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inside COVER P.29 Holidays get crazy-busy, and one of the worst feelings of the season is that sense that we forgot something. Thanks to Holiday Cheer, the important meals, events, performances and shopping opportunities get bundled up like kids on Christmas morning, taking some guesswork out of the most wonderful time of the year. By Gazette staff and contributors NEWS NEWS

4 City construction starts on

The Broadway Condominiums

Oklahoma sparks March On campaign

6 State Women’s March on

8 Education Arts Council Oklahoma

City partners with OKCPS

10 Chicken-Fried News 12 Letters 13 Forty Under 40

EAT & DRINK 29 Feature alternative

Thanksgiving recipes

33

Downtown in December

Lounge Thanksgiving dinner

37 Feature Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x 38 Review Mama E’s Soul Food 40 Gazedibles drive-thrus

ARTS & CULTURE 43 Theater A Territorial Christmas

Carol at Pollard Theatre

Center Music Hall

Reynolds Performing Arts Center

44 Theater Handel’s Messiah at Civic 45 Theater Hansel and Gretel at OU’s 46 Theater Ray Chen at Armstrong

Auditorium

48 Culture Downtown in December

50 Shopping Small Business Saturday

and shopping local

52

Buy This

Art of Tom Ryan at Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

from the Margins

56

Holiday Services

52 Art Cartoons & Comics: The Early

54 Books Neglected Oklahoma: Voices

56 Active Turf Wars opens

57 Community We Honor Veterans

program

58 Calendar

MUSIC 62 Feature Willie Nelson

64 Event The Crystal Method at

Tower Theatre

65 Live music

FUN 66 Puzzles sudoku | crossword 67 astrology

OKG Classifieds 67

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NEWS An artist’s rendering shows The Broadway Condominiums at its proposed location at

CIT Y

700 N. Broadway Ave. | Image Skyline Ink / provided

Luxury living

Development on OKC condos begins with a focus on high-end units. By Laura Eastes

Downtown Oklahoma City and its urban neighborhoods have undergone an unprecedented residential real estate boom over the past decade. The city’s construction boom has been led largely due to the demand for apartments in trendy downtown districts Deep Deuce and Midtown.

While higher-end townhomes have gone up, the city’s fanciest residential living is mostly confined to the historic neighborhoods and suburban communities.

A new era in downtown living is coming, according to developer Nick Preftakes.

The shift represents new thinking when it comes to luxury and urban living, where high-end properties are located within the city’s most popular urban districts and provide residents with walking distance to downtown, restaurants and shops.

Come early 2019, The Broadway Condominiums will rise from the corner of NW Sixth Street and N. Broadway Avenue. As a future anchor for Automobile Alley, this contemporary five-story structure with 11 luxury condominiums — many with price tags that exceed $1 million — fulfill a growing demand by people who want to live downtown and experience the freedom a condominium offers.

“It’s in response to a demand of a product that doesn’t exist,” said Preftakes, a longtime Automobile Alley property owner known for projects like the former C.R. Anthony Building, Hudson Essex Building and The Garage Loft Apartments.

“You don’t have to look far to see it.

It exists in most metros,” Preftakes said, Developer Nick Preftakes opened a showroom at 701 N. Broadway Ave., Suite 524, where visitors experience a life-size brochure. | Photo Megan Nance 4

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explaining that condominiums with a focus on high-end units are even prevalent in nearby Tulsa. “We are addressing a need for people who want to lock and leave. They raised their families.

They are done with a big house. They want to go to their place in Santa Fe or Florida and not worry about a lawn.

They want to be able to entertain and host a family guest.”

Designed by Bockus Payne Associates Architects, The Broadway Condominiums will match the unique and historic ambiance of Automobile Alley while delivering a modern look.

In February, when Preftakes first an-

nounced the project, Collin Fleck, project architect, wrote in a media statement to Oklahoma Gazette, “The majority of the structure will be characterized by the brick aesthetic for which Automobile Alley is known, while the focal feature will be the contemporary composition of architectural metal and glass carved out of the building’s corner to distinguish the modern era of its inception and to highlight the building’s unbeatable downtown views.”

We are addressing a need for people who want to lock and leave.

