes Thursday with judges still on the watch for excellence in rider and horsemanship at both youth and amateur levels. Also look for other events such as the arts and gifts silent auction and expo. It all takes place at 3001 General Pershing Blvd. Show events are free and open to the public. For more, visit the state fair park website at okstatefair.com.
 

Tuesday, January 1, 1 p.m.

Do you dare undertake the Polar Bear Plunge? It’s two miles and three pools of frigid adventure on the Tulsa tundra known as the west bank of the Arkansas River. All it takes is your most outrageous get-up/swimsuit/costume and an unmatched obsession for medals – medals, which rest at the bottom of each pool. Whether Tulsa is facing its all-time high or low for Jan. 1, the run is on for 1 p.m. You’re always saying you want to begin the new year with a healthy start. Take the plunge, and you certainly won’t forget it. Register online at www.tatur.org.