Prairie Gothic

FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY | METRO OKC’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY | OCTOBER 24, 2018

Prairie Gothic Oklahoma City Halloween has so much style, it's scary. bY gAZETTE STAFF, P. 21

OKC’S NUMBER

FRIDAYS IN OCTOBER • 7 PM-MIDNIGHT WALK AWAY FROM RIVERWIND A HALLO-WINNER WITH YOUR SHARE OF $40,000 EVERY FRIDAY IN OCTOBER.

5X ENTRIES ON MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS! COMING SOON: MICHAEL MCDONALD - DECEMBER 21 BRETT YOUNG - DECEMBER 28 THIRD EYE BLIND – DECEMBER 29 TRAVIS LEDOYT - JANUARY 5

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM

MIDNIGHT STAR & ATLANTIC STARR

9

24

NOV

NOV

405.322.6000 • WWW.RIVERWIND.COM I-35 AT HIGHWAY 9 WEST, NORMAN, OK GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY 1.800.522.4700

2 O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M UNI_18-CGR-117_October_Combo_NP_9.25x12.25.indd 1

10/9/18 2:25 PM

INSIDE COVER P. 21 It’s the most wonderful time of the year, Oklahoma Gazette-style. Plan all your haunts and discover new All Hallow’s Eve traditions with OKG’s scary-good Halloween coverage.

Cover by Tiffany McKnight Photo by Alexa Ace

NEWS

STREAMING ONLINE OCTOBER 25

4 ELECTION 5th district candidates 5 ELECTION state treasurers 7 STATE Family Tree 8

CHICKEN-FRIED NEWS

EAT & DRINK 11 REVIEW syrup.

12 FEATURE Plato’s Provisions 14 FEATURE OSO

22 GAZEDIBLES scary food

ARTS & CULTURE 19 ART Touchy-Feely at Mainsite

Contemporary Art

Energy Arena

20 COMEDY Kevin Hart at Chesapeake 21 HALLOWEEN making of the cover 22 HALLOWEEN Haunt the Zoo

23 HALLOWEEN Day of the Dead at

16th Street Plaza District

24 HALLOWEEN Exquisite Corpse at

Artspace at Untitled

26 HALLOWEEN Haunt the Dome

27 HALLOWEEN behind the scenes at

PLAYITLOUDSHOW.COM GRAMMY AWARD WINNER

BILLY OCEAN OCT 27 | 7PM STARTING AT $35

The Sanctuary

28 HALLOWEEN real-life Ghostbusters

NOVEMBER 17

30 HALLOWEEN Magic Lantern at

Paseo Arts District

31 ACTIVE Making Strides Against

chad prather

32 CALENDAR

NOVEMBER 24

Breast Cancer Walk

MUSIC 35 EVENT Doyle at 89th Street — OKC

36 EVENT Carter Sampson at The Blue

Door

37 LIVE MUSIC

FUN 38 PUZZLES sudoku | crossword 39 ASTROLOGY OKG CLASSIFIEDS 39

COMING SOON

wade tower holiday show december 29

rodney carrington december 31

NEW YEARS EVE

GRANDBOXOFFICE.COM

I-40 EXIT 178 | SHAWNEE, OK | 405-964-7263 O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

3

ELECTION

NEWS

Pleading the 5th Democratic candidate Kendra Horn is running against Republican incumbent Steve Russell to represent Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district.

By Nazarene Harris

The challenger

If Democrats across the nation were searching for candidates who could make a big splash in their blue wave, they got what they were looking for in Kendra Horn, the Democratic candidate for Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district.

A fifth-generation Oklahoman and an Oklahoma City-based attorney, Horn decided to run for Congress after serving as executive director of the nonpartisan group Sally’s List.

The Oklahoma-based organization recruits and supports women candidates of either political party who are interested in running for office.

“We are 49th in the nation for women serving in office,” Horn said. “Put a woman in office and watch policies change — everything from health care and education to the economy and the crime rate.”

While Horn always knew she wanted to be a lawyer, it wasn’t until she began working with Sally’s List’s potential candidates that she knew she wanted to run for office.

“Sometimes you have to take your own advice,” she said. “I was hearing woman after woman tell me that they didn’t want to run for office because they didn’t believe they knew enough or they didn’t think politics really affected them.

Everything we do on a day-to-day basis is affected by politicians, from the quality of the city streets we drive on to the water we drink, the trash we take out and how our children learn in school.”

Horn said she realized the policies that make the most difference in the lives of ordinary citizens are common-sense ones.

Last year, she left Sally’s List and

filed as the Democratic candidate for the 5th district, the seat currently held by her opponent, U.S. Rep. Steve Russell.

Since launching her Common Sense for Oklahomans campaign, Horn has been open about her disapproval of the funding Russell receives for his campaign.

“In the four years he’s held this position, he’s received $1 million from corporations and PACS (political action committees),” Horn said. “When push comes to shove, whose interest do you think he’ll fight for? Whose call do you think he’s going to take?”

Horn has also received funding from PACS but said 95 percent of her donations come from individuals.

“I don’t take that lightly,” she said.

“What that means is that a whole lot of Oklahomans are ready for a change.”

According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports, Horn raised more than four times as much money as Russell during the last fundraising quarter before Election Day. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, Horn raised $442,711 compared to Russell’s $97,836.

If elected to office, Horn said she’ll focus on creating common-sense reform that will resonate with Oklahomans.

“It’s not going to be immediate change,” she said, “but I know that when we govern with a people first mentality instead of a profit first mentality, change is inevitable.”

Horn said she’s motivated by her faith as a Christian to make changes to health care and education.

“When we privatize core services, people get left behind,” she said.

Horn hopes to ensure that all Okla-

homans receive quality education and health care.

“The problems in our state are cyclical,” she said. “When our people are cared for and are well educated, the incarceration rate will drop, the rate of domestic violence will drop, the rate of opioid addiction will drop and, believe me, the economy will be strengthened.”

Horn said she would like to raise the federal minimum wage to an amount that is sustainable and compatible with the cost of living in each state.

The incumbent

Steve Russell said he doesn’t lose any sleep over Horn’s criticism. The Republican U.S. congressman representing Oklahoma’s 5th district called her criticism of his campaigns financing “a bucket of nonsense.”

“To claim that I don’t receive funding from individual Oklahomans is ridiculous,” he said. “Who’s to say that the groups who donate to me are not made up of individuals? When a person can’t give a large donation to an individual candidate, they give to a group who supports that candidate.”

Where Horn claims that Russell has become a Washington politician detached from the realities that the constituents he represents face on a daily basis, he said his life is proof that that can’t be the case.

“I know what it’s like to stretch a dollar,” he said. “You don’t raise five children on a soldier’s budget without learning that.”

Russell was born and raised near Oklahoma City. Before earning degrees in public speaking from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and in history from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, he joined the Army.

Russell went on to serve in three wars including The Iraq War that ended in 2011.

In 2008, the soldier-turned-veterans’ advocate ran for Oklahoma State Senate where he authored the Soldiers Relief Act, a law that created a tax exemption for Oklahomans who were U.S. Rep. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, currently represents Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district. | Photo provided

4

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Kendra Horn is running to represent Oklahoma’s 5th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. | Photo Alexa Ace

actively serving in the U.S. military.

In 2014, he was elected to the position he holds today within the U.S. House of Representatives. His decision to run again is based on the desire to continue serving.

“I’d like to continue the work I’ve been doing because I see it as an extension of the service I give to my country,” he said.

Russell said if he is given the chance to maintain his seat in Congress, he’ll fight for federal education funding.

“My opponent claimed that I tried to cut Pell grants,” Russell said.

“Headlines might have incorrectly stated that. The reality is that I worked on eliminating the service fees that universities and colleges were attempting to charge the federal government in exchange for Pell grant funds.”

While he might be criticized for being a politician, Russell said, sometimes it takes a politician to understand the details involved in government.

“You can’t just say ‘I want to fund public education,’” Russell said.

“Everybody wants to do that. You have to know the ins and outs of the education system in this country. You have to know that when universities raise their tuition 400 percent, as was seen in Oklahoma not long ago, that means that students are going to need to take out more student loans. You can’t always throw money on a problem to fix it,” he said.

Despite Horn’s criticism that Russell has not attended a town hall meeting in Oklahoma for over a year, he said he believes that you have to get to know people to understand them.

“That’s what I did in Niger,” Russell said, referring to the Tongo Tongo ambush that took place last year in Niger when militants with from the Islamic State in Greater Sahara attacked and killed Nigerian and U.S forces.

“When a lot of politicians said the Army didn’t do its job in Niger, I was the only member of Congress to go out there, boots on the ground, to determine for myself if that was the case. How can you know the reality of a situation if you don’t meet it face on?”

ELECTION

Money men Independent Charles de Coune and Republican Randy McDaniel face off in their run for state treasurer. By Nazarene Harris

The challenger

Even clad in a suit and tie sans cowboy boots and speaking in a Belgian accent, Charles de Coune still oozes Oklahoma.

The European-born lending manager for Oklahoma Water Resources Board moved to the Sooner State 24 years ago after spending his childhood in Belgium and four years in Kansas as a high school foreign exchange student.

“I am the only member of my family who left Belgium and decided not to return,” he said.

While America appealed to him, it was Oklahoma that sealed the deal for him to stay planted in U.S soil.

“This is home,” he said. “I knew it when I came here. I wanted to be a part of the pioneering spirit of this state.”

Back then, de Coune knew he wanted to become a United States citizen, graduate from University of Central Oklahoma with a finance degree and start a family in Oklahoma. Never did

UNI_18-RP-205_Halloween_Carnival_Gazette.indd 1

he imagine that he would run for state treasurer in 2018.

He filed for the position a mere two days before the deadline after noticing no one had committed to running against his opponent, State Representative Randy McDaniel, R-Oklahoma City.

“I kept on telling my wife that somebody’s got to run against this guy,” he said. “Finally, at the last minute, I thought, ‘OK, nobody has stepped up. I have to do this.’”

“Our friends think we’re crazy,” de Coune’s wife and Oklahoma City actuary Eileen de Coune said. “I don’t know if we’re crazy or complete fools, but we’re standing up for what’s right.”

The de Counes met at a student organization president’s meeting at UCO. Charles was the president of the school’s student finance organization while Eileen was the president of the school’s soccer team.

A passion for mathematics, traveling,

music and culture sparked a romance that resulted in marriage, three kids and a shared dream to give back to a state that helped the family get started.

Eileen is definitely a part of Charles’ campaign, he said.

The Oklahoma they started out in is not the one they see today.

“We’ve gradually watched a decline,” Eileen said. “In the way the state treats its citizens, its employees, its teachers and in the quality of life it offers its residents.”

De Coune said he is running for state treasurer to make a difference.

He claims that for over a decade, his opponent has worked in the state’s Legislature where he authored bills threatening the livelihood of state em-

Charles de Coune is the independent candidate running for state treasurer. | Photo Alexa Ace

ployees and teachers.

In 2011, McDaniel passed a bill into law that increased the retirement age of teachers from 62 to 65, according to the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System. In 2014, he passed a bill that eliminated pensions for all state employees excluding teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers.

“This is a guy whose track record shows a lack of concern for Oklahomans,” de Coune said. “We have some financial hurdles to overcome, but cutting core services is never the answer.” continued on page 6

5 10/17/18 11:46 AM

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

NEWS continued from page 5

ELECTIONS

If elected state treasurer, de Coune would be the first independent to hold that office. He said he has met with both candidates for governor and would be happy to work with either one while in office.

He admits that securing the seat as a government outsider is a long shot but says it’s possible.

“Randy McDaniel is a very powerful man who has a lot going for him because he has an R next to his name in a red state,” he said. “But I think Oklahomans are smart enough to vote on the issues and know not to elect someone into office to solve the very problems he helped create.”

De Coune has over two decades experience working in Oklahoma’s financial industry. If elected state treasurer, de Coune said he would work to restore funding for Oklahoma’s core services.

Vegetable biryani 4621 N. May | OKC | 778-8469

The politico

If the Oklahoma sky that Charles de Coune lives under is gray, Rep. Randy McDaniel, R-Edmond, said its because he chooses it to be.

“I would describe our financial status as strong and improving,” McDaniel said. “Our economy is on the rise, and the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in years.”

McDaniel said the state’s economy is not the picture of doom and gloom that de Coune paints it to be. Likewise, McDaniel said, he is not the villain his opponent for state treasurer claims he is.

While McDaniel does not deny authoring bills that increased the retirement age for teachers in Oklahoma and eliminated pensions for some state employees, he said he did so in an effort to make retirement plans for teachers more secure and to strengthen the state’s finances.

“The facts are clear when it comes to Randy McDaniel is the Republican candidate for state treasurer. | Photo provided

CASADY SQUARE | N. PENNYSLVANIA & BRITTON RD 405.607.4323 | NaifehFineJewelry.com

6

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

the state pension system,” McDaniel said. “In the past, they were in financial trouble. I led a bipartisan effort to implement reasonable reforms, and today, they are stronger and better funded than at any point in the past decade.”

Where 401K retirement plans don’t guarantee monthly governmentbacked payments upon retirement, pensions do.

McDaniel did not deny having his own pension plan secure for his retirement.

“All vested public employees have pension plans that have received employee contributions and are designed to be used for retirement,” he said.

McDaniel is a fourth-generation Oklahoman who was born and raised in Alva. His mother was a public school teacher and his father, Tom McDaniel, pursued a distinguished legal career that included serving as a past president of Oklahoma City University.

One of three sons, McDaniel said he has fond childhood memories of playing sports and fishing with his brothers, Mark and Lance.

McDaniel earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree in land economics from Cambridge University in England.

He served as a captain in the Oklahoma Army National Guard for 11 years before embarking on a career in politics.

In 2007, McDaniel was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he has served for over a decade. Due to term limits, he cannot run for another term in the state Legislature but has set his sights on becoming Oklahoma’s next state treasurer and replacing current treasurer Ken Miller, who is also prohibited from serving again due to term limits.

“I believe my experience and qualifications have uniquely prepared me to serve as state treasurer, and I hope to have that opportunity,” he said.

McDaniel lives in Edmond with his wife Julie, a nurse practitioner, and their two children.

S TAT E

Construction is underway on the old Pauline Mayer Children’s Shelter in Oklahoma City. DHS said the shelter will become a resource center for families

by Summer 2019. | Photo Alexa Ace

Giving tree

A new program transforms an old shelter into a one-stop-shop for parents working toward family reunification. By Nazarene Harris

Nicole Lopez is no longer the perfect wife of her soon-to-be ex-husband. She no longer feels the need to rise up to his high standards of perfection with high-dollar labels, fresh haircuts and fancy cars. She is lately, she admits, a little messy and with a confession that surprises even herself, she said, she’s proud of that.

“It’s not all about me; it’s all about them,” she said, referring to her children Nicollette, 26; Isabella, 10; and Zander, 6.

From the outside, Lopez’s friends would not have known she was in a tumultuous and abusive relationship that would lead to a meth addiction, arrest and the removal of her children from her care.

Her estranged husband, a businessman who moved to Los Angeles with Lopez and their children a few years ago, was all about keeping up appearances, she said. Their life seemed perfect to friends, but the walls within their home heard a different story.

“He was the most courteous and kind man I knew,” Lopez said, “until I found out he was cheating on me.”

In 2012, Lopez discovered that her ex had been engaging in a string of affairs. Once she confronted him, she said, their fairy-tale romance turned ugly and the man Lopez once believed was her perfect match turned physically and verbally abusive.

With virtually no resistance from her ex, Lopez took her kids back to the family’s beginnings in Oklahoma. The children’s father stayed behind in L.A. “Once he knew that I knew who he really was, he wanted nothing to do with us,” she said. “He didn’t try to stop us from leaving, to come with us or even to check in on us.”

Without any remaining family in

Oklahoma and while suffering from the depression that followed the demise of her marriage, Lopez tried to get sober as a single mother in Oklahoma.

However, her plans for an easy transition were disrupted when she was arrested last year.

Fearful and frustrated, Lopez viewed the Department of Human Services (DHS), who removed her two minor children from her home following her arrest, as the enemy.

“That’s the view most parents have of DHS,” she said. “These people want to take my kids away from me and they want to sell them to someone better.”

She fought the enemy, she said, learning the ins and outs of a system she planned to defeat, until she saw it from a new perspective altogether.

Safe place

Lopez was introduced to a DHS caseworker, an affiliated healthcare provider, a therapist and a support group instructor. She was given a plan that included random drug testing, parenting and domestic violence classes and therapy sessions and was told she would need comply to regain full custody of her kids.

She followed the rule religiously.

Sometime during the program, she broke down to her caseworker and a team at DHS she was beginning to rely on.

“I just let everything out,” she said.

“I was completely honest. It was a confession of, ‘Here is what I’m up against, here are the demons I am fighting, but I will do anything you ask of me to get my kids back.’”

Through her DHS-recommended therapy sessions, Lopez learned that the

enemy she was fighting was herself.

“Nobody wants to take your kids away,” she said. “These people have a hard time just finding temporary homes for kids. They want to see you get your kids back, and they want to see you become a better parent before that happens.”

Lopez’ case worker introduced her to Family Tree, a new organization within DHS that houses resources for families all under one roof so biological parents don’t have to visit dozens of different places while attempting to regain custody of their children.

“Before this,” Family Tree director Georgeann Duty said, “we had all of these little silos around the city. After taking a closer look into the system, we discovered that the distance between each silo created a barrier to communication between organizations. That barrier, in turn, made it more difficult for biological parents to navigate the system and receive the resources they needed.”

Silos, Duty said, are parts of an organization that are spread out and operate independently from one another despite a common purpose.

Silos affiliated with DHS include NorthCare counseling and mental health services, OU Physicians Fostering Hope Clinic, University of Oklahoma’s Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Oklahoma County.

With the creation of Family Tree, services like counseling and medical treatment are offered to children while counseling is offered to parents along with parenting and cooking classes and tailored guidance from case managers.

Best of all, Family Tree and OU pediatrician Deb Shropshire said, is that foster parents, children and biological parents now have a comfortable and accessible meeting place.

“A lot of families would meet once a month at a fast-food restaurant,” Shrophsire said. “Family Tree offers families the option to meet at a place that feels like home.”

A Family Tree prototype was launched within a small office building

across the street from the Juvenile Center in Oklahoma City a little over a year ago, DHS spokeswoman Casey White said. During its one-year trial study, Duty said, Family Tree saw an increase in family visits, with the number of visits often doubling those seen outside of the organization.

On Oct. 11, organizers announced that the prototype will move to the old Pauline E. Mayer shelter, where it will remain permanently beginning in Summer 2019.

With a larger complex, White said, Family Tree will be equipped to serve additional families.

Through Family Tree’s parenting classes, Lopez said she learned positive ways to correct the violent behavior she’d seen her son learn from his father and how to effectively discipline her children in ways that would encourage positive behavior.

Perhaps most surprising to her, she said, is that she learned to trust herself again and the team of women behind her at DHS. “I remember my mindset shifting,” she said. “I went from assuming that these people were out to get me to wondering if maybe they really did want me to succeed.”

White said she hopes Family Tree will help remove some of the negative stereotypes biological parents hear about DHS. The conversion of the Pauline E. Mayer building from shelter to resource center is symbolic, she said, of a new chapter in DHS history.

“The nation as a whole is moving away from shelters and towards foster homes.

