Everyone loves the idea of having fresh veggies and fruits hand-picked from the backyard garden, but not everyone knows how to make it happen. Lucky for Tulsa, several annual gardening events are planting the seeds of a can-do attitude with plenty of events offering what you need to know and grow. The SpringFest Garden Market & Festival will be at the Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave., April 12-13 with vendors selling herb plants and more (www.tulsagardencenter.com) while Herb Day in Brookside sets up sale booths at Tulsa’s 41st Street and Peoria Avenue on April 13 (www.brooksidetheplacetobe.com). Sand Springs’s Herbal Affair & Festival, April 20, gets bigger every year (www.herbalaffairandfestival.com), while the Jenks Herb & Plant Festival, April 27, continues to attract busy bees with all sorts of merchandise (www.jenksgardenclub.com). Finally, be sure to check out www.okfarmandfood.org to find out when your local farmers market opens.

Owners, Native Roots Market
Live in LEVEL, Oklahoma City

What do you love most about living downtown?

Access to all the activities: We walk to the Myriad Garden, Oklahoma City Museum of Art and dozens of great restaurants. There is always sometime going on.

Why did you choose your particular building?

Actually, it kind of chose us. The building owner wanted to bring an urban grocery to the LEVEL, and our store turned out to be the right fit for the neighborhood. Since we are very hands-on business owners, it only made sense to relocate our family as well.

What’s one thing someone should know if they’re considering a move downtown?

You won’t miss the suburbs.

What's your favorite thing about your apartment?

The view.

Blogger
Lives in Metro at Brady, Tulsa

What do you love most about living downtown?

I love being able to step right outside my door and be in the middle of the hottest restaurant and bar scene in town. It is wonderful to not rely on cars and walk around the neighborhood

What are benefits of living downtown?

Having entertainment right at our fingertips makes the weekend especially fun. There is no concern about parking and driving – just walk across the street! My neighbors make the neighborhood. Downtown is full of vibrant, diverse and fun-loving people. 

Are there any drawbacks?

We are in serious need of a small grocery store (in downtown). Simple conveniences like errands to the drugstore and grocery shopping require a little car trip. My two Malteses don't have a yard, but I am lucky enough to have Guthrie Green and my parents’ place close by.

Attorney
Lives in Classen Glen, Oklahoma City

Why did you choose Classen Glen?

I remember the building as a teenager, and I always thought it was unique for Oklahoma City. The property is currently going through a major restoration, and there is an opportunity for the owners to participate in the style and selection process of many of the components and features of the property. Also, the affordability of the property and its practical features, including sub-level-gated parking, had a big influence.

Are there any drawbacks?

A drawback to living downtown is the lack of shopping, mainly for groceries, but other basic shopping, as well. Parking is a problem when you meet a large group of friends. 

What's your favorite thing about your apartment?

My favorite thing about my apartment is that it is mine. I own it and have had the opportunity to make it reflect my tastes and likes. It is nice to own a part of downtown, even if it is a very small piece.

CFO/Renaissance Man
Lives in The Mayo Hotel, Tulsa

What do you love most about living downtown?

The wonderful thing about living downtown is the nightlife, especially the nightlife being created in the Brady District. I love the galleries and restaurants and sitting in the stands at ONEOK Field watching the fireworks at the end of the game on the weekends. I can go eat at Juniper, then take in a great performance at the BOK Center or the PAC, and I can walk to all these places if I choose.

Why did you choose The Mayo?

In 2009, I was one of the first residents of The Mayo. I chose it because, really, it was the beginning of downtown living again. I like the concept of living downtown. For a young, single professional, it’s ideal. If I want to dinner but don’t want to cook, I can go downstairs and have a nice meal at Trula. If I want a coffee and peanut butter chocolate chip cookie in the morning, I can go to Topeca. Living in The Mayo offers the conveniences of living in an urban area like New York City, but in a much smaller city.

Saturday, March 23-Sunday, March 24

Why is it that the slight, whispery utterance of “hot pockets” still brings to mind Jim Gaffigan with a microphone? The comedian, actor and writer who turned his home life, career and mental wanderings into running commentary making audiences guffaw is back in town. Look for him on the “White Bread Tour” at the Brady Theater, 105 W. Brady St., on Saturday, March 23. Tickets are $37.25-$47.25 and doors open at 7 p.m. Buy them at www.bradytheater.com. Gaffigan calls on Oklahoma City the following night when he plays two shows at the Rose State Performing Arts Center, 6410 S.E. 15^th St., in Midwest City. Show times are 7 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday, March 24. Tickets are $39.75-$49.75, available at www.myticketoffice.com.

Friday, March 22-Sunday, March 24

The days when you can leave your potted plants outside 24 hours a day (instead of lugging them back and forth indoors) are almost here. But wouldn’t that philodendron look great in a bright, new container this year? The OKC Home & Outdoor Living Show opens Friday, March 22, with all that you could possibly need for your home living spaces both indoors and outside on your patio. Whether you’re remodeling, renovating or restoring, this show has it all, including a chance to meet Top Chef: Texas’s Chris Crary from Bravo. See what you’ll find at Oklahoma State Fair Park, 3001 General Pershing Blvd., OKC. The show runs through Sunday, March 24, and admission is $9 for adults. Learn more at www.homeshowokc.com.

Saturday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m.

You can make your own rhythm, too, after you’ve seen what the dancers of Step Afrika! can do. The high-energy percussive dance style that uses kicks, stomps, claps and chants has a tradition going back to African culture as well as a hold in contemporary America, particularly with historically black fraternities and sororities on college campuses. Watch these dancers bring it at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s John H. Williams Theatre, 110 E. Second St. Show is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23. Tickets are $28, available at www.tulsapactrust.org.

Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m.

The finale of the 2013 International Crescendo Music Awards happens at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 23, and you could be there to see it. Which gifted student musicians will be honored at this 15^th annual event hosted by the Rotary Club of Tulsa? Whoever they are, these classical artists will win cash prizes, opportunities for scholarships for summer study and the competition gold medal in the categories of voice, strings, piano and brass and woodwinds. There’s a lot on the line for these hopefuls. Watch and keep your fingers crossed for them all at the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education on the Tulsa Community College Southeast Campus. Tickets are $25 each. Visit www.crescendomusicawards.com for details.