6 minute read
Angel Studios Bible Entertainment
by okcfriday
Theatre
Through April 23 •
Damaged Goods 3rd Act Theatre Company, a 501(c)3 nonprofit theatre company in Oklahoma City presents Damaged Goods. It is the fourth and final Noire production of Season 4: REGENERATE. Performances are each Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm through April 23. (no performance on Sunday, April 9). Tickets are on sale at 3rdacttheatreco. com/productions/dam agedgoods.
Fundraisers
April 20 •
Twin Stars Supper
The Oklahoma City Kappa Alpha Theta alumnae chapter brings back its annual fundraiser since the pandemic, this time hosting the Twin Stars Supper from 6 – 8:30 pm in the South Atrium of Classen Curve, 5825 NW Grand Blvd. Tickets are $100 at okctheta.com. This event benefits Court Appointed Special Advocates.
April 22 •
Picklin’ for PFLAG
The Greens Country Club hosts the Picklin’ for PFLAG Mixer. Proceeds from the mixer will benefit PFLAG’s mission to support, educate and advocate for the LGBTQIA2S+ community. The pickleball tourney is for
Ronald McDonald House Charities
June 10 • Walk for Kids at Scissortail Park
The 10th annual Walk for Kids is a fun, familyfriendly event that raises funds and awareness for families served by RMHCOKC through teams of walkers. When you register you’ll have the option to sign up as an individual walker, create, or join an existing team. By signing up as a Team Captain, you will guide the way for your community to raise muchneeded funds to help families from all over our state. Event details at secure.qgiv.com/ event/walkforkids2023/.
Sept. 22 • Red Shoe Rendezvous at Omni Hotel players of all levels. The event is from 1 –5 pm and will feature a silent auction and raffle items. More details at pflagoklahomacity.org.
The event includes a preevent reception, party pics and redcarpet photos, music and dancing, silent and live auctions and a mission moment from its guest families. Sponsorships are available.
April 2530 • Festival of the Arts
The 57th annual Festival of the Arts, presented by MidFirst Bank and the Inasmuch Foundation is in Bicentennial Park with six days of delicious food, talented local performers and incredible art from some of the best artists in the country. Visit artscouncilokc. com to start working on your Festival itinerary.
April 20 • Cacti & Cocktails
This live and silent auction event benefiting Red Earth is at the Will Rogers Gardens from 6:30 – 9 pm. Don your favorite garden party attire and get ready for a night of giving back. Go to redearth.org for details.
Shopping
There’s a new name and a new look for The Cowboy Museum’s Museum Store — a name that better depicts its status as a standalone shopping destination: Persimmon Hill at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. While the name has changed, every dollar spent still continues to support the Museum and its mission to preserve and interpret the evolving history and cultures of the American West. For more information, and to see the new online store presence, visit PersimmonHillStore.co m, as well as @PersimmonHillStore on Instagram and PersimmonHillStore on Facebook.
Send calendar events to jennifer@okcfriday.com
Paycom Center Events/Shows:
Walker Hayes Apr. 22
The Kid LAROI Apr.
Calm Waters Center for Children and Families, a nonprofit providing free grief support services to children and families on their grief journey in Oklahoma City Metro Area, hosts their 9th annual carnival-style fundraising event, Under the Big Top on Friday, April 21, at 6:00 pm at the Oklahoma City Farmer’s Market at 311 S Klein.
“Under the Big Top is our largest fundraiser and guests always tell us it’s the most fun, interactive fundraiser in Oklahoma City,” said Erin Engelke, Calm Waters Executive Director. Chairing this year’s event is Peggy Kates. Kates is a community leader who has championed Calm Waters mission for years. Her leadership within the event committee has allowed the upcoming Under the Big Top to be the most over-thetop and exciting event yet.
“Entertainment is a key focus of this event, and we love to bring in exciting performers to wow the crowd.” Kates explained. “I can’t wait to see all of these unique acts in one place, creating a wildly fun carnival atmosphere at an over-the-top event.”