Nick Preftakes Construction begins on The Broadway Condominiums this month. It’s a first-ofits-kind residential development, so Preftakes opened a showroom at 701 N.

Broadway Ave., Suite 524, where visitors can view displays of floor plans, renderings of the building’s interior and exterior and a full kitchen display of appliances, cabinets and granite countertops.

There are also displays of tile, carpet and wood floor selections. The condos will be sold through realtor Wendy Chong of Re/ Max Preferred Properties.

“You really get a feel for what it is you’re buying,” Preftakes said while standing in the showroom, located across the street from the proposed development in the former C.R. Anthony Building with anchor tenant RCB Bank.

“You almost have to. Again, when you are doing something that doesn’t exist, people don’t believe you. There have been many things that were going to happen in Oklahoma City. People are skeptical on the level of quality. I really felt compelled to show people.”

From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Preftakes and Automobile Alley neighbors will toast the project inside the showroom.

The event will introduce the project with its focus on high-end units to the neighbors as well as prospective buyers.

The showroom space is intended to give visitors a real look at the future condos, including what residents and visitors will see when they look out from the windows onto the city’s skyline.

The Broadway Condominiums joins other ongoing and future development projects including Ok la homa Contemporary Arts Center, the MAPS 3 Modern Streetcar, the Broadway Park five-story retail building and the expansion of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation building. Such projects are transforming Automobile Alley while attracting new residents and benefit those who already live nearby.

“It’s very special,” Preftakes said.

“I’ve done residential before, but not at this price level and not at this location.”

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Next steps

After the Women’s March, three Oklahomans pushed the conversation on what’s next.

The answer is March On. By Laura Eastes

Thousands of women and their allies came to the Oklahoma Capitol on Jan. 21 to send a bold message to state lawmakers and a new presidential administration that they would not be ignored or have their rights stomped on. After more than 12,000 women and men marched down N. Lincoln Boulevard before overflowing the south lawn to listen to women activists and lawmakers, the organizers behind Women’s March on Oklahoma pondered how to channel the march’s energy into action that produced political change.

“What is the best way to make sure this does not die because we have a huge fight?” Sacia Fowler asked.

It was the question that ran through her mind in the months following Women’s March on Oklahoma; Women’s March on Washington, where more than a half million people marched; and the more than 600 other sister marches across the globe. The march is believed to be the largest single-day demonstration in recorded United States history.

“We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel or anything that local organizations were already doing,” said Lindsey Kanaly, the lead orchestrator of the Women’s March on Oklahoma. “We got into the mode of amplifying messages and events to get people involved. … We had the Women’s March movement, and what they were doing was focusing on social justice issues.

We were supportive of that, but we also felt like there was more we could do.”

In May, Kanaly and Fowler arrived in northern Indiana for a retreat with fellow Women’s March leaders from 30 states. Women’s March remains a movement with a platform dedicated to “providing intersectional education on a diverse range of issues and creating entry points for new grassroots activists

and organizers to engage in their local communities through trainings, outreach programs and events,” according to its website. On that particular spring weekend, a group of women decided that a complementary movement could not only sustain the Women’s March message but also result in a political sea change for women’s priorities.

Over that spring weekend, March On — or “March on to the polls in 2018,” Kanaly said, listing the organization’s slogan — was born.

Marchroots

Last month, Fowler and Kanaly, along with dozens of other women, launched March On as a women-led advocacy organization to broaden the reach and goals of the well-known march. The goal is to crowdsource a political platform between women and allies and then use it to make changes in the political system.

Through an “army of marchers,” also known as “marchroots,” they will “take concrete, coordinated action at the federal, state and local levels,” according to the organization’s website, wearemarchon.org.

“We’ve come together to focus on elections at all levels, school board up to Congress and the president,” Kanaly said. “Our mission is to inform politics, create progressive political change from the local to the national level.”

While the vision is for the “marchroots” to expand the vote in America by flooding the streets and marching voters to the voting booths in every precinct in the country, much of the work of March Alex Aguilar leads March On Oklahoma efforts in Tulsa and serves on the organization’s national board. | Photo Provided

Karen’s Flea Market Lindsey Kanaly and Sacia Fowler are organizers for March On Oklahoma and serve on the national board for March On. | Photo Laura Eastes

On leading to the primaries and election will be behind the scenes to address election issues. March On affiliates will be the hubs for local organizing with canvassing, phone banking, distributing yard signs or other campaign-related activates.