We are not this system in Oklahoma that uses shelters anymore and we have never been in the business of wanting to take kids away from their parents. What we really want to be is a support system for biological parents who want to better themselves to regain custody of their kids; we want to be their cheerleader,” White said.

Lopez’ DHS caseworker stood beside her during her final court appearance.

Holding her breath and fearing the worst, Lopez said she was thrilled when the judge awarded her full custody of her children and then asked if the court could use her story and photo as an example for other parents.

It wouldn’t be a perfect picture, Lopez said, but rather one of a woman whose tears of joy were streaming down her face and who wore the everyday clothing of a working-class mom. She wasn’t her ex-husband’s perfect wife, Lopez said, but she was a mom on a mission who had made friends with some of the best people in the state of Oklahoma.

Upon hearing the judge’s decision, Lopez said, her DHS cheerleader, along with a full courtroom, stood up to applaud.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

7

chicken

friedNEWS

Nowata, no supplies

On the list of crimes committed by a county sheriff in Oklahoma, embezzling $6,000 worth of donated school supplies is relatively low, but it made headlines last week.

Tulsa World reports that Nowata County Sheriff Kenny David Freeman was arrested on one charge of embezzlement after his election campaign gave away donated school supplies during a local fair.

The Nowata Sheriff's Department arranged for a Walmart in Bartlesville to donate school supplies for seven area schools valued at $25,400. The supplies were dropped off at the sheriff’s department in September, according to Freeman’s attorney, but only five of the seven schools received the supplies.

According to an affidavit, a Walmart employee noticed the same coloring books, lunch boxes, crayons and markers they donated to the department were being given away by Freeman’s campaign during a county fair.

Freeman, who is a Democrat, is running against Republican Terry Barnett in the Nov. 6 ballot and was appointed to the position in 2015 after the previous Sheriff James Hallet retired.

Freeman claims ignorance by saying he took 90 lunch boxes meant for children and gave them to kids at the county fair. The embezzlement charges seem potentially flimsy. Did the lunch boxes end up in the hands of the school they were meant to go to? No, but it’s not like he sold them for personal gain. If anything, the arrest could be politically motivated.

It begs the question Why is a sheriff an elected position in the first place? It’s easy to argue that elections mean holding officials accountable, but that only happens every four years. It’s much more difficult to fire an elected official compared to an appointed one. It’s a protection from accountability that other law enforcement officials don’t receive.

Cam scam

Smile for the camera!

That’s the caption Oklahoma City police posted with a photo of a man they said stole over 50 lottery tickets from a Circle K gas station in Oklahoma City recently.

The photo shows the man looking frustrated and attempting to turn off or tear down the convenience store's security camera.

While we at Chicken-Fried News in no way endorse theft of any kind, we’ve got to hand it to John Doe for attempting to cash in on the good stuff.

According to Circle K, the Mega Millions lottery hit a $1 billion jackpot, the largest in the game’s history.

Unfortunately for the suspect, cashing in on the earnings would likely result in his arrest.

Upon a further look into crimes committed in the Sooner State in recent months we’ve found some potential besties for this criminal of the hour.

Last month, a Tulsa man was finally arrested after engaging in a series of QuikTrip beer robberies over the summer and a 23-year-old decided

to steal an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer’s vehicle after he was pulled over for speeding.

The sad truth of these crimes rests in the fact that all these dudes were sober when they committed their acts of stupidity.

If you want to go down as an Oklahoman legend, any Okie with half a brain can tell you that the way to do that is not to commit petty crimes but rather to get your head on right, buy a tie or some new heels, do some research and run for office.

Happy campaigning to all our 2018 candidates!

Pence on fire

Many ages ago when, as J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in The Hobbit, this ancient planet was not quite so ancient, the editor-in-chief/Sauron of ChickenFried News received his high school diploma during a mostly dignified ceremony at Tulsa’s Mabee Center, the flying saucer-shaped mini-colossus on the southwest corner of Oral Roberts University. The event was perfectly somber until it was revealed

THINK PINK. PTC and Susan G. Komen are teaming up to raise $15,000.

From October 8–20, visit PTCentral.org to donate and enter to win prizes.

Join us at Race for the Cure on October 20.

| PTCentral.org | 866.866.3893

8

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

through a bit of flouncy robe lifting that said editor was wearing nothing but checkered Vans, Ocean Pacific underwear and a Bow Wow Wow T-shirt.

Decades later, Mabee Center looks mostly the same, a monument to the glories of poured concrete and Mylar, but the high standard set by our CFN leader was besmirched on Oct. 18 when Vice President Mike Pence showed up to extol the virtues of Republican gubernatorial candidate/ voting novice Kevin Stitt.

Pence addressed what Tulsa World described as “a sea of red Make America Great Again caps,” which is also a scene from the upcoming sequel to Dante Alghieri’s Inferno titled Inferno 2: Hats Off to Hell.

Completely without guile, Pence told the worshipful that Stitt will do for Oklahoma what President Donald Trump has done for the U.S. at large.

Seriously.

“You need look no further than what’s going on in Washington,

D.C., to see what happens when you put a leader in the chief executive’s office,” Pence said. “Think of the progress we’ve made over the last two years with President Trump in the White House. I really think it’s a foreshadowing of what you’re going to see here in Oklahoma.”

Oh really? Please, do go on, sir!

“Just look at what’s happening all across the country under the leadership of President Donald Trump, and you’ll get a good idea of what it will be like after Kevin Stitt becomes governor of Oklahoma.”

This whole setup really feels like discharging an AR-15 into a barrel full of fish. In fact, CFN is just going to pass on making the jokes, put its collective headphones on, crawl into a fetal position and blast “C·30 C·60 C·90 Go!” rather than go for the obvious, Jay Leno-level guffaws Pence teed up for us.

As Oklahomans, we might be facing blast furnace-velocity stupidity in the near future, but at least we have our dignity — OP briefs notwithstanding.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

9

Homeless Alliance Supply Drive IN THE PASEO • NOVEMBER 1-30

Last year, the Homeless Alliance housed 715 people through its programs and collaborative initiatives and they need your help!

First Friday Gallery Walk November 2 Support the Homeless Alliance by donating NEW items from the list all through November and receive exclusive merchandise offers and discounts from the Paseo merchants listed below.

Give a Gift

Get a Gift

(New merchandise only, please)

Hats Gloves Socks Blankets Household Items Bring your donations to CMG Art Gallery, The Paseo Plunge and Paseo Pottery

Betsy King.

A Shoe Boutique 10% off any purchase

CMG Art Gallery 10% off all purchases over $50

Smash Bangles Free umbrella!

The Creative Studio no tax on all items

Brayer&Brush 15% donated to Homeless Alliance

Literati Press 10% discount on all art, books and jewelry

Jonque Mode 20% off one item, markdowns excluded

JRB Art at the Elms 10% off one item

Studio Six 20% off all Studio Six artists’ artwork

Paseo Arts Association 1/2 off Annual Membership

PaseoArtWorks 10% off all purchases Prairie Arts Collective 10% off select items ReModernOK 20% off one item, markdowns excluded Holey Rollers 10% off any order Su Casa 20% off one item, markdowns excluded

Offers and discounts only valid during the Homeless Alliance Supply Drive, November 1-30.

FRESH START ART SHOW Paseo Plunge • November 1-30

Purchase artwork created by Homeless Alliance clients with proceeds going directly back to the organization!

Sponsored by

If you would like to learn more about the Homeless Alliance, be added to their e-mail list or learn more about how to get involved, please contact Kinsey Crocker at kcrocker@homelessalliance.org or visit their website at www.HomelessAlliance.org.

10

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

EAT & DRINK

REVIEW

Cinnamon roll pancakes at syrup.’s Oklahoma City location | Photo Jacob Threadgill

Sweet brunch

Oklahoma City’s version of syrup. leans heavily on the sweet side of brunch. By Jacob Threadgill

syrup.

1501 NW 23rd St. syrupbreakfast.com | 405-601-1354 WHAT WORKS: The coffee is top-notch, and the sweet breakfast options are well-executed.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: The side options were neglected.

TIP: Use the mobile app Nowait to get on the waiting list during busy weekend brunch.

More than just a place for good coffee and a sweet breakfast, syrup. is a forprofit restaurant that operates with a nonprofit mentality as its owners use proceeds from two locations to donate to local and international charities.

I first detailed the story of Ashley and Jason Kennedy last year prior to the opening of syrup. at 1501 NW 23rd St. in Oklahoma City, which is a follow-up to the original syrup. location in Norman, and it has stuck with me ever since.

The Kennedys came up for the idea of syrup. while Jason Kennedy worked an internship with the South African Human Rights Commission before he finished law school at University of Oklahoma.

As college students on a tight budget, breakfast for dinner became a hit in the household. As they experimented with different waffle and pancake combinations, they got the idea for what would become the original syrup. in downtown Norman in 2012.

The Kennedys live in South Africa fulltime, where they devote most of their time running various missionary projects through the Antioch Community Church.

They do not take salaries from the restaurants, and net proceeds go to help missionary work in South Africa as well as community organizations in Oklahoma.

Syrup.’s philanthropic mission led me to want to check out its menu since it opened last September, but every time I’ve been in the mood, I’ve noticed lengthy lines during peak weekend brunch hours.

They do use the Nowait mobile phone application that allows users to get their names on the waiting list without physically being at the restaurant, and from the looks of online reviews, it’s been used with varying degrees of success.

Syrup.’s menu is essentially designed to be a hit during brunch, which has seemingly expanded from a weekendonly excursion to a way of life over the past decade.

Its menu leans heavily on the sweet side of breakfast, which makes sense given the name of the restaurant is syrup., but it skips right over brunch and dives straight into “bressert” with its red velvet waffle topped with vanilla ice cream and the waff le sundae.

Considering the latest the restaurant stays open is 2 p.m., I’m surprised enough people order ice cream for breakfast to have two items with ice cream on the menu, but to each their own, I guess.

gravy was made with a mix); eggs Benedict topped with bacon, avocado and tomato; a stuffed frittata; and huevos rancheros. Another table ordered the huevos rancheros during one of my two recent visits to syrup., and it did look very good as it was topped with a from-scratch ranchero sauce.

The Morning Glory is a Belgian-style waffle topped with scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage and cheddar cheese.

It’s a dish I would’ve thought about ordering, but I’m going to have to be honest; I’ve become somewhat of a scrambled egg snob. Yes, I’m about to become ‘that guy.’

We’re all overcooking our scrambled eggs. I’ve heard a few interviews recently in which chefs like Alvin Cailan and David Chang advocated for serving scrambled eggs essentially over-easy. I was just as skeptical as you are right now until I had someone recommend Gordan Ramsay’s technique.

Add six eggs to a cold pan with 25 grams of cubed butter, stir and cook on medium-low heat until the eggs just begin to cook. Remove from the heat, fold the eggs for about 20 seconds with a rubber spatula, return to the heat until they start to clump and remove again.

Add a little bit of crème fraiche, sour cream or Greek yogurt with some smoked paprika, salt

and pepper. You’re looking for a loose clump of eggs that can be dumped on top of toast. The final result is extremely creamy but warm all the way through and will make you realize you’ve been eating scrambled eggs wrong all your life.

Afraid of getting overcooked eggs, I focused my attention on two trips to syrup. to determine a favorite between its two sweet pancake varieties: the cinnamon roll that is complete with a cinnamon roll swirl and streusel topping and the Home Sweet Homa, which are sweet potato pancakes topped with marshmallow glaze and pecans.

The sweet potato pancakes were the leader in the clubhouse just by their description, but I actually preferred the overall texture of the cinnamon roll variety. The sweet potato pancakes might’ve suffered from over-mixing because they were tougher and I was hoping for more cinnamon or allspice flavor on a cold fall afternoon.

The service at syrup. was good on both trips, and the coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, was top-notch. The restaurant is designed in a somewhat sparse, farmhouse chic style that makes it perfect for hipster-friendly Instagram posts.

The entrées I tried were solid, but I had some missteps on the sides. The home fries with the cinnamon roll pancakes were inconsistent, and some of the potatoes were cold. The bacon with the sweet potato pancakes was in some weird purgatory between been not crispy enough and too chewy.

Overall, I recommend syrup. if you’ve got a sweet tooth, especially at breakfast, but would look for other options if you’re craving something savory.

Sugar rush

I probably lean to the savory side of brunch, but to be honest, syrup.’s savory options didn’t excite me as much as its sweet ones. Its savory options are limited to the Nompton ($9), which is a standard choice of bacon and eggs paired with pancakes (even those are topped in powdered sugar); biscuits and gravy (I read online that the Home Sweet Homa, sweet potato pancakes with marshmallow topping and pecans | Photo Jacob Threadgill

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

11

F E AT U R E

EAT & DRINK

READY FOR A SMOKEFREE NIGHT OUT? VISIT ONE OF THESE

SMOKEFREE VENUES IN OKLAHOMA CITY

SUPPORTING SMOKEFREE BARS & CLUBS FIND MORE SMOKEFREE BARS NEAR YOU FREETHENIGHTOK.ORG

12

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Platonic ideal

Plato’s Provisions’ vegan-friendly dishes are driving traffic to the new food truck. By Jacob Threadgill

After graduating from University of Central Oklahoma, Taylor Martin and Clinton Farmer considered leaving Oklahoma, perhaps moving to a city with more vegan restaurant options to support their plant-based lifestyle.

Instead of moving and hoping a new location — with a higher cost of living — would provide the change they were looking for, they decided to stay and be the change they wanted to see in Oklahoma City.

Martin and Farmer — both 25 — launched Plato’s Provisions Co. in midAugust after a six-month rehabilitation of an old food truck that included new flooring, paint and cooking equipment to eliminate any cross-contamination from the truck’s former life as a barbecue restaurant on wheels.

“We have a few vegan places that have great options, but there are so many vegans in Oklahoma City,” Farmer said. “I think there are 10 to 100 new vegans every week. There are not enough places open at enough times of day.”

Oklahoma City’s growing veganfriendly population was highlighted during September’s inaugural VegFest OKC, when organizers told Martin and Farmer to expect crowds in the hundreds. An estimated 4,000-6,000 people attended VegFest, and people stood in three-hour lines to try Plato’s Provisions’ menu of seitan-based meat replacements.

In the years since college graduation, Martin and Farmer traveled to vegan restaurants in the region like Modern Love in Omaha, Nebraska, Watercourse Foods in Denver and V-Eats Modern Vegan in Dallas and want Plato’s Provisions to be in a similar vein, where small-batch seitan

drives the menu.

Many large-batch plant-based proteins like tofu, tempeh and seitan are filled with sodium and preservatives.

On days when the truck is operating, Martin gets up early in the morning to combine water with vital wheat gluten and a special mixture of seasoning depending on the product. The truck currently sells seitan in the form of thin gyro strips, barbecue brisket, fried chicken strips and Philly cheesesteaks.

“There is a stigma attached to [some vegan options] because you don’t want to be eating something that is just as processed [as factory-farmed animal protein] and considered bad for you, so it was something we were concerned with,” Martin said. “The vegan meats that I make are made in small batches and use less than seven ingredients total.

We wanted to make something with which you are familiar that is not heavily processed but also nutritionally dense.

We wanted to appeal to people that are questioning veganism and also to people that are leading that lifestyle that want something new and different.”

Martin said that seitan is the best option for both flavor and texture, saying that people ask if Plato’s barbecue is made with jackfruit because it’s not their favorite option. Martin does acknowledge that seitan eliminates anyone with gluten intolerance and that they’d like to unveil a gluten-free tempeh option in the coming weeks.

Seitan dates to 6th century China, where it was used as a meat substitute for vegetarian sects of Buddhist monks. A 100-gram serving of seitan offers 75 grams of protein — 150 percent of the daily needed volume — and a full range of essential amino acids.

Clinton Farmer and Taylor Martin’s food truck Plato’s Provisions debuted in August. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

Farmer and Martin are veterans of food service. Farmer became a manager at a Coolgreens location while still in high school, and the duo also worked at The Loaded Bowl’s Farmer’s Market District location, 121 SW Second St. Farmer was originally inspired to pursue a plant-based diet after taking an animal ethics class at UCO. The name of he and Martin’s business derives from Plato’s The Republic, in which the Greek philosopher says a city that relies on cattle for food will inherently need to go to war to get more land to raise its cattle.

“I always thought that was an interesting conversation,” Farmer said.

“I wanted to bring that idea, [food] is the first and greatest need, especially somewhere like Oklahoma where we have so many problems related to diet.

We wanted to provide those same [comfort food] options, but healthier.”

In two months of operation, Martin and Farmer said they had enough bookings and support for the truck that they’re considering quitting their day jobs in order to elevate Plato’s Provisions from weekend warrior to everyday service. They’ve found an anchor for a weekend brunch that features sweet and savory chicken and

waffles at Anthem Brewery, 908 SW Fourth St., and Plato’s Provisions will have its first midweek lunch service during the Holiday Pop-Up Shops at the corner of NW 10th Street and Hudson Avenue beginning Nov. 23.

“People ask when we’re going to have a brick-and-mortar location, but we just opened,” Martin said.

Farmer said that they’re hoping to have a permanent location by the beginning of 2020, but they want to add tempeh to the menu and expand to vegan meal prep, especially during the winter months when weather might sideline the truck.

“When people have a vegan option, it’s amazing how receptive they are to it. We have people who come to the truck and don’t realize that it’s vegan,” Farmer said. “They just thought [plant-based diets] are just salads or vegetables. It opens people’s minds up to it being an option that I can enjoy.

“The main reason people fall off from eating [vegan] is that they don’t want to stop eating the nostalgic foods that they’re used to, whether that is fried chicken, barbecue or gyros. It’s why we wanted to give those types of options.”

Visit facebook.com/platosprovisionsco.

Nic’s Place

IT’S THUNDER TIME! COME DOWN & ENJOY GREAT COMFORT WHILE WATCHING THE GAMES! 1116 N Robinson Ave. OKC @nicsplacedinerandlounge EATERY & COCKTAIL OFFICE @ THE UNION

Halloween Party

SATURDAY OCT 27 7:30pm - close $3 jager shots Costume contest and live music!

PLUS ...

A seitan-based gyro served with tzatziki sauce and a side of hummus | Photo Jacob Threadgill

Rahr & Sons Pumpkin Ale pint night...

Try one with whipped cream!

And check out our Thunder bus!

Pregame with The Union!

Free shuttle to and from every home game.

>>>>>>>>

616 N. 5th St, Oklahoma City, OK 405.601.2857 | theunionokc.com M-W 11a-10p | Th-Sat 11-Midnight or Later | Sun 11a-9p

WE’RE SOCIAL.

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM AND NEVER MISS A POST

@OKGAZETTE O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

13

EAT & DRINK

AUTHENTIC INDIAN CUISINE

BUffets

Dinner Menu AvAilAble

A lA CArte | Wine & Beer | HAlAl MeAt PrivAte Dining UP to 60 | CAtering AvAilABle 709 N. MOORE, MOORE 701-3900 WWW.HIMALYASOK.COM

SNACKS & SANDWICHES

M-F 7am-6:30pm • Sat 9:30am-4pm 2310 N Western 524-0887 14

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

F E AT U R E

lunch & dinner

OSO good

Paseo Arts District’s newest restaurant combines craft cocktails and designer tacos. By Jacob Threadgill

To make their own tortillas or not to make their own tortillas; that is the question facing operators of OSO, the Paseo’s newest restaurant from some of the district’s most notable names.