Under the Big Top features carnival performers with stilt-walkers and jugglers from Inspyral Circus, The Flying Okie aerialists, and magician Jonathan Meyer. Event attendees will purchase game tickets to play the many carnival games, including Plinko, Balloon Pop, Punch Wall and putt-putt. Game prizes are gift cards and items valued $10 - $100 from local Oklahoma
Angel Studios launched a new Bible-based movie last weekend about Abraham and Isaac called His Only Son. Produced for $250,000, and distributed in theaters nationally thanks to a $1.23 million crowdfunding campaign, the independent film brought in $5.5 million in its first weekend. Positive reviews and great audience responses indicate that the film is well positioned to gain traction for the next few weeks.
His Only Son tackles one of the most challenging stories in the Bible, when God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on the Mountain of Moriah. While traveling to the place of the sacrifice, alongside Isaac and two servants, Abraham is flooded with vivid memories from the years he and Sarah spent longing for the son they were promised. An angel stops Abraham right before Isaac is sacrificed and provides a ram to be sacrificed in his stead.
His Only Son is the debut feature for writer and director David Helling Helling is a former United States Marine who directed five Bible-based short films over a twenty-year period before writing this film. He produced the film on location in
California in 2019.
Like most independent films, the biggest challenge was finding a way to secure theatrical distribution. So, the film producers reached out to Angel Studios, a Utah based production and distribution company who were riding a wave of success with their wildly popular television series, The Chosen Angel Studios agreed to take on the film and led a crowdfunding effort to pay for distribution, raising $1.23 million for its theatrical release.
Angel Studios was originally part of VidAngel, a video on demand filtering service that allowed parents to filter out whatever part of a television series or movie they did not want their kids to watch. While very popular amongst its consumers, it was ultimately bankrupted by copyright infringement lawsuits brought on by Hollywood studios. The founders of VidAngel sold their controversial software and refocused the company on creating family or Bible based entertainment.
The Chosen, a histor- ical drama created by Dallas Jensen based on the life and ministry of Jesus and the lives of his disciples and followers, is Angel Studios’ biggest success to date. That series originated on their own website, where audience members could watch for free or pay what they feel as part of a Pay It Forward approach. The show eventually became so popular that they made deals with larger streaming services. The Chosen now streams one season on Netflix, two seasons on Amazon Prime, and the third season exclusively on the Angel Studios streaming service.
Angel Studios is as impressive for their ability to crowdsource fund as they are for finding and creating great Bible based content. The Chosen raised $10.3 million as the largest crowdfunded entertainment in history until it was beat by David, Angel Studios next big project, which raised $49.7 million in crowdfunded investments.
This is just the beginning for Angel Studios. Look for news of their upcoming feature film David. And, prepare to see more stories from the Bible hit streaming services and movie theaters near you. Happy Passover and Happy Easter.
Tulip Festival Apr. 89
Western Heritage Awards Apr. 1415 Walk for Wishes Apr. 15
City businesses and organizations. There will also be a wine walk in which players can win bottles of wine as well as and a jewelry pull where guests can win Kendra Scott jewelry pieces.
Further in line with the theme is the carnival-style food, gourmet heavy appetizers provided by catering company 84 Hospitality along with an open bar.
While the event is fun and games, it is also essential to the non-profit’s operations. “Without Under the Big Top, Calm Waters could not afford to provide services to those in the Metro area. Grief touches all of our lives, and we are honored to help our clients through those times,” Engelke said.
All proceeds from Under the Big
Top will benefit Calm Waters programming. In addition to free grief and divorce support groups both in the agency’s center and 38 local schools, Calm Waters offers private counseling, community partnerships, co-parenting seminars and grief support groups for incarcerated Oklahomans. This event will allow Calm Waters to provide vital mental health services to those who are experiencing grief or suffering a traumatic loss.
Tickets and sponsorships are available online at calmwaters.org/ events/under-the-big-top/ or by calling 405-841-4800. Individual tickets are $100 and sponsorship levels start at $500. All proceeds benefit grieving children and families in our community.