Women and men alike can “enlist” their involvement by visiting the website and completing a short questionnaire about issues important to them and their involvement desires, Kanaly said.

For the March On Oklahoma affiliate, leaders are focused on increasing voter engagement and supporting progressive candidates to run for office, explained Alex Aguilar, who joins a Kanaly as a board member of the national March On organization.

We want to see legitimate change in our country.

Alex Aguilar “There is this element of education and engagement that has to happen at the ground level before you can knock on someone’s door and tell them to vote,” said Aguilar, who works as a social worker in Tulsa and heads March On Oklahoma’s efforts in Tulsa.

As an example of how March On could engage the public, she named the recent dollar store moratorium discussion at Tulsa City Council. District One Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper proposed a six-month moratorium on dollar stores moving into Tulsa to allow for the city to pursue options to bring

a needed grocery store to the north Tulsa area. The proposal was widely supported by north Tulsa residents, and phone calls and emails to council members’ offices began. In September, after the moratorium was hotly debated, the council approved a 180-day moratorium on dollar stores.

March On Oklahoma seeks to support and back efforts of organizations delivering civic education to the public, striving to reverse the state’s low voter turnout trends and informing constituents of election dates and candidates. In Oklahoma City, organizations delivering such services include Let’s Fix This, Women Lead Oklahoma and Oklahoma Progressive Network, Kanaly said.

“It is getting people away from that fear of asking questions or appearing like they aren’t educated [on issues],” Kanaly said.

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Marching in

“Our future is our priority even though we are living in the present,” said Fowler, who also serves as a member of the national March On Leadership Council team in addition to leading March On Oklahoma.

March On Oklahoma will be molded in the coming months as more enlist and share their perspective and passions for building a government at all three levels that address the issues important to the marchrooters.

Both the national organization and local affiliates are nonpartisan; Fowler, Kanaly and Aguilar encourage people of all political affiliation to get involved. As they see it, March On Oklahoma is about issues and people, not political parties.

“We want to get the job done,” Aguilar said. “We don’t want to sit around and talk about it. We don’t want to be keyboard activists. We want to see legitimate change in our country. If it is left up to the women to do it, by God, we are going to do it.”

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Art comeback

Local arts groups, in collaboration with Arts Council Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City Public Schools, solved an arts education crisis for students. By Laura Eastes

When the dust settled after reducing $30 million from the operating budget of Oklahoma City Public Schools, there were 44 fewer fine arts teachers in the state’s largest school district. More than 45,000 students returned from the 2016 summer break to learn that 100 arts education programs would no longer be offered. More specifically, 39 of OKCPS’ 54 elementary schools lost arts programs.

It was a heartbreaking blow for the district, its students and families and the greater community. The district had taken great pride in providing visual art and music in all elementary schools and courses and opportunities in drama, band, choir, orchestra, visual arts and more at the middle and high school levels. Over the years, arts and culture groups had established strong partnerships with the schools, resulting in everything from visiting arts teachers and providing after-school activities to funding field trips and supplies.

The future of arts education for Oklahoma City students looked grim even with arts partners providing some resources to some schools. Even before the district dealt a blow to arts education, Arts Council Oklahoma City, through its All Access Arts initiative, was meeting to discuss the future of arts education in schools.

“We couldn’t do it alone,” said Jillian Coker, who serves as director of All Access Arts, an initiative of the council that “provides music, dance and visual arts education to under-served schools, libraries, OKC parts and communities agencies.”

The program responds to the current arts climate, shifting when needed to meet the needs of the greater community.

“It couldn’t just be arts in schools with All Access Arts,” Coker said. “We needed more community members, and we wanted to involve more community members.”

The community was responding to the arts cuts, explained Rhonda Taylor, OKCPS director of visual and performing arts.

“We were in crisis mode,” Taylor said. “It was very public. Partners were coming out of the woodwork, saying, ‘How can we help?’ If you don’t have a plan, you really don’t know how people can help.”