Located at 603 NW 28th St., on the lower level of the new Pueblo development, is OSO, which is positioning itself as a craft cocktail-forward designer taqueria from Humankind Hospitality, which includes owner Shaun Fiaccone (Picasso Café, The Other Room and upcoming Frida) and culinary director Ryan Parrott.

OSO is set to open at the end of October or early November.

The Paseo’s dynamic duo adds executive chef Chris McKenna (Packard’s New American Kitchen, HunnyBunny Biscuit Co.) and cocktail consultant Jeff Cole to round out the menu, which has been going through a series of tastings since spring, and the biggest question has been What kind of tortilla will be used as a vehicle for its 13 different types of tacos?

“Chris McKenna was making them at home, and it spoiled us,” Parrott said.

“We didn’t have room here to process them. It wasn’t going to be feasible.

Found a place in California and [we’re] bringing in their tortillas. It’s as close to actually pounding them out yourself.”

OSO will serve its tacos on corn tortillas made with stone-ground heirloom white corn that is made without lard, so it’s vegan-friendly, but there are also flour tortillas upon request. The final product is a sturdy tortilla that holds up to a pile of toppings with just one layer.

“It is a unique tortilla and different than buying them at the grocery store,” Parrott said.

The tacos are divided into three categories: OSO specialties, street tacos and vegetarian tacos.

The specialties include pork belly with

chile mayonnaise, garlic honey and radish; brisket burnt ends with Dr. Pepper barbecue sauce, radish, pepitas and a fried pickle spear; Baja fish with beer-battered cod and a cilantro-lime slaw; cheeseburger with ground beef, hot sauce, cheese, romaine, tomato and onion; grilled chicken that has been marinated in buttermilk and jalapeño with salsa verde, queso fresco and pico de gallo.

“The burnt ends come from a smokehouse in Kansas City,” Parrott said. “It was an ode to Oklahoma with a fried pickle on it and some of it was a little by accident. I didn’t think it was going to be quite as good as it is, but it surprised me how great the flavors came together.”

OSO’s carne asada street tacos are served with chipotle-pecan salsa, al pastor is marinated pork served with onion, pickled pineapple and cilantro.

Chorizo is paired with bacon, avocado créma and cilantro. Carnitas are topped with salsa verde, escabeche and chicharrone crumbles.

Building off Picasso Cafe’s large vegetarian menu, OSO has a wide selection of vegetarian tacos that Parrott said is likely to expand in the coming months.

A mushroom taco combines roasted corn, Cotija cheese, salsa roja and radish.

A sweet potato taco is topped with black beans, crispy kale and avocado and a nopales taco comes with tomato, avocado, pickled onion and Cotija.

Parrott was most excited to show off the cauliflower picadillo, which is a vegetarian take on the Cuban version of picadillo, which combines ground beef or steak with raisins, olives and onions.

“The way people might read it with green olives, golden raisins and pepitas, it might be a little strange-sounding to people, but the flavors will meld together,” Parrott said. “It is the umami quest where you have the sweet and salty together. It’ll be fun for people

that don’t eat meat. I’m not a vegan or vegetarian, but if I was going to come in here and sit down, I would be drawn to the vegetarian offerings just because of the flavors on them.”

New choices

Tacos dominate the menu, but there are plenty of other options, including appetizers of ahi tuna tostadas, shareable creamy street corn topped with crispy Takis and tater tots covered in cheese, bacon, avocado créma and a sunny-side egg.

A taco salad arrives in a huge, freshly fried taco shell and features housemade Catalina dressing. There are two burritos on the menu in addition to nachos and quesadillas, and the only enchiladas on the menu are vegan.

“The world is shifting more to that direction,” Parrott said of the vegan enchiladas. “Everyone is kind of leaning towards less animal products and being cognizant of what they’re eating. People should know that whether they are vegan, vegetarian, or whatever dietary restrictions you have, you can come here and feel safe with what you’re getting.”

The opening of OSO is somewhat of a serendipitous turn for Fiaccone, who has been mired in the process to open Frida, another Paseo restaurant that will hit the five-year mark when it finally opens next March or April.

When he originally conceptualized OSO culinary director Ryan Parrott has stocked his taco menu with several vegan options. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

Architecture firm AHMM designed the bright space filled with natural light at OSO. | Photo Alexa Ace

Frida, it was going to be a Mexican restaurant, but during the intervening years, similar concepts have opened in the city. “[Frida is] now the concept it should’ve always been, which is New American Southwest, and is more of a high-end restaurant,” Fiaccone said.

“I’ve always wanted to do a taqueria. I’m from the south side [of Oklahoma City], and I grew up on 29th Street and I’ve been eating tacos my whole life. This little space [at OSO] just lent itself perfectly to the concept.”

Architecture firm AHMM designed a bright and breezy environment with plenty of natural light, a bar made from unpainted brick and Southwesterninspired blue tile.

Cole designed a cocktail menu that Fiaccone described as “Baja tiki.”

“It’s bright-colored and fruit-forward drinks,” he said. “Okies have a taste for sugar and drinks that are transportive. … We’re moving away from dark-based, traditional liqueurs and moving to experimental, specialty liquors, inland rums and things that weren’t even available in this market until the passing of the new liquor laws. It’s really jumpstarted and pushed Oklahoma’s cocktail market forward very quickly.”

Visit osopaseo.com.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

15

GAZEDIBLES

EAT & DRINK

Trick or treat?

It’s trick-or-treat time, and in honor of Halloween, we’ve put together a list of restaurants that feature some of the most divisive foods in the U.S. diet: mayonnaise, cilantro, olives, coconut, blue cheese and okra.

By Jacob Threadgill with photos by Alexa Ace and Gazette / file

The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro

6418 N. Western Ave. metrowinebar.com | 405-840-9463

The Beets with the highest approval rating still might be the 20-year-old fictional band from the animated series Doug.

There’s a reason the roasted beet salad has been a staple on the menu at Metro for years as seasonal salads come and go; it’s because it’s tasty. The combination of pickled onions, goat cheese, pistachios and balsamic vinaigrette is a winner and might make you rethink beets.

Rococo Restaurant

Tandoor

If you’re not a fan of blue cheese, just give it time. As you grow older, you naturally burn off taste buds, so you want more assertive flavors. It’s why your grandfather’s favorite salad dressing is blue cheese. Rococo offers blue cheese cookies for that perfect combination of sweet and salty.

The bhindi masala certainly won’t do anything to assuage those who fear okra because of its slimy consistency, but you certainly won’t be left wanting extra flavor. The okra is stewed along with onions and peppers in a mixture of spices that is both sweet and spicy and will pack a punch. Tandoor is located inside Checkers Truck Stop and is one of the city’s hidden gems.

2824 N. Pennsylvania Ave. rococo-restaurant.com | 405-528-2824

1901 E. Reno Ave. tandoorokc.com | 405-270-0379

AUTHENTIC INDIAN CUISINE lunch & dinner

BUffets

Dinner Menu AvAilAble

SNACKS & SANDWICHES A lA CArte | Wine & Beer | HAlAl MeAt PrivAte Dining UP to 60 | CAtering AvAilABle Vegetable biryani 4621 N. May | OKC | 778-8469

709 N. MOORE, MOORE 701-3900 WWW.HIMALYASOK.COM

M-F 7am-6:30pm • Sat 9:30am-4pm 2310 N Western 524-0887 16

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

The Wedge Pizzeria

VII Asian Bistro

The Stuffed Olive

Othello’s

Olives and pineapples on pizza are two of the more divisive toppings, so why not find a pizza that has both. The Furzanna on The Wedge’s vegan menu combines pineapples, black olives, red onions, garlic, pine nuts and cashew ricotta on its traditional or gluten-free crust.

Have you ever wondered why so many people passionately hate the inclusion of cilantro in their food? Modern studies have tracked the disposition to two genetic variants that cause the herb to smell or taste like soap. Luckily for those who are stuck with the genetic variant, they can just leave out the cilantro from a big bowl of pho from VII Asian Bistro.

But the rest of us will be putting more of the antioxidant-rich herb in our bowls.

There are a lot of people who object to standard mayonnaise but love it when it’s disguised as fancy aioli. Those who take issue with the emulsion of eggs, vinegar and oil are missing out on the majesty that is chicken salad. The Stuffed Olive offers one of the best in the city by combining grapes, celery and pecans on fresh wheat bread.

There are certain people for whom the texture of dried coconut is a non-starter, even with a sweet treat as nice as the coconut cream pie from either Othello’s in Norman or Edmond. The rich custard is filled with sweet flakes of coconut, and the whipped cream topping gets plenty more. For those scared off by tiny coconut shavings, it just means more for the rest of us.

4709 N. Western Ave. thewedgepizzeria.com | 405-602-3477

2900 N. Classen Blvd., Suite G 405-604-2939

12215 S. Pennsylvania Ave. stuffedolivecafe.com | 405-735-7593

434 Buchanan Ave., Norman othellos.us | 405-701-4900

134,070 HUNGRY

GAZETTE READERS just saw this ad!

CALL 528-6000 FOR ADVERTISING INFO

C K O u o y k T ha n f

talia I t s e b s u o r v o t i ng

SUPREME

n

PIZZA

Capice?

THE KETO CRAZE IS GOING ON IN THE GRANDSTAND SPORTS BAR & GRILL!

We make Italian because we are Italian

YOU’LL THINK IT’S CHEATING, BUT IT’S NOT!

64 Craft Beers • 38 Premium Wines • Signature Cocktails

Our lasagna, meatballs, ravioli and Italian sausage are prepared in house, house made mozzarella. Sauces are made from scratch. • We dry age and hand cut our beef. • We feature an amazing selection of seafood. • Also get your deli meats and cheeses here to take home! • Weekly Lunch Feature.

Lunch Tues - Sat from 11:30 to Close Dinner Tues - Sat from 4:00 to Close Phone 405.478.4955

1226 NE 63rd St., OKC, OK 73111

www.gabriellasokc.com

GRANDBOXOFFICE.COM O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

17

18

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

ART

ARTS & CULTURE

Extra texture

Tactile art takes center stage with Mainsite Contemporary Art’s Touchy-Feely. By Joshua Blanco

Mainsite Contemporary Art opened its doors Oct. 12 to the new Touchy-Feely exhibit, featuring artists “who exploit the objectivity of paint in unexpected ways.” As the name suggests, the works challenge the concept of traditional painting and sculpture in a marriage of unconventional techniques not normally staged in a Mainsite gallery.

Touchy-Feely is curated by Sarah Clough, a Baltimore-based artist originally from Oklahoma City who thought to turn the display into a hands-on exhibit, but the idea was nixed due to the fragility of the works. Instead, viewers can get close enough to fully appreciate the works, allowing them to experience the aesthetics of paintings that transcend the two-dimensional plane.

“I would say the theme is nontraditional painting or painting that’s specifically tactile; painting that really doesn’t rely on a flat surface or the conventional application of paint with brushes,” Clough said.

Initially, Clough was looking for a place to showcase her own work. When she submitted her proposals, she turned in an additional request to curate a show of her own. After her approval, she and the other four artists began putting together the event currently on display.

Vivid palettes

One of the artists, Caitlin Albritton, is a Tampa, Florida, native. She and Clough met when they were graduate students at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She pursued an artistic career after years of encouragement by her teachers who would often tell her she had “a natural knack at it.”

“I was always interested in color and making things with my own hands,” Albritton said. “I don’t remember a time not doing it.”

With a color palette usually in mind, she chose a lighter pastel theme for the works on display at Mainsite. She also changed her usual way of approaching the canvas by breaking away from her more structured and controlled form.

“I like that element of surprise from [my paintings] and truly playing with them and seeing how far I could push the paint sculpturally,” she said. “And as a matter of fact, you could push it quite far.”

Similarly, William Larason decided to step out

on a limb with his pieces, dabbling with artistic mediums in which he doesn’t usually work. For example, one of the bigger pieces on display at Mainsite, titled “Snakes,” is an experimental work “raw from [his] sketchbook.”

In fact, this is Larason’s first time working with paint.

“It’s been fun to wander into that world,” he said. “Paint is almost opposite in nature than my main medium, gum wrapper foil.”

Invested in art since he was a child, Larason’s parents made it a point to keep him involved. He described his passion for creative ingenuity as part exposure and part “natural gravitation of maybe something I’ve found innate to me. I’d like to imagine it’s a mix of both. I got lucky with that one,” he said.

Using bright color and symbolic abstraction, his works are easily recognized. A lot of time is put into deciding his next move when planning out a new piece. Due to the monotony of the process for some of his projects, he likes to keep his workflow “slow and steady,” otherwise it becomes “a bit of a wandering, unknown stroll.”

Deluxe ambition

Sara Cowan is another artist Clough recruited for the show. Cowan and Larason met through DNA Galleries and have worked together in the Factory Obscura collective. He describes her as a true supporter of local arts in Oklahoma.

In January 2017, Cowan started experimenting with the style of painting she now has on display at Mainsite. For the past ten years she has been curating and putting together art shows of her own and only started to try her hand at the paintbrush within the last five years. Now she’s pushing the limits of how far her paintings can go.

“I don’t think any of us are using materials in a way that their manufacturers intended,” Cowan said.

And this is just the twist Clough was looking for.

“The most interesting thing about this show is instead of really looking at a picture we’re really looking at a material and a transformation of material,” Clough said. “That’s really what unites this show, the idea that painting is not always just a flat application of paint on a rectangle.”

Rather than utilizing a unique artistic approach “Floating #1” by William Larason | Photo provided

“Resolution” by Sara Cowan | Image provided

for its own sake, Cowan’s work seems to tell a tale of its own.

From a distance, the pieces might only appear to be a series of striations and patterns, but with a closer look, a story unfolds “about how life events can affect the trajectory of a person’s life, and each line of dots to me represents a period of time or an event in a person’s life,” Cowan said. “And the painting will show whether they could recover from it or whether it will always affect them.”

Altitude and agriculture

The notion of running forward with a new idea is echoed by Cowan’s fellow artist Sasha Backhaus, who grew up as a “small-town Iowa farm girl.”

“I can be inspired by a number of things,” she said, which makes it possible for her to take on multiple projects at one time while maintaining her creative flavor. “I call it using both sides of my brain.”

Backhaus eventually moved to Baltimore to pursue her graduate studies in art. There she met Clough and the two have kept in contact since.

Backhaus is displaying a total of seven pieces in the show; three sculptures, two paintings and two photographs taken from an aerial drone. In some respects, the works are an intimate look into the transfiguration of a young woman moving from farm to city.

On the acres of crops where her childhood farm was located, the plants were anchored into the dirt “in a grid work of lines that move with the land.”

She recreated the images using bottled

paint in the style of a pencil drawing that has a “texture and liquid quality.”

The contrast between city and farm life also shines through in her sculptures and were created as part of her thesis while earning her master of fine arts degree.

“This work also encompasses the idea of me physically leaving my mark on the land and sparking conversation among anyone who comes across it,” Backhaus said.

Galleries like this give artists of all kinds an opportunity to do just that.

“There’s a lot of organizational kind of minutia that needs to be attended to, and there’s unexpected problems that pop up when you’re curating,” Clough said regarding the event, though she is very much looking forward to the seeing the display for the first time.

“There’s a bit of mystery to a lot of [the pieces],” she said. “My favorite part about it is just the unexpected nature of the paintings you’re gonna see. … I thought those four artists would be a very good fit for a group show.”

The Touchy-Feely exhibit will be on display at Mainsite located at 122 E. Main St. in Norman and runs through Nov. 10.

Visit mainsitecontemporaryart.com.

Touchy-Feely 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through Nov. 10 Mainsite Contemporary Art 112 E. Main St., Norman mainsitecontemporaryart.com | 405-360-1162 Free

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

19

FALL/WINTER 2018

ST. LUCIA

ANDY GRAMMER HIPPO CAMPUS DAWES

GREENSKY BLUEGRASS

10.25.18

10.28.18

11.05.18

11.06.18

11.14.18

BRONCHO

11.21.18

KURT VILE

12.05.18

ROBERT EARL KEEN

12.18.18

BRONZE RADIO RETURN

04.05.19

TICKETS & INFORMATION AT

THEJONESASSEMBLY.COM 901 W. SHERIDAN, OKC

OKCU PRESENTS

2018-19 FILM SERIES

CO M E DY

ARTS & CULTURE

Unbroken Hart

Comedian Kevin Hart achieved success by directly confronting his failures. By Daniel Bokemper

After dozens of arenas sold out months in advance, comedian Kevin Hart has opted to expand his Irresponsible Tour to Chesapeake Energy Arena on Nov. 3.

Quickly proving to be one of his most prolific outings yet, Hart has resonated with audiences internationally with his keen social commentary and dissection of masculinity through down-to-earth musings.

At 39, Hart has avalanched into a comedic icon with countless appearances on film and television alongside a stand-up act that has already eclipsed most of his influences.

Like many comics, Hart was far from an immediate success, dealing with numerous disappointments and lackluster ventures before finally hitting his stride in the mid-2000s. While many of Hart’s initial performances (under the persona “Lil Kev”) were adequate, they did little to distinguish him from the burgeoning wave of upand-coming comedians.

“I was trying to be everybody,” Hart told New York Times in 2012. “I was so confused I didn’t know what to do. It takes a while to tap into that. You don’t just wake up and go, ‘Oh, I’m going to be good and do this and talk about anything.’ I didn’t know to make that funny.”

The hardships of Hart’s childhood compelled him to find a nonviolent coping mechanism. In his autobiography co-written by Neil Strauss, I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons, the comedian writes on his father’s debilitating cocaine addiction and his oscillation between imprisonment and absence.

Raised virtually single-handedly by his mother in Philadelphia, Hart developed Comedian and actor Kevin Hart brings his Irresponsible Tour to Chesapeake Energy Arena Nov. 3. | Photo Eva Rinaldi / provided

Land of Mine (2015) directed by

Martin ZandvLiet, denMark Wed. Nov. 7, 7:30 PM Kerr-McGee Auditorium Meinders School of Business NW 27th & N. McKinley FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC www.okcufilmlit.org

an understanding of the parental struggle and the inaccuracy of many gender stereotypes. This insight, compounded

by Hart’s innate ability to make his loved ones laugh, encouraged him to pursue a career in comedy.

Hart’s comedic talents were not immediately noticed. He ultimately gained his first real exposure through Judd Apatow’s cult series Undeclared, which he parlayed into appearances in feature-length comedies like Scary Movie 3 and Soul Plane. In 2010, Hart released his first comedy album, Seriously Funny, to rave reviews. However, he would memorialize himself within the greater zeitgeist in 2013 with Let Me Explain, a performance compared by many critics to the classic performances of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.

Despite his continued success, Hart cites failure and personal turmoil as necessary factors for a meaningful experience. The hurdles of jealousy and the necessity for empathy drive Hart to innovative performances and endeavors far outside his comfort zone.

“It’s easy to complain about your life,” Hart wrote in his memoir. “How tough it is, how stressful it is, how everyone else has it so much better. But if you step into the life of someone you envy for just a day, you’ll discover that everyone has their own problems, and they’re usually worse than yours. Your problems are designed specifically for you, with the specific purpose of helping you grow.”

While Hart’s personal experiences lie at the core of much of his act, he has received criticism for what many have considered a noticeable lack of racial commentary. Though racial stereotypes have factored into the comic’s performance, such as playful nudges

toward his own 5-foot, 4-inch stature, Hart omits many words on racism, even in the midst of rampant police brutality towards African-Americans.