What we knew was there were a lot of great nonprofit arts groups doing great things in our schools, but we didn’t have a catalog of what was being done.

Julia Kirt

Identifying gaps

Arts Council Oklahoma City and a number of local arts organizations wanted to help the district fill gaps in arts education left by state budget cuts. Everyone agreed to serve schools left without an arts program. Identifying such schools was not easy, said Julia Kirt, a member of the All Access Arts committee.

“What we knew was there were a lot of great nonprofit arts groups doing great things in our schools, but we didn’t have a catalog of what was being done,” Kirt said. “The start was coming together.”

The arts council began meeting with not only the school district but any and all arts organizations with connections to the schools or a desire to connect with schools. Not only were arts organizations and artists forthcoming, but they offered to do more during the arts education crisis, Coker said.

Pierce Elementary School students interact with an instructor from Oklahoma City Ballet. | Photo provided

The end result was an established comprehensive list of organizations and artists serving OKCPS, but also which schools had arts educators, both full-time and part-time, and arts curriculum offered to students.

The survey found that 29 visual artists and 37 music teachers provide instruction in 54 elementary schools. Community arts organizations provide some type of arts education in 28 of the 54 elementary schools.

Four elementary schools — Green Pastures, Spencer, Pierce and Johnson — had no fulltime arts educator or arts partnership. A handful of schools only had a part-time arts educator and no arts partnership.

“What we found with this matrix were the gaps we knew existed,” Coker said.

The arts council plan was met with praise from district leaders, who viewed the plan as a temporary solution to provide highquality and equitable arts education for all OKCPS students.

“Our at-risk kids are the ones that need arts the most, and that’s what is great about this plan,” Taylor said. “It plugged art into the schools that needed it most.”

Back in school

Earlier this fall, a rambunctious group of second-graders stormed into a south Oklahoma City classroom free of desks and chairs. After an instructor from Oklahoma City Ballet addressed the students, directing their attention to a round of stretches, students responded by being attentive, engaged and focused.

“They were completely engaged in the activity,” Coker said, describing her visit to Pierce Elementary School, where Oklahoma City Ballet is offering a full-time program for the school’s more than 270 students.

“Through these art lessons, students are able to focus on the art and be in the moment of what they are doing to absorb and learn.”

This fall, Oklahoma City Ballet, Prairie Dance Theatre, Academia, Rodeo Opry, University of Central Oklahoma’s Oklahoma Center for Arts Education, Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the arts council emerged in eight schools — Green Pastures, Spencer, Pierce, Johnson, Thelma Parks, Telstar, Edgemere and Gatewood — to provide arts education through a $50,000 grant from Kirkpatrick Family Fund.

The arts council is raising funds to bring similar arts partnership to four more OKCPS elementary schools in the next academic year.

While arts council and district leaders prefer for students to be taught by certified teachers, the leaders recognize that collaboration with community partners plays a vital role for students.

Like the district, arts council leaders see the program as temporary until state funding is restored. When art teachers and programs return, arts partners plan to scale back their contributions but continue to contribute.

“What Fields & Futures did around athletics, this is our chance around the arts,” said Kirt, sharing a common theme around the community embracing and supporting the schools through either athletics or arts.

“We are pointing out the value of the arts in education. We are working with the district to maximize what they have. We are working with community groups to bring forth any resources they have available to help our schools.”

A Pierce Elementary School student stretches as part of a class taught by Oklahoma City Ballet. | Photo provided

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chicken

friedNEWS Budding bromance

AG precedent

Don’t go calling U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe “little” or “liddle.” President Donald Trump sure wouldn’t.

Unlike U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, whom Trump refers to on Twitter as “liddle,” or U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump calls “Little Marco,” the president most likely calls 82-year-old Inhofe by his name with no belittling nicknames.

How did the Oklahoma senator get so lucky?

According to NewsOK, “Inhofe has emerged as a consistent defender of the president on Capitol Hill.” The newspaper further reported that, according to FiveThirtyEight, Inhofe has voted in line with Trump 94.2 percent of the time.

“He’s getting things done,” Inhofe told a reporter from The Oklahoman in early November. “It’s kind of hard to really criticize him.”

Some, including members of Oklahoma’s Congressional Delegation, might beg to differ. As the NewsOK article points out, U.S. Sen. James Lankford has disagreed on Trump’s “bellicose speaking style,” U.S. Rep. Tom Cole has described Trump as an opinion flip-flopper, U.S. Rep. Steve Russell butted heads with Trump over refugees and U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas has criticized the president for not working with Congress.

Inhofe, unlike other Oklahoma federal leaders, has no beef with Trump. Perhaps more importantly, Trump has no beef

Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of mental illness and substance abuse in the country. As funding for the state’s department of mental health and substance abuse services continues to drop precipitously during the latest budget crunch (the sound of tax dollars being spent on another day in special session without a compromise is becoming deafening), Chicken-Fried News is left wondering if the trend will ever be reversed.

In steps new Attorney General Mike Hunter, who announced last week that he will return previous donations from prescription drug manufacturers and refuse any going forward. As Hunter chairs the state’s commission on opioid abuse, Hunter told The Oklahoman, “Given what we’re dealing with on the opioid oversupply issue, I felt that it was important to establish complete independence and separation from any drug manufacturer or distributor as part of my campaign fundraising.”

Hunter, a Republican from Edmond, is seeking election to a four-year term next year after replacing Scott Pruitt, who was named head of the EPA in the Trump administration. Hunter has filed charges against numerous pharmaceutical companies for fraudulent marketing claims and urged U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute opioid manufacturers and distributors under the RICO Act, which was created to prosecute the mob.

Given the precedent set by Pruitt, who became head of the agency he famously waged war against as Oklahoma’s AG, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Hunter becomes head of a drug company. In the immortal words of Kevin Garnet, anything is possible.

with Inhofe.

In fact, the president signed a bill into law sponsored by Inhofe. The Oval Office bill signing symbolized more than just passage of a bill for the longtime U.S. senator.

“This is in somewhat poor taste, but I made a commitment when Obama was elected that I would not go to the White House as long as he was there,” Inhofe said.

“I was assuming that would be four years, and it ended up being eight years. But then, as luck would have it, when Trump came in, the first bill he signed was my bill.”

A NewsOK factcheck revealed it was the third bill, but let’s not tell Inhofe.

Let’s also keep quiet on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) privatization stance Trump has taken; it would only hurt pro-FAA Inhofe. No one wants to see the budding Trump and Inhofe political bromance go south.

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After all, Inhofe is having so much fun visiting the White House again.

Inc’est la vie

Chicken-Fried News collectively holds a highly tolerant, inclusionary world view, a governing philosophy holding that everyone should be who they are and are entitled to the Lockean/Jeffersonian ideal of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

But the CFN hive mind also holds as a truism that there are many fish in the sea besides your mom.

According to NewsOK.com, in March 2016, Duncan resident Misty Velvet Dawn Spann, whose name sounds like a great lost Lee Hazlewood song, married her mother Patricia Ann Spann, whose name just sounds like a name. The younger Spann was charged with incest in September 2016 after Oklahoma Department of Human Services learned of the sacred union. Charges against the mother are still pending but are just as embarrassing. When the Spanns were booked, both were wearing shirts emblazoned with the Superman logo, though the Daily Planet editorial page has yet to weigh in .

The mother informed DHS that she had lost Misty Velvet Dawn [MVD] and two sons in a custody dispute several years ago, and when they were reunited in 2014, they just “hit it off,” and CFN will

never be able to type that phrase again without thinking about this story. MVD pled guilty to incest on Nov. 7 and was sentenced to 10 years probation, courtmandated counseling, a $1,000 assessment, a $991 fee and court costs, which definitely puts a dent in the dowry.

A few years ago, CFN celebrated like so many Oklahomans the legalization of same-sex marriage and have seen many friends and family find great happiness in lifelong commitments. But like so many things that Oklahomans do to make national news, this story manages to take one of the 21st century’s greatest advances in civil rights and soundtrack it with “Dueling Banjos.”

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11

letters

NEWS Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to jchancellor@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com.

Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.

How many?