“I won’t acknowledge what I won’t let beat me,” Hart said during a cover interview with Rolling Stone. “Have I experienced racism? Of course. But will I make you feel superior by saying I’ve felt trumped by it at times? No. I’ll beat you by succeeding. I want to show my generation that a man of color, despite the roadblocks, can still make it.”

Making it is what Hart has displayed an apparent knack for across his career.

In 2015, Hart was cited among Time’s 100 most influential people and was described by Chris Rock as a comedian of immeasurable influence. As of 2017, Forbes found Hart to be one of the most successful contemporary stand-up performers, trailing narrowly in gross ticket sales behind Amy Schumer and Dave Chappelle. Given the unprecedented success of his current run, Hart seeks to make 2018 his most prominent year yet.

For Irresponsible Tour, an outing that added nearly 100 more venues after the worldwide success of Jumanji, Hart has opted to place one of his most vulnerable and questionable experiences front and center. In an interview with The Breakfast Club in late 2017, Hart discussed his infidelity to his wife, Eniko, during her pregnancy with his third child. Describing the instance as “beyond irresponsible,” Hart spent months of intense reconciliation for his self-proclaimed “dumbest moment.”

However, with many attempting to prod Hart concerning his marriage, the comic was set on turning his latest moment of weakness into an unshakable learning experience.

Hart demonstrates that life’s experiences, especially those that are among the most uncomfortable, are powerful catalysts for growth. To be an effective and sincere comedian, it is necessary to disclose what terrorizes an entertainer the most. With this process often comes a chance of self-sabotage and humiliation, a moment that can genuinely feel like the abrupt end to a career.

In his memoir, Hart insists that without such challenges and moments of utter failure, a comedian cannot be expected to achieve long-term success.

Ultimately, Hart writes that perseverance is not defined by your ability to overcome, but one’s ability to rebound.

“In life, you choose to cry about the bullshit that happens to you or you can choose to laugh about it,” Hart wrote.

“I choose laughter.”

The Kevin Hart Irresponsible Tour 7 p.m. Nov. 3 Chesapeake Energy Arena 100 W. Reno Ave. chesapeakearena.com | 405-602-8700 $35-$125

20

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

H A L L OW E E N

Goth style Oklahoma Gazette takes Halloween into high fashion territory with its cover shoot. By George Lang

On Oct. 8, a team of creative and enthusiastic designers, photographers, videographers, models, makeup and hair artists, wardrobe stylists and props masters descended on The Paramount OKC, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., all for the purpose of shooting an Oklahoma Gazette Halloween cover unlike any other in our history.

It came at a momentous time; having recently added several new and talented people to Oklahoma Gazette’s visual and creative teams, we wanted to let them loose on a project and take it from concept to completion.

“When Tiffany and I came together to conceptualize our first cover, our immediate instinct was, ‘How can we make this different?’” said Oklahoma Gazette

photographer Alexa Ace. “The answer was fashion photography.”

Tiffany McKnight, Gazette graphic designer and local artist, came to the shoot armed with an aesthetic and a passion for the avant-garde, Gothic romanticism and mystical elements. Ace and McKnight recruited two local models, Brooke Taylor and Domonique Menser, whose style and substance embodied the kind of modern gothic feel they envisioned.

“Despite the overwhelming amount of gore that is typically associated with this holiday, I decided to take a more subtle approach and just focus on the beautiful models and the clothing,” McKnight said.

The group effort included wardrobe

and props from The Junk Fairy at Bad Granny’s, 1759 NW 16th St.; a plethora of ghoulish provisions from film producer and former deadCenter Film Festival executive director Cacky Poarch; videography by Kyle Van Osdol; genius hair and makeup work by Lacey San Nicolas; and dead flowers generously provided by Tony Foss Flowers.

“We began by intertwining dark accents with various popular Halloween concepts,” Ace said. “I knew of a stylist in the OKC metro who’s an absolute powerhouse when it comes to photo shoots, so after scouting through her giant warehouse of vintage clothing, we came to a Victorian theme as the conclusion — fashion with a hint of haunt.”

For McKnight, the shoot was an opportunity to achieve something not just cool and evocative, but progressive.

“It was very important to me to be inclusive in when it came to choosing models for this shoot, so much so that I made it a priority to showcase that women of color existed during Victorian times and also participated in gothic fashions,” she said. “ For me personally,

Tony Foss Flowers provided dead flowers for the shoot. | Photo Tiffany McKnight

this was quite the achievement considering that our model Domonique personally told me how much it meant to her to even be considered for this shoot, seeing as how people of color are all too often left out the Victorian aesthetic.”

The Paramount OKC, which is currently undergoing renovations, provided the ideal creepy-chic environment for the shoot, inspiring the staging as much as it satisfied the atmospheric goals.

“The Paramount ended up being the perfect location for our shoot, and I believe we were able to capture the true essence of spooky, witchy vibes,” McKnight said. “What is most important to me is that despite the gothic vibes on set, everyone was having fun while we worked, and I believe the inspiration truly shows in the photographs.”

For more photos and video, visit okgazette.com and Instagram @okgazette.

Models Domonique Menser and Brooke Taylor get into the spirit of the season in fashions provided by Bad Granny’s, 1759 NW 16th St. | Photos Alexa Ace O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

21

ARTS & CULTURE

“SPARKLING, FRESH AND LIVELY.” H A L L OW E E N

- Los Angeles Times

NATIONAL TOUR PREVIEW PERFORMANCES! Friday, Nov. 2 at 8 pm Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2 pm tickets.occc.edu • Box Office 682-7579 • www.occc.edu/pas OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater 7777 South May Avenue

Presenting sponsor:

OKC’s Woodcarving Show & Sale

Artistry in Wood Oct. 27 & 28, 2018 Saturday, 9:00 to 5:00 Sunday, 10:00 to 4:00 Hobbies, Arts & Crafts Bldg, State Fair Park Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Finest Wood Carving & Woodworking Exhibition in OK Featuring Vendors - Door Prizes Demonstrations - Whittling Contest Contact

OCWC

Gerald Hudson, 540 Hanging Elm Dr, Norman, OK 73071 (405) 401-0783 E-mail: gwhudson@sbcglobal.net

www.okcarver.org 22

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Zoo spooks Oklahoma City Zoo’s annual Haunt the Zoo event welcomes trick-or-treaters of all ages. By Jo Light

At the end of October, Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanic Garden, 2101 NE 50th St., becomes a spooky haunt and opens its doors to ghouls both in costume and out, inviting them to trick-or-treat on their Haunt the Zoo trail.

The event, held on the last two weekends of the month (Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28), has long been a local favorite and is now in its 35th year.

Candice Rennels, the zoo’s director of public relations, said it is the longestrunning trick-or-treat event in the state. The zoo expects up to 25,000 attendees over the haunt’s four days.

“Haunt the Zoo is just a magical time,” Rennels said.

Two years ago, guests and zoo employees alike realized that a night event made it difficult to see the zoo’s animals.

As a result, the festivities were moved to the daytime and now take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. so visitors can go at their own pace, enjoy the outdoors and experience all the zoo has to offer.

“The beauty of daytime Haunt the Zoo is that you have the whole zoo,” Rennels said. “You can take your time, and you can go out to Sanctuary Asia, see the new baby elephant, see everything that’s new there and then pick up where [you] left off trick-or-treating.”

Guests must purchase tickets for zoo entry. Trick-or-treat bags can be purchased at ticket windows on any Haunt the Zoo day. Bags are $7 for nonmembers and $6 for Oklahoma Zoological Society (ZOOfriends) members. There is no age limit.

The zoo is also offering all-inclusive Boo-It-All wristbands that cover admissions, trick-or-treat bags and rides on the zoo’s train and carousel.

The Haunt the Zoo trail begins at the front entrance of the zoo and loops through many of the exhibits. TwentyNow in its 35th year, Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanic Garden’s Haunt the Zoo attracts thousands of children and their parents. | Photo Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanic Garden / provided

eight themed booths line the route.

Booth themes this year include superheroes, sweet treats, bugs, snakes and bats, along with Halloween-appropriate stops for ghosts and mad scientists.

In addition, this year the zoo is offering its first Haunt the Zoo: All Grown Up. Held Friday at the zoo picnic grounds, this will be an adults-only party (age 21 and up) with drinks, dancing, games and food trucks such as El Taco Box and Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs and Burgers.

Rennels said this event is made for the guests who grew up with Haunt the Zoo and now want to continue celebrating Halloween at the zoo as adults, reconnecting them with those beloved childhood memories.

The All Grown Up party will start at 7 p.m. and run until midnight. Games will include traditional carnival-style activities like a ring-toss, mystery wall and fishing booth.

Tickets to the All Grown Up party are $24 and can be purchased on the Oklahoma City Zoo website. The zoo expects to host up to 1,500 guests.

Haunt the Zoo is sponsored by Bob Moore Subaru, while All Grown Up is presented by COOP Ale Works. Haunt the Zoo is a rain-or-shine event.

Visit okczoo.org.

35th annual Haunt the Zoo 9-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanic Garden 2101 NE 50th St. okczoo.org | 405-424-3344 $6-$7

Haunt the Zoo: All Grown Up 7 p.m. Friday Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanic Garden 2101 NE 50th St. okczoo.org | 405-424-3344 $24

H A L L OW E E N

Dead can dance

Oklahoma Contemporary and the Plaza District celebrate Latino arts, culture and community for Día de los Muertos. By Charles Martin

Pixar’s release of the 2017 blockbuster animated film Coco about a small boy searching the land of the dead to make contact with his mariachi father, will inform the way many Oklahomans view the upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations and enhance the appreciation of how the holiday encourages remembrance of loved ones who have passed on.

For Theresa Beck, Coco was an almost too familiar portrayal of her childhood as the daughter of the famous mariachi singer David Záizar.

“The scene where the father is singing to the little girl was kind of hard for me to watch because that’s what I remember, him coming back from overseas with his entourage but still trying to create these quiet moments where he could just sing to me,” Beck said.

Záizar was the rey del falsete, the “king of the falsetto.” He was remembered with a bronze sculpture in Jalisco, Mexico, and his standards are still played by mariachi bands around the world. Beck, who performs jazz with Amante, has avoided singing mariachi music in public all her life, fearing she couldn’t live up to her father’s legacy.

That will change 2 p.m. Sunday during 16th Street Plaza District’s fifth annual Day of the Dead Festival when Beck will sing her father’s songs with Mariachi Orgullo de América.

“I never get nervous when I perform, but when Shelly States (Folk.Life owner) asked me to do this, it was different,” Beck said. “Singing mariachi has always been on my bucket list and this will be my opportunity to pay reDay of the Dead revelers don costumes and makeup and participate in other rituals to celebrate the lives of deceased family members. | Photo 16th Street Plaza District / provided

spects to him. I am just hoping to get through the set without crying.”

Stephanie Sunday, former owner of Dig It! started the Plaza District festival almost unilaterally. She pulled in help from Maximus Detritus (Bomb Shelter) and Amanda Martinez, both of whom have deep family ties to the holiday.

“I remember going to the graves, bringing the wine, the candies, the food, but I mainly remember the candles,” said Detritus, who was born in Brazil.

“It wasn’t quite as colorful and big (in Brazil) as it is in Mexico and other parts of Central America, but I’m lucky that I have Mexican family members, so I do have some background in that. ”

Singing mariachi has always been on my bucket list, and this will be my opportunity to pay respects to [my father].

Theresa Beck Martinez is the new owner of Dig It! and has long explored the themes and visuals of Día de los Muertos.

“Because I was Catholic, I had a connection with the Day of the Dead holiday,” Martinez said. “But I was also a quirky artist, and this was a way for me to ingrain my faith into my artwork that was also colorful, fun and involved glitter. It was an art that was more representative of me. I would set up at the Catholic women’s conference and the ladies from the Catholic bookstores where I’d buy the little Marys would be shocked.”

Erika Reyes, former owner of

Everything Goes Dance Studio, is now the dance director and the site coordinator of Capitol Hill High School Academy of Fine Arts and said that her students will be collaborating with Everything Goes for performances to represent the different states of Mexico.

“Towards the end of the festival, dancers will perform a dance entitled ‘La Bruja’ with lit candles that the dancers balance on their heads while dancing,” Reyes wrote in an email. “This dance beautifully represents the essence that is Día de los Muertos. It sets the mood as the festival ends that we take the time to reflect on our loved ones who have passed; the way they spoke to us, the stories they used to tell us, what they enjoyed doing and how much we miss them and continue their legacies every day.”

As part of the extended celebration of the Day of the Dead, Martinez will be teaching classes on of rendas.

Prominently featured in Coco, ofrendas are remembrances of loved ones that are essential to the holiday. Those interested in the classes are encouraged to email digitokc@yahoo.com, visit the store or call 405-473-4649.

Modern resonance

Oklahoma Latino Cultural Center is also p a r t ner i n g w it h Ok l a hom a Contemporary for a trio of exhibitions including a curated group show of Latinx artists from across the region called Day of the Dead/Día de Los Muertos, a photographic exploration of the wide range of people who identify as Latinx titled Chris Ortiz: Portraits of Latinx Identity/ Retratos de la identidad latina and prints

by Self-Help Graphics, a Los Angelesbased community art center. Narciso Argüelles founded OLCC with Wilmari Ruiz and Ricardo Sasaki Cajias as a way to bring attention to the city’s growing Latino art community.

“You can see it in public art, festivals and exhibits along SW 29th Street with groups like La 29 spearheading the charge,” Argüelles wrote in an email, adding that OKLCC and La 29 are partnering on a large public art piece.

“Another Latino art scene can be found in the historic Capitol Hill at Calle Dos Cinco on SW 25th Street. Calle Dos Cinco is another group who is developing the area and using art to do it.”

Now in its fifth year, 16th Street Plaza District’s annual Day of the Dead festival celebrates the annual Latinx honoring of ancestors. | Photo 16th Street Plaza District / provided

Though the Latino cultural footprint in the city is growing, organizers have found that it can be difficult to get buy-in from parts of that community because of fears of the political climate and the looming specter of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Parades, rallies and marches are classified as “sensitive locations” not to be targeted according to ICE’s official website unless there are “exigent circumstances” or if officers are given prior approval by supervisors. Argüelles has heard from other organizers that were contacted by ICE ahead of sweeps to potentially detain immigrants.

Detritus said he noticed that support from some of Plaza District’s neighbors has been stifled in the past by fear of racial profiling, but he thinks that might be changing.

“Back in the day, if you had a Day of the Dead festival, it was tough to get the Hispanic community involved because they were afraid,” Detritus said. “They were afraid of immigration people showing up or the police. But last year, I didn’t see people shying away, and I think in a way, it’s almost like people were emboldened. They want to get involved because it’s a party about them and they want to feel comfortable.”

Day of the Dead Festival 1-7 p.m. Sunday 16th Street Plaza District 1739 N. Blackwelder Ave. plazadistrict.org/dotdfest Free

Celebration of Latino Culture Through Nov. 2 Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center 3000 General Pershing Blvd. oklahomacontemporary.org | 405-951-0000 Free

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

23

H A L L OW E E N

ARTS & CULTURE

Collaborative dissonance

Esquisite Corpse allows 60 Oklahoma artists to put their spin on a surrealist parlor game.

By Jacob Threadgill

LLOW E E N A H NIG H T BRUSTER’S MILLIONS

OCTOBER 31ST 9PM $5 COVER

$ 1 HALLOWEEN HAMMERS

FInd Us At 1613 N May Ave okla. City, OK 405.601.5605 # LOSTHIGHWAYBAR

E

SATURDAY 10/26

costume contest

Live DJ / CASH prize for 1st place!

TUESDAY 10/30

horror movie night WEDNESDAY 10/31

costume contest

CASH prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd!

1221 NW 50TH • 405-843-1722 HILOOKC.COM 24

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Tracing its roots to the early 20th century France, Exquisite Corpse is part parlor game and part surrealist art revelry that will make its debut at [Artspace] at Untitled for a fundraiser and preview event Friday before its public four-week showing beginning Oct. 31.

Exquisite Corpse is a technique invented by surrealist artists that were inspired by the old parlor game Consequences, in which players write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over and pass it to the next person in the group.

“It was like Mad Libs in a way,” said Meredith Zerby, designer with [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE 3rd St. “You’d have this long, elaborate story that took twists and turns because it was rearranged. We wanted it to be an artistic experience rather than a literary one.”

Over a six-month period, [Artspace] enlisted 60 Oklahoma artists to create the Exquisite Corpse exhibit, which Zerby said is their second such collection. Twenty artists created outlines of different bodies: human, bird or animal. Then 40 additional artists took those outlines and used a variety of mediums to finish the work, using everything from fabric, collage, paint and mixed media to create one of three parts: head, torso and legs.

The resulting art was divided and mixed to combine for interesting pairings. The public viewing of Exquisite Corpse runs Oct. 31-Nov. 24.

“You might have the head of a bird with the body of a joker and the feet of a chicken,” Zerby said.

The resulting works showcase local artists in a unique setting. Differing styles create cognitive dissonance and highlight Artspace’s mission to create a collaborative and diverse community of artists and art appreciators.

A preview for the event begins 7 p.m.

– 10 p.m. Friday with an All Hallow’s Eve Celebration & Auction. Tickets are $100, which includes a drink ticket and access to snacks like popcorn and candy. Additional tokens can be purchased that will give guests access to

additional adult beverages at the bar and a cavalcade of interesting and Halloween-themed activities.

The gallery space will be filled with fortunetellers, sword swallowers and more interactive booths like karaoke, carnival games and photo opportunities. Exquisite Corpse works will be blown up for pictures to be taken, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be projected on the side of the [Artspace] building. A vodka and tequila pool will be held in which guests exchange tokens for a mystery bottle of either liquor, which could be high-end or low-end in quality.

“After looking at so much art, guests will also be able to pick up the pen and create their own addition to an Exquisite Corpse,” Zerby said.

Exquisite Corpse serves as the primary annual fundraiser for [Artspace] at Untitled, which was founded by Joe and Laura Warriner to provide the community with contemporary artwork from Oklahoma artists.

“It’s going to be much more involved as a community event.

While all fundraisesr tend to be that way, we really want it to be a night where people come to celebrate the artwork,” Zerby said.

“It is a testament to the imagination of the artists, volunteers, friends and staff who collaborate at [Artspace]. We really want this to be a night where you realize we’re forward-thinking and that it takes all kind of people to make an event successful like this.”

Exquisite Corpse combines a total of 60 Oklahoma artists. | Image provided

All Hallow’s Eve Celebration/ Exquisite Corpse Friday, public showing Oct. 31-Nov. 24 [Artspace] at Untitled 1 NE 3rd Street 1ne3.org | 405-815-9995 $100

MURDER MYSTERY DINNER

COSTUMED IN Sunday, BOWLING P Oct.28 SHOOT-OUT

Bring your crimesolving skills and a serious appetite to this “whodunit” interactive fondue dinner.

Registration starts at 1:00PM Costume contest at 2:00PM Handgun and Pistol Caliber Carbine $ 20 plus $ 10 for 2nd Gun / PCC.

Competitors under 16 yrs WELCOME! Prizes for best costumes!

40960 Hardesty Rd, Shawnee, OK 74801 (405) 273 - 9554 | BDCGUNROOM.COM

OUR ANNUAL HALLOWEEN BUS TOUR!