After the December 14, 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, tragedy in which 20 precious children and six brave teachers were murdered by a 20-year-old carrying a high-powered rifle and two handguns, I wrote a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. I wrote that the time was right for common-sense measures such as reinstating the assault weapon ban, closing gun show loopholes and banning the sale or transfer of highcapacity magazines.

Multiple mass killings later, including the tragedy of 58 killed and 489 wounded in Las Vegas, the majority of our elected leaders still show no desire to enact any common-sense measures, even the outlawing of “bump stocks.”

Just as our freedom of speech is subject to reasonable regulations, so too is the Second Amendment, as affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008.

After Newtown, President Obama said, “If there’s even one step we can take to save one child or one parent … then surely we have an obligation to try.” How many more men, women and children must die from senseless gun violence before a majority of our elected leaders at least try?

Anthony D. DeGiusti Oklahoma City

Meaning of the flag

The great American flag to me represents freedom, representation in government for the people by the people, constitutional protections and personal security. Let me also state that I have served this great nation and its flag by spending over 30 years in the active and reserve military forces and working for the United States Army as a civilian for approximately 28 years. Hopefully, I have earned the privilege of an opinion on the subject.

First, what is freedom? Webster’s dictionary states, “The condition or state of being free; independence; possession of political rights; boldness of expression; liberty; unrestricted access or use.”

Recently, our president chose to call out citizens of our nation for exercising their freedom and rights under the American flag. He called for the nation to boycott their teams; he called for their employers to fire them. Why did he do this? He chose to do it because they were honoring the American flag by exercising their rights guaranteed by the very flag he 12

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accused them of dishonoring.

Second, these patriotic acts by the NFL members seem to be their attempts to represent very important issues before our government. They seem to be calling attention to obvious injustice being neglected by our president, Congress and law enforcement across the nation. In my honest opinion, the president must recognize this and is trying to draw attention away from his deficiencies. In so doing, his acts are very divisive and possibly go to the extreme of violating his oath of office.

I believe he pledged to, “the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

In my opinion, he has and continues to do just the opposite. Is it just possible that he is the one that should be fired?

Third, I have been taught that the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of speech and expression. I also have been taught that kneeling was an expression of respect, honor, reverence, value and admiration. I’m sorry I don’t understand how anyone could interpret this to be disrespect to our nation’s flag.

Finally, I would like to see our great nation come together in brotherhood and sisterhood, embracing what is right and good between us and working through our differences, guaranteeing to each an equal opportunity to succeed, an equal opportunity to education, an equal opportunity to health care and an equal opportunity to the protections under our nation’s flag and its constitution.

Kenneth L. Daley, MSgt USAF Res, Ret., MSM Warr Acres

Nuclear chicken

Never will I forget that October day in 1962 when I sat in my dorm room frozen by the image of President [John F.] Kennedy announcing to the nation that he had ordered our navy to stop and search every Soviet vessel heading to Cuba for the possibility of finding and removing missile launchers and/or nuclear explosives. Armageddon seemed nigh. That had been my deepest sense of impending doom — until now.

[Nikita] Khrushchev and Kennedy had both experienced the horror of war, so their steady hands averted ultimate war.

We are presently experiencing a very different and even stronger possibility of nuclear war. To our horror, the competing nations this time are led by two absolutely uninformed, bombastic, immature heads of state with no concept of war playing chicken with nuclear weapons.

North Koreans are helpless under their mad dictator. However, we have our illustrious Constitution providing ways to prevent “mad leadership” from dooming us. The 25th Amendment could eliminate our half of the madness.

Is there time? Is there the courage? “We the people” can determine our fate.

Frank Silovsky Oklahoma City

Stretchy optimism

Optimism about America’s political prospects is, in the short run, a stretch these days. The spectacle that is this current administration invites violence.

Today’s target is the press. The president pretends to be the essence of conservatism: victimized, defamed and sorely oppressed. Like a morality play of the Middle Ages’ Everyman, he demonstrates what every man should do.

Apparently, the president’s preferred role is to model behavior to dismiss pesky criticism by the press with vile insults and a bodyslam.

As revulsion to this man’s tactics and persona increases, the glee and resentment of his core base condenses. The result is largely predictable. The details, place and timing are limited only by the imaginations of the usual subset of people with profoundly unmet mental health care needs.