Experience the Longest & Scariest Nightly October 26 -31

October 28 at 4 pm October 28 at 7:30 pm

Special Lights-Out Weekend

November 2 & 3

October 29 at 6 pm $69.95 per person with wine pairings $49.95 per person without wine pairings

TAKE A TOUR OF ALL 3 LOCATIONS ON OUR PARTY BUSES!

MEGA HAUNT

Limited showings

Plus Tax & Automatic 20% gratuity Make your reservation today!

405-235-1000

NEW Giant Movie Screen & Outdoor Performers 30,000 Sq Ft & over 1/2 mile of indoor & outdoor scares!

Buy Online

guthriehaunts.com Buy For Less – Uptown Grocery Group Discounts Available

Free Parking

....................................................................................

Oklahoma City

GA $20

Terror Upgrad es Fast Pa Touch U ss $10 pgrade $5

Blue Jay’s Happy Happy Wagon 21+

Ticket Window Open 7p – Close 11p GuthrieScareGrounds.com

4524 Riverside Circle, Guthrie O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

25

ANTI-AGING SERvICES

ARTS & CULTURE

$30 First Treatment $200 Package of 5

Good bones

Friends of Tin Lizzie’s

MICRODERMABRASION ADD-ONS

Join us for our Fall into the Holidays Event Mon-Fri, Oct 22-26 Daily Giveaways Light Bites Photos with Lucy Follow us on social media:

TIN LIZZIE’S

@TINLIZZIESOKC

228-1014 • 905 N. Broadway Ave, OKC in Automobile Alley, next to Hideaway Pizza

$10 Glycolic Peel $20 Jessner’s Peel

BOTOX

JUVEDERM • RADIESSE

Always $10 Per Unit

Schelly’s Aesthetics Shoppes at Northpark, 12028 May Ave. 405-751-8930 Open Mon-Fri www.skincareokc.com Gift Certificates Available

H A L L OW E E N

MICRODERMABRASION

A fundraiser turns the Historic Gold Dome into a haunted dance party. By Jacob Threadgill

Haunt the Dome isn’t just a Halloween celebration in the long-vacant halls of a former bank located underneath the geodesic gold dome inspired by Buckminster Fuller. It’s also a fundraiser for a good cause.

The Oct. 27 event is organized by Warriors for Freedom, a nonprofit organization based in Oklahoma City designed to help United States military combat veterans integrate back into community life.

Founded in 2012, Warriors for Freedom Foundation has about 15-20 fundraisers per year to facilitate its mission of providing veterans fun activities like golfing, fishing, hunting and motocross with likeminded community members. These events help establish civilian connections and provide fun collaborative activities at a time when veteran suicide rates are at an alltime high, according to Amber Moulder, the organization’s executive director.

“A lot of times when veterans get out of the military, they’re speaking in acronyms and in a language many of us don’t know. They have an incredible skillset and don’t always know how to express it,” Moulder said, noting that the organization works to pair each veteran with a civilian with a similar background during group events like golf or fishing.

Moulder paired with Dreamweaver Productions and Wild 104.9 FM to create the Haunt the Dome event, which is a 21-and-over event. Moulder said that despite living in Oklahoma City since 2001, she had never been inside the iconic Gold Dome at 1112 NW

23rd St. until preparing for the event, which makes sense since the building has been through various stages of development since Bank One closed its location in the late 1990s. The building is currently for sale, but the owner allows it to be rented as an event space.

“I think part of the reason we did the event is that there are a lot of people that have never been in the dome,” Moulder said. “It’s a pretty cool space.”

General admission tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door, and a $30 VIP ticket allows access to beer, food from S&B’s Burger Joint and free plays at a variety of board and card games.

A Halloween costume contest will be held to win restaurant gift cards, and DJ Triple 8 will play music the entire evening, turning the old bank lobby into a dance floor.

There will be multiple cash bars in addition to glow-in-the-dark beer pong.

A gift card pool will allow guests to pay $5 to receive a gift card of at least $10, and possibly more.

“It needs some renovation, and it’s up for sale,” Moulder said of the Gold Dome. “It has incredible bones, and I hope that someday somebody goes in there and restores it because it would be really cool to be completely restored.”

Visit warriorsforfreedom.org.

Haunt the Dome 8 p.m. Saturday The Gold Dome 1112 NW 23rd St. warriorsforfreedom.org | 405-286-9920

The historic Gold Dome will host the Haunt the Dome fundraiser Oct. 27. | Photo Gazette /file

Kate Bunce, Musica (detail), ca. 1895–97. Oil on canvas, 40 3/16 x 30 3/16 x 1 3/4 in., Birmingham Museums Trust (1897P17). © Birmingham Museums Trust

26

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

$10-$30 21+

H A L L OW E E N

Creepy clan The Sanctuary haunted house provides scares for visitors as well as a family atmosphere for its cast members and staff. By Jo Light

On a chilly October Saturday, a long line of people stretches through a parking lot.

Along one side of the nearby building, a door occasionally jolts open. Someone is trying to get out. The door barely muffles the loud metallic clangs and high-pitched screams of terror coming from inside.

It’s just another night at The Sanctuary.

Before the fun starts for guests of this haunted experience at 12101 N. Interstate 35 Service Road, the building is a flurry of activity as staff prepare.

Cast members spend hours getting into ghoulish character, dressing in tattered, stained clothing and sitting for long periods in makeup chairs.

A typical day starts around 3 p.m. By then, owners Tino and Cathleen Pascuzzi are already hurrying all over the building to finish last-minute preparations.

They have been operating a version of their haunted attraction since 2012 and had a previous location in downtown Oklahoma City. They’ve been in their current building, a 35,000-squarefoot former General Motors training facility, since 2015.

Tino Pascuzzi said Halloween has always been their favorite holiday. He and his wife are originally from Los Angeles, and they met while working as actors on Melrose Place. A mutual friend from Dawson’s Creek held a big Halloween party every year, which eventually got passed to the Pascuzzis.

“Of course, when we took it over, we went nuts,” Pascuzzi said.

They blocked off their street and transformed their entire house, hiring actors and building animatronics. A designer from the makeup company Cinema Secrets suggested taking the idea comActors sit for hours to get their looks just right at The Sanctuary. | Photos Jo Light and Alexa Ace

mercial. The Pascuzzis considered using an abandoned Kmart in Northridge, California, for a haunted house, but it was burglarized and the plans fell through.

Then the Great Recession began. At the time, one of their neighbors happened to be from Edmond. The family decided to move to Oklahoma to follow a job opportunity, and they brought the idea for the haunted attraction with them.

The Sanctuary has proven to be a great success, and they’ve expanded to include other holiday events. Their current location also hosts escape rooms and The Ruins Bar & Grille, where the décor has a distinct Indiana Jones vibe.

As far as the haunt goes, Pascuzzi said the story for the Sanctuary changes from 20 to 30 percent every year, continuing the plot and keeping the scares fresh. And it is, of course, a huge undertaking. During the attraction, there are about 90 team members on staff per night, including around 60 actors.

At the end of our conversation, Pascuzzi quickly eats a hot dog and takes off to find his phone, which he thinks is in the ticket booth outside. It’s time to meet the talent backstage.

Made up

There, the makeup room is filled with a fine mist as artists work on airbrushing the cast. Queen blasts from a speaker in the back.

Each makeup artist working the event brings in several years of experience.

They include Bryan Crump, Troy Scott and Raymond Griffith. To prepare for this job every night, they have to remain constantly on their toes and be adaptable to any problems that might arise.

“Something happens with makeup, paints [or] colors go missing, so we have to improvise, create new things,” Crump said. “You might have a new haunt that’s

developed, so we have to come with new things on the spot.”

Together they have to make sure that the actors get done in a timely fashion.

“As a team, three or four of us may work on one person,” said Scott, who specializes in application of prosthetics.

Griffith points out that the makeup is always done with lighting in mind.

“It’s a lot darker in there,” he said. “So stuff that looks good in the light, you can’t see it in there. And stuff that looks almost cartoonish will look great in the dark.”

Scott said he spends some time every week coming up with ideas and sculpting new makeup pieces.

He shows me a gelatin prosthetic he’s working on. It looks like a round electrical socket. He said he wants to do a character that could be plugged into fake wires, which pull out when the actor moves.

Soon, head of makeup Nate Bright and another artist, Kirstie Bouthillier, join the team, and the atmosphere becomes hectic.

Bouthillier (who has a tattoo of Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street on one arm) paints a woman’s hands black while Bright applies a zombie piece to another’s eyes. Bright has been with the haunt for a year and said a major goal is to keep the makeup as realistic as possible.

The actors themselves are all ages and backgrounds.

One married couple, Angel and Brandon Dolan, has been participating for four and three years, respectively. Brandon Dolan is playing a surgeon this year, while Angel Dolan is a patient. One of her eyes

Jim Baughman sits for makeup at The Sanctuary. | Photo Jo Light

is covered in a bloody prosthetic. In the other is a shocking white contact lens.

They both call the experience “cheap therapy.” But more importantly, Angel Dolan said the haunt is always like a family get-together.

“It’s our home,” she said.

Nearby, Crump works on painting Jim Baughman’s face a ghostly gray with black wrinkles. Baughman, who has performed in the haunt for three years, said he has always loved Halloween because his birthday is in October.

Baughman would later chase me through a dark hallway as a demented, masked doctor. And it would be spectacularly scary.

The experience itself uses a standard haunted house setup. Small groups are sent into a labyrinthine warehouse, moving through rooms that tell the story of The Sanctuary, which is basically a sanitarium gone horribly wrong.

Even this journey through horror creates a small, temporary sense of family. One woman in our group said she comes to the haunt every year but warns she’ll probably grab onto me if she gets scared. And she does, more than once.

The haunt is atmospheric, and the jump scares effective. I want to pause and admire the gory details of the set design by Pascuzzi, Louie Hernandez and Brooke McWilliams, but other members of my group are too nervous and urge us to go faster. I recognize several of the actors. They never break character.

The winding maze of scares takes about 20 minutes to walk through. After we emerge into the cold night, we share high-fives. There’s nothing like the bond of being terrified together.

The Sanctuary will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as Halloween night. Tickets can be purchased online or at the event location.

Visit thesanctuaryokc.com.

The Sanctuary’s Haunt Friday-Sunday and Oct. 31 12101 N. Interstate 35 Service Road thesanctuaryokc.com | 405-237-2803 $25-$45

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

27

H A L L OW E E N

ARTS & CULTURE

Mass hysteria Several Oklahoma Ghostbusters groups try not to cross the streams. By Jeremy Martin

If there’s something strange in your Oklahoma neighborhood, who you’re gonna call might depend on where your neighborhood is. A quick Facebook search for “Oklahoma Ghostbusters” returns five results: Oklahoma Ghostbusters, Central Oklahoma Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters of Southern Oklahoma, Texhoma Ghostbusters and the Real Oklahoma Ghostbusters.

“Think of us as individual franchises, if you will,” said Michael Hyatt, founding member of Real Oklahoma Ghostbusters, based in Claremore. “We get phone calls and messages on our website asking us to do shows and stuff in Norman or in OKC, and that’s when I point them in the direction of the Oklahoma City team. The same holds true if they get calls and messages in regards to things around the Tulsa area; they holler at us. So it’s kind of like a franchise thing. We all cover different areas, and sometimes if we’re really lucky, we can all hang out and do one big show.”

Hyatt, who said his group is named after the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters because of the animated way they perform, insisted there’s no rivalry between the different groups.

“Each team has their different ways of doing things,” Hyatt said. “Earlier on, there was a little bit of, dare I say this out loud, but feelings getting hurt, but all the guys realized we’re all doing this for the same reason, and we’re all just trying to do things better under the whole Ghostbusters banner.”

The Real Oklahoma Ghostbusters began in 2005 when Hyatt and his friends began dressing up and restored

28

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

a Cadillac ambulance to look like the car from the film.

“It started as a big fan project that kind of got crazy from there,” Hyatt said. “We were having fun being big kids. We started going to a lot of events, doing things around Halloween, fundraisers for people that needed help, and it really, honestly just started snowballing from there. At that point in time, we were unaware of any other Ghostbuster groups in Oklahoma.”

Everybody loves Ghostbusters. You don’t run into anybody who’s like, “I just don’t get them.’

That just doesn’t happen.

Ryan McKinley

Proton packs

The Central Oklahoma Ghostbusters, serving the Oklahoma City and Norman areas, began in 2006 as a spinoff from the Star Wars club JediOKC. Ryan McKinley, one of the group’s founding members, said they were originally just looking for something else to dress up as.

“We’d kind of been burned out on Star Wars by then,” McKinley said.

“We’d costumed all the Star Wars stuff that we’d wanted to do so we started a Ghostbusters group.”

McKinley and his friends began

making vacuum-formed proton packs like those worn in the film from plans available on the fansite gbfans.com.

“People have meticulously researched these packs,” McKinley said.

“If they’ve been on display at Planet Hollywood or anything, they’ll get access with rulers and calipers.”

After making the equipment for Ghostbusters costumes, McKinley said the Central Oklahoma Ghostbusters noticed at least one difference between Star Wars and Ghostbusters.

“People love Star Wars, but not everybody loves Star Wars,” McKinley sa id. “ Ever ybody loves t he Ghostbusters. It’s the craziest thing.

You don’t get any negative reactions from people when they see that you’re doing Ghostbusters. I don’t know if it’s ’cause Bill Murray is the everyman, with that Caddyshack crossover, but you’ll get some jocks that would never do anything Star Wars but they’re super into the Ghostbusters. Everybody loves Ghostbusters. You don’t run into anybody who’s like, ‘I just don’t get them.’ That just doesn’t happen.”

In an effort to make fan conventions more interesting, the group developed a mock sales presentation that pitched ghostbusting as a multilevel marketing scheme and performed at conventions around the state and in Texas, Kansas and Florida, where they met Ghostbusters actors Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson.

They also met more fans like them.

“At the conventions there would be a local contingent of Ghostbusters, kind of a small number, one or two, three guys,” McKinley said. “They would see what we were doing, and they were like, ‘OK, we can replicate that here.’”

Keymasters and gatekeepers

In a press release from Sony Pictures, Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman said that more than 1,000 fan groups exist around the world. In 2016, the Ghost Corps production company began accepting applications for these

groups to become officially licensed “franchises.” Some Ghost Corps franchises have elaborate shows like the Central Oklahoma Ghostbusters’ comedic sales pitch, or The Real Oklahoma Ghostbusters’ stage show at Tulsa Zoo for its annual Hallozooween event, which includes lasers, a fog machine and a 20-foot inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Other groups just appear in costume at conventions and charity events. The Real Oklahoma Ghostbusters appear at events benefitting Cancer Sucks and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a nd t he Centra l Ok la homa Ghostbusters make an annual appearance at Integris Mental Health Center in Spencer, bringing the pediatric patients candy and winter coats. The less reg ion-specif ic Ok la homa Ghostbusters, which started in 2013 after its founding members met at an Oklahoma Gazette Halloween party, participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Walk MS. One of the Oklahoma Ghostbusters’ founding members, Kris Karlsson, said the movie’s message is inspirational.

“Ghostbusters fans we just have kind of a similar mindset, to be honest,” Karlsson said. “The thing with Ghostbusters is you don’t have to be super rich. You don’t have to have super powers. You don’t have to do anything special to become Ghostbusters, you just apply for the job, you get it and you can save the world and just be a regular guy. … Anyone can be a hero. Anyone can do good. It just takes that moment in time to do it. And that was kind of the original idea.”

But, to paraphrase Ray Parker Jr.’s theme song for the film, if there really is something weird and it don’t look good, you should probably call someone else.

“We’ll have events where we’ve got our proton packs and the gear,” Karlsson said, “and people come up like, ‘Hey, man. My house is haunted,’ and they’re dead serious. ‘Can you guys come out to my house and check it out?

Get those PKE meters and tell me if it’s actually haunted.’ And we say, ‘Oh no.

This is all just fake. It’s from a movie.”

Hyatt said he has experienced a similar phenomenon.

“Half the people in this area think we are literally real Ghostbusters, and I have to convince them that we are basically a charity-based fan group,” Hyatt said. “You’ve got to remember where the good stuff and the charity stuff ends and when you want to take it seriously and actually tell a family, ‘Hey, I think you need to contact your church about this.’ Unfortunately, as much as we all love the old movies and the whole lore of Ghostbusters, there’s no technology to date that can actually handle that stuff.”

Oklahoma 2018

Mineral and Gem Show

See and Buy Worldly Treasures:

Artisan Jewelry Tools Gemstones Fossils Rough Rock Crystals Exhibits Demos Education Childrens Area

October 27, 2018 9am-6pm October 28, 2018 10am-5pm Admission: $6 Adults Children under 12 are free The Modern Living Building 608 Kiamichi PL Oklahoma State Fair Park Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma Mineral & Gem Society www.omgs-minerals.org Check us out on Facebook

The Real Oklahoma Ghostbusters based in Claremore use proton packs and other equipment created with a 3D printer. | Photo Michael Hyatt / provided

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

29

P.O. Box 85 Fittstown, OK www.dunnsfishfarm.com (800) 433-2950 M-F 7am-5pm

Deliveries will be:

Tuesday, November 6th

8-9am: Bethany Country Store, 3401 N Rockwell, Bethany 10-11am: Tuttle Grain Supply, 1 SW 5th, Tuttle

Saturday, November 10th

8-9am: Ellison Feed & Seed, 115 S Porter Ave, Norman 10:30-11:30am: DC Feeds, 17625 N MacArthur, Edmond • Channel Catfish • Bass • Hybrid Bluegill • Redear Bream • Coppernose Bluegill • Fathead Minnows • Black Crappie • Grass Carp All types of pond and lake supplies available!

TO PLACE AN ORDER OR FOR MORE INFO, call one of our consultants Mon-Fri at 800-433-2950 or email sales@dunnsfishfarm.com

TURN THE TOWN

UPSIDE DOWN! October 27 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. $5 per person Come in costume, create a lantern, decorate pumpkins, and meet your favorite characters in the Museum’s Western town! nationalcowboymuseum.org/kids

30

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

H A L L OW E E N

ARTS & CULTURE

Brightness adjustment Theatre Upon a StarDanceSwan lights the Magic Lantern for the 18th year. By Jeremy Martin

Halloween gets most of the attention in October, but Lorrie Keller, director of Theatre Upon a StarDanceSwan and founder of the Magic Lantern celebration, wants people to know the season can be about more than scares.

“Costumes, pumpkins, lanterns are all part of what we think about when we think about fall,” Keller said,. “The fall is a beautiful time to offer the arts. It’s a change in the seasons, a change in the light. There’s always mystery in the air in the fall, and people are ready to get out and celebrate and express themselves.”

Magic Lantern, now in its 18th year, offers parents and children the chance to create costumes and commemorate the arrival of autumn without the scares.

“In the first several years, we worked very hard to get the word out in publicity and through the community that it wasn’t a frightful event,” Keller said. “We consider this a day of light instead of fright.”

The event is scheduled to take place 3-6:15 p.m. Sunday in the Paseo Arts District. Keller said she dreamed up Magic Lantern in 2000, inspired by a verse from The Magic Lantern Celebration, a choreographed piece performed by the StarDanceSwan dance company.

“In that piece, the verse that kind of empowered the whole performance is ‘We are all magic lanterns lit by the light of imagination,’” Keller said. “If you want to know what StarDanceSwan is all about, that’s what we’re all about — sharing imagination, igniting imagination, encouraging imagination in Magic Lantern ends with a parade through a pumpkin-shaped labyrinth painted in the street. | Photo Paige Powell / provided

children of all ages.”

For centuries, people have imagined ghosts, monsters and other frightful specters prowling in the night, especially as the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Keller said. But the seasonal shift can also be a good time to celebrate illuminating lanterns.

“I love Halloween,” Keller said, “Moving into the dark time of the year, people for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years have acknowledged the change in light, but we think of not the fearfulness but the wonder in the change of our seasons because this change naturally brings out the best in our creativity.

We’re offering another way of looking, another spectrum or another lens, another way of seeing the changing in the seasons. … Many parents are really happy that their kids can celebrate the way we celebrate versus with some of the horror.”

Finding light

Instead of vampires, witches or skeletons, artists volunteering to help children create costumes from paper to wear over their clothes will be encouraging them to dress up as insects known for their attraction to light.

“There’s an emphasis this year on moths,” Keller said, “so they’ll be creating wings, then they’ll be creating crowns with antennae for their moth creatures. When they go to the lanterns they’ll be working with actual light and transparency and creating a small moth to put on their lantern. … They can create any kind of character they wish, but we’re going to be saying, ‘Hey, let’s try a moth.’”

Part of Keller’s reason for creating

Magic Lantern, she said, was her disappointment with the prevalence of storebought costumes, which she considers less fun and interesting than homemade creations.

“In the beginning when I started, I looked around and I saw so many commercial costumes,” Keller said. “They were kind of brash and not subtle or beautiful, so I said, ‘We have all this creativity within us, and maybe if we offer this workshop, families will be encouraged to explore other possibilities for creating costumes and for the way they view this time of year.’”

With the help of their parents and artists, children can create costumes at several stations set up in Paseo studios. They can also make portraits of themselves on a pumpkin. The celebration ends with a costumed parade through a pumpkin-shaped labyrinth painted on the street, accompanied by songs performed by Steve McLinn of Ojas Music.

“We call it the Pumpkin Labyrinth, and the dancers with StarDanceSwan will dance into the labyrinth, inviting everyone to join them,” Keller said. “Then everybody will go home in the twilight.”

At 18 years old, Magic Lantern has become a tradition for many of its participants.

“We will get a 25-year-old that says, ‘Oh my gosh! I did this when I was a child,’” Keller said, “and they’re coming back now to volunteer. In fact, the StarDanceSwan dancers are made up of dancers who danced with the company when they were children and their children. We have an artist who has worked with us for years, and she’s dancing with her grandchildren. So there is a family that has grown with this company.”

Visit thepaseo.org.

Magic Lantern celebration 3-6:15 p.m. Sunday Paseo Arts District 3022 Paseo St. thepaseo.org Free

AC T I V E

Walk on

American Cancer Society raises funds and awareness with its Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. By Daniel Bokemper

On Oct. 27, American Cancer Society takes another step forward with its Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Oklahoma City. Founded over 100 years ago, the society has sought to address misconceptions while shining light on research and development geared toward ending the disease. The organization’s work has made numerous advancements, including contributions that have equated to 2 million fewer cancer-related deaths between 1991 and 2014.

Since 2016, the society has spotlighted local breast cancer survivors from different backgrounds known collectively as the Portraits of Hope. By publicizing their experiences, ACS curates tales of strength and courage in the face of tragic diagnoses.

At age 35, Christina King-Rodriguez received her breast cancer diagnosis.

Though she was taken aback by her disease given her age, her case was exponentially rare given she was seven weeks pregnant.

“I didn’t believe at 35 this could happen to me,” King-Rodriguez said. “When I was diagnosed, I didn’t know what to say or do. I just thought it was an older woman’s disease. When I began going through treatment, I met many women my age and quickly realized this disease does not discriminate, especially with regard to age. It can happen to anybody.”

In December 2017, National Cancer Institute found approximately one in 3,000 pregnant women primarily between ages 32 and 38 might develop breast cancer. As King-Rodriguez discovered, even fewer women receive a confirmation of their disease as early as their first trimester.

A cancer diagnosis is never welcome news, and learning that not only her life but also that of her daughter was at risk scared King-Rodriguez, but she was fueled by a necessary resolve.

“I had no choice,” King-Rodriguez said. “Survival was the outcome I was going to accept. I was going to be a mom, and I wanted to see my child born, grow up and become an adult.”

For King-Rodriguez, that meant trusting the advice of her oncologist and living her life as regularly as possible. In her eyes, to allow the disease to derail her daily regimen would be a concession of defeat.

“I had bills to pay,” King-Rodriguez said a few minutes before ferrying her 4-year-old daughter to dance class.

“Each person’s approach to survival is

different, especially as it relates to breast cancer. Some people are really into support groups, which is fine, but I kind of just did my own thing. I still went to work like everyone else and tried to live as normally as possible. I was not going to let this disease define me.”

King-Rodriguez felt fortunate in her ability to trust her physicians advice.

For many women, a medical professional one can confide in is not always readily available. However, KingRodriguez found independent research can also yield pitfalls. Erring on the side of caution ultimately proved to be the greatest boon for her treatment.

Cancer treatment does not occur in a medical vacuum. Often, battling cancer is a coordinated effort, even more so for King-Rodriguez given her pregnancy.

Additionally, her treatment was reconfigured to accommodate her condition.

King-Rodriguez found that often, oncologists would first attempt to shrink tumors via chemotherapy before committing to surgery. Given KingRodriguez’s situation, however, radiation might have resulted in unintended harm to her unborn child, thus her plan of action was altered accordingly as she underwent an operation to mitigate her tumors first.

This approach was fortunately successful for King-Rodriguez, as she was able to give birth to a healthy child.

Though her ordeal as well as that of many

other survivors is objectively difficult, she still finds it a bit peculiar when she’s lauded as an empowering example.

“I might be modest, but I honestly don’t feel like I’ve made a huge impact,” she said. “But I’ve had people in my office approach me, telling me how much of an inspiration I am and sharing tales their loved ones who are going through something similar. Again, I was just doing what I had to do for the sake of my daughter, but those little interactions do make me feel like I’ve made more of an impact than I thought I did.”

Activism comes in many forms, many of which are subtle. American Cancer Society’s Portraits of Hope operates in such a fashion by providing insight into one’s journey through cancer. Survival is a beacon of resolve to many.

“I can see that just by telling our stories, we give people hope,” KingRodriguez said. “For the past few years, the American Cancer Society has involved woman from incredibly different backgrounds. For instance, my group included an African-American survivor, a woman who was a bit older and another who was in her 40s. The four of us together make a big impact and remind people that this disease will not discriminate. While seeing us together reminds people breast cancer knows no bounds, it also reminds people if all us could overcome this, maybe they can overcome it too.”

WE’RE SOCIAL.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk 8 a.m. Saturday Wheeler District 1701 S. Western Ave. main.acsevents.org | 405-841-5832 Free

LIKE US ON

FACEBOOK AND NEVER MISS A POST

@OKGAZETTE

Breast cancer survivor Christina King-Rodriguez discovered that her disease did not discriminate among patients. | Photo provided

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

31

CALENDAR are events recommended

by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

BOOKS Bricktown Freaky Book Bang a convention for authors and readers with games, a costume contest and food, noon-midnight Oct. 27. Hilton Garden Inn Bricktown, 328 E. Sheridan Ave., 405-270-0588. SAT Brunching with Books a book club meeting every other week, with reading selections chosen by group preference, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.

Buttermilk Paseo, 605 NW 28th St., 405-605-6660, buttermilkokc.com. SAT

FILM Army of Darkness (1992, USA, Sam Raimi) Ash continues his battle agains the Evil Dead in the Middle Ages in this iconic horror comedy, 7 p.m. Oct. 24. Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405-708-6937, towertheatreokc.com. WED Dark Command (1940, USA, Raoul Walsh) a renegade sheriff uses the Civil War to mask his illegal activities, 1-2:30 p.m. Oct. 24. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED Hereditary (2018, USA, Ari Aster) a death reveals the horrors of a family’s dark history, Oct. 26-28.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI-SUN House of Dark Shadows/Dracula a ‘70s horror double feature hosted by the Oklahoma Film Society as part of its inaugural Horror Fest, 7 p.m. Oct. 29.

Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405-708-6937, towertheatreokc.com. MON The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, USA, Jim Sharman) car trouble strands young couple Brad and Janet at mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter’s castle in this musical sendup of sci-fi and horror films, through Oct. 31. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405601-7200, theboomokc.com. THU-WED VHS and Chill: Critters (1986, USA, Stephen Herek) murderous, ravenous aliens escape to earth where they attempt to devour a small farming town, 10 p.m.-midnight Oct. 26. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave, 405-235-3456. FRI

HAPPENINGS Bizarre Bazaar shop for oddities and other spooky items at this Halloween-themed market with cocktails, 6-9 p.m. Oct. 25. A Date With Iris, 4201 N. Western Ave., 405-604-5959, adatewithiris.com. THU Boos and Booze Speed Dating meet someone new or several someones at this mingling event hosted by the cast and crew of local LGBT+ web series Scandalous Tales, 6:30-9 p.m. Oct. 24. Michael Murphy’s Dueling Piano Bar, 25 S. Oklahoma Ave., 405-231-5397. WED Dreams and Nightmares costumes are required at this Halloween party, 11 p.m. Oct. 27. Dunlap Codding, 609 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-607-8600, dunlapcodding.com. SAT Fall Festival this event, now in its third year, offers trick-or-treating for children and dogs, arts and crafts, face painting and shopping with local vendors, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 27. Tony’s Tree Plantation, 3801 S. Post Road, 405-455-7700, tonystreeplantation.com. SAT Fall into Freezer Meals learn to prepare meals using seasonal ingredients such as pumpkin, butternut squash and sweet potatoes and freeze them for later, 1-3 p.m. Oct. 31. Oklahoma County OSU Extension Center, 2500 NE 63rd St., 405-713-1125, okiemgs.okstate.edu. WED Family Mental Health and Opioid Addiction Workshop learn why opioid addiction has become such a problem, how family members can recognize signs and symptoms and where they can seek assistance, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Oct. 25. Oklahoma County OSU Extension Center, 2500 NE 63rd St., 405-7131125, okiemgs.okstate.edu. THU Freak City Bloodbath an all-ages punk-themed Halloween party with a costume contest and live music from Pigments, PLUSH and Tara Reid & All the People She Knows, 9 p.m. Oct. 31. Mothership Connection, 1739 NW 16th St., facebook.com/flamboyant. cathedral. WED

Orchids in October a luncheon celebrating those who have made significant contributions to the gardens and to Oklahoma City, 11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 25. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. THU

Goth Fetish Halloween party an adult-themed Halloween celebration featuring a costume contest, pumpkin decorating and musical performances by Esoterik, Black Magnet and DJ Deadstar, 7 p.m.midnight Sat., Oct. 27. Your Mom’s Place, 919 N. Virginia Ave. SAT

Pooch Howl-O-Ween Social bring your dog to this pet-friendly event with treats and a costume parade with prizes, 2-4 p.m. Oct. 28. Fassler Hall, 421 NW 10th St., 405-609-3300, fasslerhall.com. SUN

Haunt the River enjoy the decorated boat, haunted tunes, light snacks and cash bar on board with a cruise for adults only, 8-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday $35. Oklahoma River Cruises, 1503 Exchange Ave., 405-702-7755, okrivercruises.com..

FRI-SAT

Haunted Whodunnit Late Nite Lab use forensic techniques such DNA testing and fingerprinting to try to solve a mystery in the museum at this family event, 6-10 p.m. Oct. 26. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok. org. FRI

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Nightmare on 50th Street an ‘80s-slasher-filmthemed Halloween party featuring music by Lost Highway, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Oct. 27. HiLo Club, 1221 NW 50th St., 405-843-1722, hilookc.com. SAT

Ghostbusters 2 Halloween Party celebrate the Halloween season at this ‘80s-themed costume party, 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Oct. 27. FlashBack RetroPub, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-633-3604, flashbackretropub. com. SAT

Haunt the Harn trick or treat in six historic buildings and enjoy other games, and activities, 6-8:30 p.m. Oct. 25. Harn Homestead Museum, 1721 N. Lincoln Blvd., 405-235-4058, harnhomestead.com. THU

32

405-607-8600, dunlapcodding.com. SAT

Fuzzy Friday a monthly happy hour meet-andgreet hosted by the Bears of Central Oklahoma, 5:30 p.m. Fridays. Apothecary 39, 2125 NW 39th St., 405-605-4100. FRI

Halloween Shindig dissect owl pellets, go trick-or-treating, complete arts and crafts projects and more at this seasonal event, 6-9 p.m. Oct. 31.

Museum of Osteology, 10301 S. Sunnylane Road, 405-814-0006, museumofosteology.org. WED

SUNDAY Photo provided

THROUGH OCT. 31 Photo provided

Oklahoma Arts Conference a gathering of artists and creative professionals led by industry experts and focused on nonprofit management and individual professional development, Oct. 24-25.

Film Row, 700 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-208-8836, filmrowokc.com. WED-THU

Halloween Forensic Night learn about information experts are able to glean by studying human skulls, 6-9 p.m. Oct. 26.

Museum of Osteology, 10301 S. Sunnylane Road, 405-814-0006, museumofosteology.org. FRI

Beats & Ballots Like a side order of sugar served with strong medicine, this event pairs mindful hip-hop from critical favorite Talib Kweli and local legend Jabee with political speeches from Oklahoma candidates including Drew Edmondson, Kendra Horn, LaVelle Compton, Nikki Nice, Carri Hicks and more. Kick out the jams and get out the vote 7:30 p.m.

Sunday at Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St. Tickets are $27-$40. Call 405-708-6937 or visit towertheatreokc.com.

Paint in the Dark Sure, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” is an all-time masterpiece or whatever, but, dude, does it even glow in the dark? You’ll have the chance to see what the Dutch post-impressionist might’ve cooked up if he’d been, like, super into Laser Floyd when you learn to paint your own neon black-light painting. You can also drink wine while you paint, but we’re pretty sure that’s not a modern technique. To schedule a class at one of three Pinot’s Palette locations in the Oklahoma City metro, visit pinotspalette.com.

Lawrence Ware the philosophy and African studies professor will speak about race and politics, 6 p.m. Oct. 28. The Parish, 2101 NW 16th St., 405-6330454, theparishokc.com. SUN Lost Lakes Haunted Forest the theme-park adds a frightening attraction for the Halloween season, through Oct. 31. Lost Lakes Waterpark and Amphitheater, 3501 NE 10th St., 405-702-4040, lostlakeshauntedforest.com. FRI-WED Mall-O-Ween a family trick=or-treating event with photographs and a costume contest, 6-8 p.m. Oct. 24. Penn Square Mall, 1901 Northwest Expressway, 405-841-2696, simon.com/mall/penn-square-mall.

WED

Monster Mashup Drink & Draw drink, draw and network at this meetup for local artists and art fans, 6-9 p.m. Oct. 25. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org. THU Monsters & Margaritas enjoy custom cocktails, dancing and hors d’oeuvres at this Halloween party benefitting Oklahoma City Girls Art School, 8 p.m.-midnight Oct. 27. Dunlap Codding, 609 W. Sheridan Ave.,

Return of The Wild Rumpus enjoy food, drinks dancing, raffles and more at this fundraiser for Keystone Adventure School and Farm, 7-10 p.m. Oct. 26.

21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. FRI Scary Tales hear ghost stories as you take a tour of the mansion after dark, 7 p.m. Oct. 25-27. Overholser Mansion, 405 NW 15th St., 405-525-5325, overholsermansion.org. THU-SAT Spooksville a Halloween festival with a haunted house, carnival games and costume contests for dogs and children, 3-6 p.m. Oct. 27. Yukon City Park, 2200 Holly Ave., Yukon. 405-354-1895, cityofyukon. gov. SAT A Tim Burton Halloween celebrate the season with a costume contest, karaoke, prizes and games, 9 p.m. Oct. 27. Alibi’s, 1200 N. Pennsylvania Ave., 405-604-3684. SAT Trap or Treat enjoy dancing, drinks, prizes and a costume contest at this Halloween party raising funds for Black Lives Matter, 8 p.m.-midnight. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org. SAT Unmasked enjoy dinner, drinks, dancing and a costume contest at this fundraiser for the Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association, 6 p.m. Oct. 26. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org. FRI What’s Growing On? watch the museum’s garden team replant three handing baskets in the museums entryways and get tips for your own decorative plants, 11 a.m.-noon Oct. 27. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. SAT

FOOD Observation Cooking Classes watch a local chef create a variety of cuisines and sample each course as it’s prepared, 6:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays through Nov. 11. International Pantry, 1618 W. Lindsey St. Norman, 405-360-0765, intipantry. com. TUE-THU Paseo Farmers Market shop for fresh food from local vendors at this weekly outdoor event, 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays. SixTwelve, 612 NW 29th St., 405-208-8291, sixtwelve.org. SAT Turkish Food and Art Festival sample traditional dishes including gyros, couscous, baklava and more, and shop for mosaic lamps, handmade pottery and calligraphy and water-marbling artworks, 11

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 27. Raindrop Turkish House, 4444 N. Classen Blvd., 405-702-0222, raindropturkishhouse. org. SAT Trick or Treat Wine Tour tour three different wineries in costume on a chartered bus, 12:45-7:15 p.m.

Oct. 28. Bricktown Central Plaza, 2001 E. Reno. SUN

YOUTH Anita Schlaht book signing the author will autograph copies of her picture book, Just Playing, 11 a.m.-noon Oct. 27. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 405-3409202, bestofbooksok.com. SAT Brick-Or-Treat parents are invited to bring their children to this Halloween event featuring pumpkin painting, costumes, and candy and sponsored by area businesses, 4-7 p.m. Oct. 29. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, 405-2181000, okcballparkevents.com. MON David Shannon book signing the author will autograph copies of his new book, Grow Up, David, the latest sequel in his award-winning series, 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 25. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. THU Halloween Train kids can take a festive seasonal train ride, play miniature golf, trick or treat and more; costumes encouraged, Oct. 27-28 Oklahoma Railway Museum, 3400 NE Grand Blvd., 405-424-8222, oklahomarailwaymuseum.org. SAT-SUN Storybook Forest meet characters from fairytales, take a hayride, play games or roast marshmallows at this family event geared toward kids 10 and younger; costumes encouraged, 5:30-8:30 p.m. through Oct. 30. Arcadia Lake, 9000 E. Second St. Arcadia, 405-216-7470, edmondok.com/parks. TUE Trick or Treat City families can enjoy carnival games, inflatables, cakewalks, trick-or-treating and more, 2-4:30 p.m. Oct. 27. Joe B. Barnes Regional Park, 8700 E. Reno Ave., 405-739-1293, midwestcityok.org. SAT

PERFORMING ARTS The Addams Family: The Musical Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Grandmama and Lurch host a fateful dinner party in this original play, Oct. 25-28. Rose State College, 6420 SE 15th St., 405-733-7673, rose.edu. THU-SUN Alice (in Wonderland) a stage adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s timeless fantasy featuring ballet and puppetry with a musical score by Matthew Pierce and choreography by Septime Webre, Oct. 26-28.

Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-2972264, okcciviccenter.com. FRI-SUN Beethoven’s Vienna guest violinist Aaron Berofsky joins Brightmusic joins Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble to perform selections from the composer’s catalog, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30. St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW Seventh St., 405-235-3436, stpaulscathedralokc. org. TUE Pobal Celtic & Bluegrass Festival enjoy Celtic, Irish, Bluegrass, and Folk music from Ravens Three, Jason Hunt, Emerald Flame and more, noon-10 p.m.

Oct. 27. The Patriarch Craft Beer House & Lawn, 9 E. Edwards St. Edmond, 405-285-6670, ThePatriarchEdmond.com. SAT Circus of the Night see a live performance by Perpetual Motion Dance company at this annual fundraiser, now in its fourth year, 7-10 p.m. Oct. 27.

CHK/Central Boathouse, 732 S. Riversport Drive, 405-552-4040, boathousedistrict.org. SAT Factory Obscura: The Procession a ceremony focusing on light, community and creativity and featuring tarot readings, a costume contest and a special performance by Perpetual Motion Dance company, 9 p.m.-midnight Oct. 31. Beyond, 1522 S. Robinson Ave. WED The Funniest Person in OKC local comedians compete for a chance at top honors in the preliminary round of this annual competition, 8-11 p.m. Oct. 22-25. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, theparamountroom.com. MON-THU Ghost: The Musical a stage production based on the hit romantic film from 1990, through Oct. 27.

The Pollard Theatre, 120 W. Harrison Ave., Guthrie, 405-282-2800, thepollard.org. FRI-SAT Jello Submarine watch local standup comic Lenny Vanhorn record a live album, 8-9:45 p.m. Oct. 26. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org. FRI Julius Caesar a reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic play set in the U.S. during the 1960s, Oct. 2528. Oklahoma City University Campus, Kirkpatrick Auditorium, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405-2085000, okcu.edu. THU-SUN New Music for Two Guitars guitarists Colin Deibert and Tyler Grice perform a works by Ravel, Beethoven, Miles Davis, Nirvana and more in a set combining classical, jazz and rock music, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 30. UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth St. Edmond, 405-359-7989, ucojazzlab.com. TUE The RACEy Show: Haunted a club-inspired Halloween show featuring performers from RACE Dance Company, Oct. 26-27. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, theparamountroom.com. FRI-SAT Red Phone Night of Improv long and shortform improv followed by an open jam where anyone can play, 6:30-9 p.m. Oct. 25. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, theparamountroom.com. THU Shelly Phelps Blues Revue a monthly variety show featuring music, comedy, performance art, drag and more, 7-10 p.m. Sundays. Frankie’s, 2807 NW 36th St., 405-602-2030, facebook.com/ frankiesokc. SUN

Tyler Spears Comedy Showcase a matinee standup show featuring local comedians, 6-8 p.m.

Oct. 27. The Root, 3012 N. Walker Ave., 405-6555889, therootokc.com. SAT Women of Red Dirt Grand Slam poets Em, Taryn Hansen, Melissa May and Mykaela Salcido will compete for the championship title and anyone who has experienced life as a woman is also invited to participate in an open mic, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Oct. 24. Sauced on Paseo, 2912 Paseo St., 405-521-9800, saucedonpaseo.com. WED

ACTIVE Rocky Horror Picture Flow complete a yoga workout soundtracked by songs from the popular horror musical at this class led by Megan Burnett; costumes encouraged, 6-7:15 p.m. Oct. 26. 405 Yoga, 1004 N. Hudson Ave., 405-778-8905, 405yoga.com. FRI Open Streets in South OKC bike walk, run or skate on S. Robinson Avenue, which will be closed to motor vehicle traffic for this family event; leashed pets are welcome, 1-5 p.m. Oct. 28. Wiley Post Park, 2021 S. Robinson Ave., 405-297-2756, okc.gov. SUN

VISUAL ARTS The Blind Rooms a multimedia experience created by the artist Juliacks in collaboration with University of Oklahoma students and combining audio narratives with visual and performance art, through Nov. 2. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, 405-325-2691, art.ou.edu. MON-FRI Daren Kendall: Threshold With Me view seven sculptural thresholds based on the seven terraces of Dante’s Purgatory, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave. Norman, 405-3253272, ou.edu/fjjma/exhibitions1/threshold-with-me.

FRI-SUN

The Garden Chronicles Plus an exhibition of paintings by artist George Bogart, through Nov. 2.

Norman Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave. Nroman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. FRI Lost in the Faraway an exhibition of spontaneously created acrylic works by KB Kueteman, Oct. 5-28, Through Oct. 28. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com. FRI-SUN Oklahoma Artcade an exhibition of video-game inspired artworks created by more than 30 artists, 6-11 p.m. Oct. 26. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, theparamountroom.com. FRI Sandra Patterson and Paul White an exhibition of oils on canvas and porcelain and watercolor and acrylic paintings, through Nov. 30. Porcelain Art Museum, 2700 N. Portland Ave., 405-521-1234, wocp.org. MON-FRI Seeds of Being curated by students enrolled in the university’s Native American Art & Museum Studies Seminar, this exhibition examines the impact of art in indigenous communities, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave. Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE-SUN Studio Gallery’s Featured Show an exhibition featuring paintings, photography and handmade jewelry created by a variety of artists, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through Oct. 31. The Studio Gallery, 2642 W. Britton Road, 405-752-2642, thestudiogallery.org. THU-WED

Bringing solutions to ALL your gardening needs

Bang Bang Queer Punk Variety Halloweekend Show Hosted by Misty Snatch, the Halloween edition of this monthly event features a costume contest along with its regular lineup of burlesque, musical performances and drag artists reconfiguring gender with enough imagination to stiletto-stomp false binaries into pasties. This week’s lineup includes Kennedie, Pyxis, John Shack and Amanda Howle. The show starts at 10 p.m. Saturday at The Root, 3012 N Walker Ave. Admission is $5. Call 405-697-0718 or visit facebook.com/ bangbangvarietyshow.

SATURDAY Photo Bryant Palmer/provided

Submissions must be received

by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date.

Late submissions will not be included in the listings.

Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible. Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

For OKG live music

1433 Fretz Dr. Edmond, OK 73003 (405) 216-5475

www.redbudhydro.com Sun: 12p-5p Mon: CLOSED Tues: 10a-7p Wed: 10a-7p Thurs: 10a-7p Fri: 10a-7p Sat 10a-7p

see page 37 O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

33

34

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

EVENT

MUSIC

Feeling Lucky

After some false starts, Carter Sampson gives her fifth album the release it deserves. By Jeremy Martin

It seems to be all worked out now, but Carter Sampson said the “rushed” European release of her latest album Lucky felt pretty unfortunate when it happened last May. “I did go through some drama with the European release of Lucky,” Sampson said. “It was really a real stressful time in my life, so I think I did by default do a little bit of growing up in that moment.”

Though “the music was ready to go,” Sampson said, the artwork felt incomplete and the liner notes incorrectly credited some of the songwriters.

Correcting those issues for the American version delayed its release date, which frustrated Sampson, but she’s happier with the timing now. Sampson celebrates the release of Lucky 8 p.m. Friday at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley Ave. “In the long run, I was really disappointed that it took so long to come out, but I now think that the timing of it was really perfect,” Sampson said. “I feel like it was meant to be, not to be so cliché.”

Lucky, her fifth studio album, will be released through Tulsa nonpr of it l a b el H o r t o n Records, w h i c h Sampson sa id she feels fortunate to be associated with.

“They’re doi n g things I feel like

no one else in the music business is doing,” Sampson said. “They’ve really been a big help. Mainly just support, they just have my back when I need to call them about how sucky the music business is.”

Despite her issues with the business side of things, Sampson said the thankfulness expressed on her new album’s title track is deeply felt. “‘Lucky’ can mean several different things,” Sampson said. “It can also mean hard work and privilege, but I do feel very fortunate that I get to do what I love to do most days. And I’ve been doing it for so long now. I’ve been playing music for 20 years. … I’m very thankful for what I have, and it’s not much. I’m totally broke most of the time, but I’m so happy that I get to tour and travel and play music and record music. But, yeah, it’s very much an album of gratitude.”

Following the album-opening “Lucky,” “Anything Else to Do” gives thanks for life and love, while “Peaches” gratefully recalls Sampson’s childhood memories of her g randparents’ house in Duncan.

“I feel like that space in life makes me feel so safe and comfortable, and creative,” Sampson said. “All the things that I did when I was in that safe space as a kid.”

Adulting is hard

In addition to being an album of gratitude, Sampson said Lucky is about the reflection that comes with maturity.

“The last record was all about traveling, and this one’s about growing up,” Sampson said. “I am growing up. I try not to at all costs, but it is happening.

We’re all getting

older and watching our parents get older.

I’m also trying to be more honest in what I write. I feel like when I first started writing I would just kind of make up stories, and now I’m trying to be as honest as possible.” “ W i l d Ride,” for example, celebrates romance without trying to smooth over t he r ou g h patches too much.

“It’s a love song, but it’s very truthful to who I am,” Sampson said, “because I have some of my faults in there as well as some of the good things about me.

That’s not always easy to do.”

In the long run, I was really disappointed that it took so long to come out, but I now think that the timing of it was really perfect.

Carter Sampson “Ten Penny Nail,” meanwhile, offers a darker take on relationships, inspired by an anecdote Norman songwriter Dan Martin told Sampson about Guy Clark nailing himself inside his bedroom with a bottle of whiskey after having an argument with his wife Susanna and Townes Van Zandt.

“Before he was finished, I think I was already writing the song because the story was so good,” Sampson said. “All I could think was that’s the most dramatic, awesome reaction to that.

It’s one thing to slam a door, but i t ’ s another thing to nail it shut behind you. … I remember living in an old house where you could slam the door and the doorknobs would come off in your hand and I used to pull them off and throw them, but I haven’t nailed my door shut. I wouldn’t even think of that.

Leave it to Guy Clark to come up with a genius plan like that.”

Another song on the album, “Rattle Snake Kate,” was inspired by a story she Carter Sampson celebrates the release of her latest album 8 p.m. Friday at The Blue Door. | Photo Carter Sampson provided

Lucky is Sampson’s fifth full-length release, not including European compilations and her Christmas album. | Image provided

heard from a friend about Katherine McHale Slaughterback, a single mother who became famous for killing 140 rattlesnakes in a single incident in Colorado in 1925. She shot them with a .22-caliber rifle until she ran out of ammunition and then bludgeoned the rest to death with an uprooted sign, which reportedly read “No Hunting.”

Then she made a dress out of their skins.

“It’s an absolutely true story,” Sampson said. “She’s a badass, and I would like to be more like her. … That was a long time ago. I can’t imagine how scandalous she was back then. She seemed to not really care. She just seemed like she did what she needed to do to survive and to live her life, and she didn’t really care what anyone else thought.”

The album ends with “Queen of the Silver Dollar,” a Shel Silverstein-penned song that also closes Emmylou Harris’ 1975 breakthrough Pieces of the Sky, a version Sampson said she remembers her mother listening to.

“All the old stuff that I felt like at the time, in the ’80s and ’90s, it was lame mom music and I hated it, now I realize that’s the music that I really love,” Sampson said. “My big influences are Dwight Yoakam and The Judds and all the stuff that she listened to in the car.”

Though she loved playing the song, Sampson said she was reluctant to record it until she had the serendipitous chance to visit the site of Shel Silverstein’s Key West home, which had just been destroyed by Hurricane Irma.

Silverstein, who also wrote “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and “One’s on the Way,” might have appreciated the tragic irony of the scene.

“They’d just torn the house down,” Sampson recalled. “Actually, to make it even crazier, he wrote that book The Giving Tree, and the Giving Tree was in the yard, and the Giving Tree fell on the house and destroyed the house. The people of Key West always felt like Shel wasn’t really that grateful of a person because the tree just gave and gave and never took anything from anybody.”

Tickets are $20. Visit bluedoorokc. com.

Carter Sampson 8 p.m. Friday The Blue Door 2805 N. McKinley Ave. bluedoorokc.com | 405-524-0738 $20

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

35

EVENT

MUSIC

Total misfit

Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein avoids the past and rails against Spotify. By Jeremy Martin

Namesake notwithstanding, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein doesn’t seem fond of digging up the past. In 1980, at the age of 16, the guitarist, born Paul Caiafa, joined his brother, bassist Jerry Only, and frontman Glenn Danzig in The Misfits. The band, a seminal influence in both hardcore and metal, broke up in 1983 and, after a legal battle, reformed without Danzig in 1995. Only and Doyle reunited with Danzig for a few shows in 2016 and played together in their home state of New Jersey in May, but Doyle doesn’t want to talk about any of that.

“Any question about The Misfits will be answered with ‘No comment,’” warned an email from Doyle’s publicist Tom George.

In 2005, Doyle formed Gorgeous Frankenstein, a band that would eventually include Cancerslug vocalist Alex Story. (Questions about Gorgeous Frankenstein were also labeled “off limits”). Story, who serves as lyricist and frontman, and Doyle renamed the band Doyle in 2013 and released the album Abominator. The instrumentals for 2016’s As We Die were recorded at the same time, as was enough material for a yet-to-be-released third album.

Doyle (the band) is scheduled to play Saturday at 89th Street OKC, 8911 N. Western Ave. Resurrecting old famous monsters clearly wasn’t an option, but we talked to Doyle (the man) about his creative process, his record label, Monsterman Records, and why he really, really hates what the internet has done to the music business.

Oklahoma Gazette: I read you’ve already recorded enough material for a third Doyle album. Is that coming out anytime soon?

Doyle: It’s not coming out anytime soon, but we’re working on it. I’ve got a bunch of stuff I’ve sent Alex to try to work on.

could you could probably do 10 albums a week if you really wanted to. He writes so fast. He’s a song machine.

OKG: Have you learned anything about the music business from having your own label?

Doyle: The only thing I know about the music business is that there’s no business. Nobody knows what they’re doing.

OKG: Do you have to bring your own food on the road? It seems like it’d be impossible in a lot of places, Oklahoma City for example, to eat vegan after a show.

Doyle: Why would you say that? There’s apples, oranges, bananas.

OKG: Sure. That makes sense. Does the material on Abominator feel different to you than the songs on As We Die? Doyle: I mean, no, not really. I think it’s cool that As We Die has a real drummer on it [Brandon Pertzborn] … [but] There’s little difference between the two in my mind. I guess, I don’t know.

It all sounds the same to me. When Zakk Wylde writes an album for Ozzy, Ozzy inspires what the album is, but it sounds like Zakk Wylde because Zakk Wylde is writing it.

OKG: Do you draw inspiration from horror movies when you’re writing music, or are you just thinking about the music?

Doyle: I just write music. Alex writes the words.

OKG: How about horror music soundtracks?

Doyle: Just in general, the thought of a horror movie soundtrack, I would say.

OKG: Do you ever have themes in mind for the songs you write or a story behind them?

Doyle: It’s added later — that’s Alex. It’s not about anything until he writes it.

OKG: It seems like it’d be tough to balance recording with your heavy tour schedule.

Doyle: I hate recording. It’s so time-consuming and so precise. I like writing and I like touring, but recording, it’s too much.

OKG: So where do you draw inspiration from?

Doyle: Nothing. I just, anytime I pick a guitar up, I try to write something, and if I write something, I record it. If I don’t, I don’t.

OKG: Do you just try to get it over with?

It seems like you record a lot of stuff at one time.

Doyle: That’s why I’m over it.

OKG: Anytime you pick up a guitar, you have in mind that you might write a song?

Doyle: I try to every time. I don’t sit there and play the other songs because why would I do that?

OKG: That makes sense, I guess. I’ve never really heard of someone recording what amounts to three albums’ worth of material in one go.

When you write with Alex Story, you 36

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

OKG: I mean, I guess to practice.

Doyle: Practice is a wasted show, my friend. I totally believe it.

OKG: So if you pick up a guitar, it’s either to write something new or to play a show?

Doyle: Pretty much, yeah. I don’t need to practice 300 times to play a fucking show. That’s pretty fucking stupid.

OKG: Is there anything you want to add that we didn’t talk about?

Doyle: Yes. I would like everyone to stop illegally downloading music because you’re destroying this business.

That’s why we have to do meet-andgreets every night just so we can eat while we’re on the road. You don’t understand that you’re stealing our product. It should be a fucking crime, and it should be a fucking crime to steal one fucking song. It’d be like walking into a fucking motorcycle factory and taking a motorcycle. That’s a fucking crime. These songs are our products.

Destroying the business. And then you got fucking jerk-offs like fucking Spotify ripping us off as well. Fucking bullshit.

You get a fraction of a penny for x amount of fucking plays. What the fuck is that? If you can’t pay for our songs, then you shouldn’t fucking have them.

We do the world a justice by fucking entertaining them. We’re not wandering fucking minstrels. We’re trying to

Doyle is scheduled to play Saturday at 89th Street — OKC, 8911 N Western Ave., with Spooky Fruit, Paid in Spades and Justice Keeper. | Photo Kanon Madness / provided

fucking make a living here, and they’re fucking it all up. They think we’re all fucking millionaires here, and we’re fucking not. You steal songs and then we all gotta go get jobs and now you don’t get no more songs from those bands because we can’t fucking afford to do it.

Tickets are $15-$18, available at 89thstreetokc.com. Oklahoma acts Spooky Fruit, Paid in Spades and Justice Keeper share the bill. VIP meet-andgreets with Doyle are available for $50 at monstermanrecords.myshopify.com.

Doyle 6 p.m. Saturday 89th Street — OKC 8911 N. Western Ave. 89thstreetokc.com | 405-677-9169 $15-$50

LIVE MUSIC

List your event in

These are events recommended

by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 24

than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in

Elizabeth Speegle Band, The R & J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ

the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we

Mizere/L-MO415, Kendells. HIP-HOP

strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

Social Distortion, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK

THURSDAY, OCT. 25 Alex Cunningham/The Dang Ol Band, Resonator.

FOLK/EXPERIMENTAL

Death Valley Girls/Draemings/Planet What, Opolis.

ROCK

Don’t Tell Dena, The Bleu Garten. ROCK Gel Set/Profligate/Karger Traum, 51st Street Speakeasy. ELECTRONIC Hot House Band, Othello’s Italian Restaurant. JAZZ Koolie High & the Tap Band, Ice Event Center & Grill. JAZZ The Last Ten Seconds/Within Waves, 89th StreetOKC. METAL/HARDCORE The Nixons, Tower Theatre. ROCK Russ Liquid Test/Balkan Bump, Farmers Public Market. ELECTRONIC St. Lucia/Arkells, The Jones Assembly.

ROCK

Vintage Pistol/Deep Sequence, The Deli. ROCK

Kero Kero Bonito The “dream pop” label typically denotes gossamer melodies and cotton candy vocals, but as Time n’ Place, Kero Kero Bonito’s latest LP released earlier this month suggests, dreams can be pretty messed up. Intercutting vocalist Sarah Midori Perry’s sugar-sweet pop bliss with gleeful glitchcore outbursts that’ll have you checking your aux cord, KKB underlines the album’s themes of loss and longing with chaotic noise rock. It should be an absolute blast live. Oakland multi-instrumentalist and Toro Y Moi collaborator Tanukichan kick-starts the dream at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Opolis, 113.

N. Crawford in Norman. Tickets are $10-$12. Call 405-673-4931 or visit opolis.org.

TUESDAY Photo Tracey Ng / provided

FRIDAY, OCT. 26 Abolishment of Flesh/Broken Flesh/Dischordia, Kendells. METAL

SUNDAY, OCT. 28

Andy Grammar, The Jones Assembly. SINGER/

Andy Grammer/Leroy Sanchez/John Splithoff, The Jones Assembly. POP

SONGWRITER

Ashley Windham Band, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewing Company. POP Brad Fielder, Lazy Circles Brewing. FOLK Coyette & the Haywire Band, Mooney’s Pub and Grill. COUNTRY Fire Bad/Dion Warlocke/Plainswalker, The Root.

ROCK

Foxburrows/The Nghiems/Sophia Massad, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK Helen Kelter Skelter/Applied Music Program, Opolis. ROCK Justin Moore, The Criterion. COUNTRY The Killings/Some Kind of Nightmare, Blue Note Lounge. PUNK

MONDAY, OCT. 29 Jason Hunt, Sean Cumming’s Irish Restaurant. FOLK Jonathan Davis, Cain’s Ballroom. ROCK Elizabeth Wise/Wess McMichael/The Ravens, Othello’s Italian Restaurant. BLUES

TUESDAY, OCT. 30 Chase Rice, The Criterion. COUNTRY Country Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club.

Kyle Reid, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. SINGER/ The Struts/Badflower, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK

Borgore/Peekaboo, Farmers Public Market.

ELECTRONIC

Doyle/Spooky Fruit/Justice Keeper, . METAL/PUNK

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31 Edgar Cruz/Richard Smith, UCO Jazz Lab. ACOUS-

TIC

Plainswalker/Noisebleedsound, Red Brick Bar. ROCK

Twiggs/Audio Book Club/Spinster, The Deli. ROCK/

POP

Ester Drang/Husbands/Tallows, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. ROCK/POP The Floozies, Cain’s Ballroom. ELECTRONIC Midas 13, Rococo. ROCK Psychotic Reaction/Limp Wizurdz/Los Eskeletos, Opolis. ROCK Spooky Fruit/James Bond Dracula, Vices. PUNK The Suitcase Junket, Norman Santa Fe Depot.

FOLK/EXPERIMENTAL

Teenage Martians/Crobone, Blue Note Lounge.

PUNK/ROCK

Vance Gilbert/James Lee Baker, The Blue Door.

7p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 · $10 Public welcome. All Performance Lab tickets available at eventbrite.com

ACM@UCO PERFORMANCE LAB 329 E Sheridan Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73104

COUNTRY

Stealing Saturn/Uncle Freddy, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

ROCK

ESTER DRANG HUSBANDS TALLOWS

The Sweet Talkers/One Two Ten, Resonator. ROCK

SONGWRITER

Bamboozel/Girls Club/The Indigos, Red Brick Bar.

CLERESTORY AV LABEL SHOWCASE

Devildriver, Diamond Ballroom. METAL

Me Oh My/Rousey, Resonator. ROCK

SATURDAY, OCT. 27

Submit your listings online at okgazette.com or email them to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

Live music submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date.

Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

UP NEXT AT THE LAB:

Nov. 1: Maps & Atlases, with Magic Munchbox Nov. 2: Paul Benjaman, with Jacob Tovar (Horton Records Showcase) Nov. 7: Molly Burch, with Seph(ra) Nov. 14: Mac DeMarco (solo), with Leotie Nov. 18: Current Joys, with Love Seats and The Lunar Laugh (acoustic) Nov. 30: Colourmusic album release show, with openers TBA Dec. 7: Combsy, with Henna Roso (Horton Records Showcase)

HIGH NOON SHOWCASES AT ACM CAMPUS

ACM@UCO Songwriting Room, 25 S. Oklahoma Ave. (first floor), in Bricktown.

Showtime 12:15 p.m. Public welcome. Free admission.

Oct. 22: Johnny Manchild & The Poor Bastards Nov. 19: Sam Weber

(405) 974-4711 | acm-uco.com

Metro Music Series Sponsors

SINGER-SONGWRITER

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

37

PUZZLES 1

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE YOU’RE GOING DOWN

By Finn Vigeland | Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz | 1028

ACROSS 1 Pinocchio, e.g.

7 Aphrodisiacs boost it 13 Backpack feature 18 Where cuneiform was discovered 19 Superhero outfits, typically 22 Irritate 23 Give unsolicited advice 24 Weapon for William Tell 25 Coming back in 26 Popular singer born in County Donegal 27 Like many wine casks 29 Lie low 30 What starts with a spark of an idea?

31 Snide and sassy 33 Portrayer of TV’s Det. Fin Tutuola 35 Jefferson Memorial topper 37 Nonfish aquarium attraction 39 Precalculator calculator 41 Where one might be well suited 45 Clue weapon 47 “Give it a ____” 48 Street crossing Hollywood in Hollywood 49 Conservative 50 Job for a plastic surgeon, for short 51 Modern name in transportation 53 “Heavens!”

55 Squared building stone 57 Three short, three long, three short 58 Gnocchi ____ Romana 59 Rapper with the 2017 No. 1 hit

“Bodak Yellow” 61 Brought about 62 Kindle download 63 Chant at a political rally 64 First sign 65 Manhattan neighborhood next

to the Lower East Side 67 Popular line of dolls with

“Kidz” and “Babyz” spinoffs 68 Hole foods?

70 Bundled, as hay 71 1960s-’70s police drama 73 Medicare provision for non-

hospital expenses 74 Perch for pigeons 75 Plea to a superhero, maybe 76 Employs

2

3

4

5

6

7

18

19

23

24

26

27

8

9

10

12

13 20

21

14

15

16

17

29 33

30

34

35

40

36

41

47

42

48 53

43

44

55

59

60

56

PUBLISHER Peter J. Brzycki

61

63

OPERATIONS & MARKETING MANAGER Kelsey Lowe

64

67

68

72

MARKETING ASSISTANT Kendall Bleakley

69

73

ACCOUNTING/HR MANAGER Marian Harrison

76 82

77

83 88

89

90 95

98

99

105

106

78

79

84

94

ADVERTISING advertising@okgazette.com 405-528-6000

96 100 108 114

109

110

115

118 120

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Saundra Rinearson Godwin Christy Duane Philip Rodriguez Chris White EDITOR-IN-CHIEF George Lang glang@okgazette.com

121

48 Capital of Liechtenstein 52 Puffs up 54 For nothing 56 Perspectives 58 Bore 59 Midnight, maybe 60 Total baller 62 Dissed with flowery language, literally?

65 Hip-hop dance move 66 Classic London theater 67 Angled edge 69 Snacks often paired with milk 70 Mutiny on the Bounty captain 72 Underwear brand 73 Punch vs. Judy, literally?

77 One answer to the question

“What’s your favorite music

genre,” literally?

78 Agenda entry

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Karen Holmes CIRCULATION MANAGER Chad Bleakley

91

107

113

Please address all unsolicited news items (non-returnable) to the editor.

First-class mail subscriptions are $119 for one year, and most issues at this rate will arrive 1-2 days after publication.

49

54

VOL. XL NO. 43 Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers.

The cash value of this copy is $1. Persons taking copies of the Oklahoma Gazette from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution.

22 25

28

77 Peter Pan rival 31 32 80 Trespass upon 82 Seventh-year exam in Harry 37 38 39 Potter 83 Lhasa ____ 45 46 84 “Toodles!”

85 Positive market move 50 51 52 86 Son of Adam 88 Trigger, as an alarm 57 58 90 Repossessed 92 Farm measures 62 94 Kind of humor 96 “Cuz I told you to!”

65 66 97 Like rain forests 98 Fourth-down play 70 71 99 Spasm 101 Fast-food chain with a hat in 74 75

its logo 104 Jennifer who wrote 80 81

Manhattan Beach 106 Printer brand 86 87 108 Spelunker’s helmet attachment 85 111 Springs 92 93 112 Five-time Emmy nominee for

Grey’s Anatomy 97 114 Key of Dvorák’s “New World” Symphony 101 102 103 104 116 World-weariness 117 “Silly me, rambling again!”

111 112 118 The Chainsmokers or Eurythmics 116 117 119 Declare 120 TV colleague of Hayes and 119 O’Donnell 121 Didn’t sleep well

literally?

DOWN 15 “Darn it all!”

1 Embarrassment for an art 16 Do for Jon Batiste curator 17 Drudge 2 “Sign me up!”

20 Its HQ is the Pentagon 3 Headline after a toddler CEO 21 First country to legalize

resigns, literally?

changing one’s gender identity 4 Coiner of the term “generative (1972) music” 28 First African-American sorority 5 Certain med. specialist 32 Part of a circle 6 It may be cutting things close 34 Like the dress shirt that’s just 7 Car failure only a block from adorable, literally?

the mechanic, literally?

36 Draftable 8 About, on memos 37 “Wise” ones 9 Mixture of nature and 38 Chamber music group, often technology 40 ____ Lingus 10 “____ official” 41 Calf-length dresses 11 Takes off in a hurry 42 “Not so fast!”

12 Eye socket 43 Addresses a crowd 13 Takes off in a hurry 44 Firebugs 14 “For a massage, go that way!,” 46 Signature Jacques Tati role

11

79 Music outro effect 81 Prominent parts of goblins 83 Not do so well 84 Haberdashery buys 87 Directive 89 CVS rival 91 “Alea iacta ____”: Caesar 93 Barbie attendee 94 About 10 percent of Russia 95 Afternoon hour 98 Land in The Hunger Games 100 Bumbling 101 Orders at the Rose & Crown 102 Quote from a letter 103 Actor Eric 105 Frustrated cry 107 ____ stick 109 Pouty face 110 Urge on 113 Bloody, say 115 Barn greeting

ASSISTANT EDITOR Brittany Pickering STAFF REPORTERS Jacob Threadgill Jeremy Martin Nazarene Harris CALENDAR COORDINATOR Jeremy Martin PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER Alexa Ace CONTRIBUTORS Joshua Blanco, Daniel Bokemper Charles Martin, Jo Light CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kimberly Lynch GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Ingvard Ashby Tiffany McKnight

Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute).

SUDOKU HARD | N° 80336 Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9. www.printmysudoku.com

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 1021, which appeared in the October 17 issue.

B U T T E

T U R T L E D A R M O I H A V M E R E S A G I F E D N A T E S T A L O H L I F E E R A R T Y U R I A T O M P O R E 38

O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

E N H A L O

T H E F A N

I E S R T M I S K I S A T E T H B C I G U P R L E E N T A M O R T E M A I S M E F A R B A N A S C S T O O S U M I S T A A S K N E E T R

P O S E A S S C A L D T O S S I D I

I C E R U B N O M A N I A T O O H I G H S E A N E T O G O R R Y N O T B E A K S S A B R E C O L U E H A S L S H A J S M A R O O S A D D L E P L E A S E D O A S T E R O P T T Y P H O R T O N O R M A L I A N N G F O R T R A R I D E O B U N E S T

T R U E C O L O R S

G E N B D A E S R E F R L U I I N D J O I O N T K E Y E S S C A O L B L I O U B S M I E N S

Order mounted or ready-to-frame prints of Oklahoma Gazette covers, articles and photos at okgazette.yourheadline.com

I F B A I X S R I L E

Y E A S

A N G E

G T O S

R E G L U E

S E E M S

3701 N. Shartel Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73118-7102 PHONE (405) 528-6000 FAX (405) 528-4600 www.okgazette.com Copyright © 2018 Tierra Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: What part of you is too tame? How can you inspire it to seek wilder ways of knowing? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

In her poem “Shedding Skin,” Harryette Mullen compares her own transformation to the action a snake periodically carries out to renew itself. Since you now have an excellent opportunity to undertake your own molting process, you may find her thoughts helpful. (I’ve rendered them in prose for easier reading.) “Pulling out of the old scarred skin—old rough thing I don’t need now—I strip off, slip out of, leave behind. Shedding toughness, peeling layers down to vulnerable stuff. And I’m blinking off old eyelids for a new way of seeing. By the rock I rub against, I’m going to be tender again.”

Halloween costume suggestion: snake sloughing its skin.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

“My way of learning is to heave a wild and unpredictable monkey-wrench into the machinery,” wrote Gemini author Dashiell Hammett. But I recommend that you use his approach very rarely, and only when other learning methods aren’t working. Most of the time, your best strategy for getting the lessons you need is to put lubricating oil into the machinery, not a monkey-wrench. That’ll be especially true in the coming weeks. I suggest that you turn the machinery off for a while as you add the oil and and do some maintenance. Halloween costume suggestion: repair person; computer techie; machine whisperer.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

Once upon a time you were walking along a sidewalk when a fairy floated by and whispered, “I’m willing to grant you three wishy-washy wishes for free. You don’t have to do any favors for me in return. But I will grant you three wonderfully wise wishes if you perform three tasks for me.”

You asked the fairy, “What would those three tasks be?”

She replied, “The second task is that you must hoodwink the devil into allowing you to shave his hairy legs. The third task is that you must bamboozle God into allowing you to shave his bushy beard.” You laughed and said, “What’s the first task?” The fairy touched you on the nose with her tiny wand and said, “You must believe that the best way to

CLASSIFIEDS

MUSIC

achieve the impossible is to attempt the absurd.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22) The great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was a Cancerian like you and me. One of the factors contributing to his success was that he put his demons to good use, “by harnessing them to his chariot.” He also testified that he gained control over his demons by taking long walks after breakfast. “Demons don’t like fresh air,” he said. “They prefer it if you stay in bed with cold feet.” I suspect that now would be an excellent time to adopt his advice.

Halloween costume suggestion: walk your demon on a leash, or make it into a puppet, or harness it to your chariot.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Throughout the Halloween season, I encourage you to fantasize extensively about what your dream home would look like and feel like if you had all the money necessary to create it. What colors would you paint the walls? Would you have carpets or hardwood floors? What would be your perfect lighting, furniture, and décor? As you gazed out your windows, what views would you see? Would there be nature nearby or urban hotspots? Would you have an office or music room or art studio? Have fun imagining the sanctuary that would bring out the best in you.

Halloween costume suggestion: the ultimate homebody.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

“Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look,” writes novelist Jodi Picoult. That’s crucial for you to meditate on during the coming weeks.

Why? Because your superpower is going to be the ability to find extraordinary things that are hiding in places where people have almost never thought to look. You can do both yourself and those you care for a big favor by focusing your intensity on this task. Halloween costume suggestions: sleuth, treasure hunter, private eye, Sherlock Holmes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

“There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming.” Author Shauna Niequist wrote that. In accordance with the astrological omens, I endorse her persepctive as true and useful for you. You’ve zipped

CLASSIFIEDS

JOBS

through your time of fertile chaos, conjuring up fresh possibilities. When January arrives, you’ll be ready to work on stability and security. But for now, your assignment is to blossom. Halloween costume suggestions: beautiful creature hatching from an egg; strong sprout cracking out of a seed.

should instead be working hard to drum up support for your labor of love or your favorite cause. Very Important People will be more available to you than usual, and you’ll be wise to seek their input. Halloween costume suggestion: the Ultimate Fundraiser; Networker of the Year; Chief Hobnobber.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

“He believed in magic,” writes author Michael Chabon about a character in his novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. “Not in the so-called magic of candles, pentagrams, and bat wings,” nor “dowsing rods, séances, weeping statues, werewolves, wonders, or miracles.”

Then what kind? Chabon says it’s the “impersonal magic of life,” like coincidences and portents that reveal their meanings in retrospect. I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because now is a favorable time to call on the specific kind of magic that you regard as real and helpful.

What kind of magic is that? Halloween costume suggestion: magician, witch, wizard.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” Sagittarian author Jane Austen wrote that in her novel Northanger Abbey, and now I’m passing her message on to you, slightly altered. My version is, “If adventures will not befall Sagittarian people of any age or gender in their own neighborhood, they must seek them abroad.” And where exactly is “abroad”? The dictionary says it might mean a foreign country, or it could simply mean outside or in another place. I’d like to extend the meaning further to include anywhere outside your known and familiar world.

Halloween costume suggestion: traveler on a pilgrimage or explorer on a holy quest.

“What kind of idea are you?” asks author Salmon Rushdie.

“Are you the kind that compromises, does deals, accommodates itself, aims to find a niche, to survive; or are you the cussed, bloody-minded, ramrod-backed type of damnfool notion that would rather break than sway with the breeze?” I pose this question to you, Aquarius, because I think you could be an effective version of either idea in the coming weeks. If you’re the latter—the cussed, damnfool notion—you may change your world in dramatic ways. Halloween costume suggestions: revolutionary; crusader; agitator; rabble-rouser.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

“There is no beauty without some strangeness,” wrote Edgar Allen Poe. Fashion designer Rei Kawakubo ventured further, declaring, “Strangeness is a necessary ingredient in beauty.” She also added another nuance to her definition: “For something to be beautiful, it doesn’t have to be pretty.” I’ll offer you one more seed for thought: wabi-sabi. It’s a Japanese term that refers to a kind of beauty that’s imperfect, transitory, and incomplete. I bring these clues to your attention, Pisces, because now is an excellent time to refine and clarify your own notion of beauty—and re-commit yourself to embodying it.

Halloween costume suggestion: the embodiment of your definition of beauty.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

PR executives at a beer company offered to pay me a lot of money if I would sneak a product placement ad into your horoscope. They asked me to pretend there was a viable astrological reason to recommend that you imbibe their product in abundance. But the truth is, the actual planetary omens suggest the opposite. You should not in fact be lounging around in a haze of intoxication. You

CLASSIFIEDS

HEALTH

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes /daily text message horoscopes.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

DAVE’S APPLIANCE REPAIR All makes washers, dryers, ranges, dishwashers, refrigerators, disposals.

24 years experience

ServerS & Server aSSiStantS wanted

314-3191

Apply in person 2p-4p Tues-Sat 3241 West Memorial Rd

OpiOid prOblems?

Call us! >> Outpatient medication assisted treatment >> Long term medication management for addiction

$25 service calls

134,070

GAZETTE READING

JOB SEEKERS

JUST SAW THIS AD!

Payment OPtiOns available

405.230.1180

3033 N. Walnut Ave. West Building 73105

need Gear? got gear to sell?

OKC MUSIC BOX | 405-232-2099 DOWNTOWNMUSICBOX.COM

CLASSIFIEDS

HOMES

OKG CALL 528-6000 FOR ADVERTISING INFO

FOLLOW US ON TWIT TER @OKGAZETTE WE’RE AND NEVER MISS A TWEET SOCIAL. O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | O C TO B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

39

2018 230i Coupe | $509/month*

2018 320i Sedan | $429/month*

2018 X2 xDrive 28i | $349/month*

2018 650i Gran Coupe | $1,209/month*

2018 X5 xDrive35i | $719/month*

2018 740i Sedan | $1,079/month*

IMPORTS 2018 X2 xDrive 28i, 36-month lease, $3,000 down, MSRP $41,295, Standard Terms 2018 320i Sedan, 36-month lease, $2,750 down, MSRP $38,695, Standard Terms 2018 740i, 36-month lease, $5,500 down, MSRP $85,795, Standard Terms

BMW

14145 North Broadway Extension Edmond, OK 73013 | 866.925.9885

2018 230i Coupe, 36-month lease, $2,750 down, MSRP $38,695, Standard Terms 2018 650i Gran Coupe, 36-month lease, $5,500 down, MSRP $95,695, Standard Terms 2018 X5 xDrive, 36-month lease, $3,500 down, MSRP $62,195, Standard Term

Web: www.cooperbmw.com Email: rkeitz@cooperautogroup.com

Standard terms & Tag, Tax. 1st Payment, Aquisition fee, processing fee WAC *See dealership for details — offers subject to change without prior notice. *October prices subject to change. European models shown.