Again, responsible adults will be our nation’s leaders. The American community has a preponderance of sensible grown-ups in every walk of life and neighborhood across our great country.

Unsung leaders have been and will continue to be our strength and moral center. Without that foundation, optimism for the America’s long term would be ill-advised as America’s Lady Liberty enters her 241st year.

Sharon Tilbury Oklahoma City

Inheritance conundrum

It seems only two positions remain available regarding historical statues: If one cherishes Confederate memorials, one is complicit in racial animosity associated with 19th-century Southern states; if one feels disgust for these sculptures, then one must revile a whole segment of fellow Americans. Middle ground seems lost, uncertainty unimaginable.

Meditation, often evoked by the subject matter of public commemorations, is, thus, lost. Never mind that this is the genuine purpose of most art — to provoke us, even uncomfortably, towards alternative ideas, even ones anathema to our perspective. Declaring that such sculpture should be limited to museums should, one hopes, give every artist pause, wondering which of their more evocative, controversial ideas will also be deemed inappropriate for the public sphere. Decades ago, the idea of a statue of two men holding hands together, clearly depicting their romantic feelings for each other, would have been decidedly an exhibit best quartered off in a section of some art gallery, protected by curtains and maybe even age-restriction admission for visitors. Today, many of us would almost celebrate such art in a public park while others would declare it a horrible surrender of some moral ground.

Which mob should we listen to in such an instance?

History, presently, must yield to historical interpretation where mentions

of our ancestors must also include judgment on them as people. Their adherence to our present social psyche is paramount, and our acknowledgment of their shortcomings, sacrosanct for anyone wishing to avoid labels of “racist” or “sexist.” How much longer before a generation arises which sees sculptures of American soldiers from the Korean or Vietnam wars as celebrations of “illegal encroachments” against “civilians”? You may scoff now, but is this wholly unimaginable?

If this present form of strict interpretation holds up, one can only wonder how many of us will be considered barbarians by our children’s children’s children a few generations from now.

Wayne Hull Yukon

City symbol

I am so happy that we voted yes on the infrastructure development on the recent ballot. So many great things are happening in OKC, and heaven knows the streets need attention, as well as the other issues approved.

Right now, we have street work going on that is dragging out — especially EK Gaylord by the train station and Chesapeake Energy Arena. Everywhere I go in the downtown area and all over OKC, there are more projects in process, but I am not seeing any completed. For the new bond work to be successful and voters to be glad we said yes, it must be managed where only a few projects are underway at same time and they are finished quickly.

We need projects completed.

In 1979, my then sales manager moved to OKC from Dallas, and he said, “I don’t care where I am going in OKC; they are working on the street I want to use to get there.” He moved back to Dallas, but his statement still stands all these years later. At least 20 years ago, I saw comedian Carrot Top in OKC. He spoke about the city symbol of OKC. He said we must be really proud because it was everywhere! Everyone in the audience wondered, “What is he talking about?” He undraped the orange-andwhite construction cone. While funny, it was true. Those cones were everywhere then! And they are now. I don’t want Oklahoma City to be known by our terrible streets, and I don’t want to be known as the city of constant road work (like Interstate 35). To those who work in the city to award and manage these contracts, we have put our trust in you, so please manage them well!

Please finish projects so we see progress and not just torn-up streets and construction cones. Otherwise, maybe I should consider buying stock in the company that makes all the orange-andwhite construction cones and barrels.

Catherine Quinlan Oklahoma City

CL ASS OF 2017

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igh achievement among Oklahoma City’s young innovators, entrepreneurs and creatives is never a surprise, but in 2017, competition to get into Oklahoma Gazette’s Forty Under 40 is at a fever pitch because the talent pool is so deep these days. As OKC continues its trajectory as a city of boundless possibilities, the fuel for this excitement comes from young people with big ideas and the skills to take dreams to fruition.

Because of their efforts, OKC is a better place to live. Even as our population grows, we are a small-town city; one of the big takeaways from Forty Under 40 is that readers will know these people. Far from being remote and unavailable, the members of the 2017 class of Forty Under 40 make noticeable, palpable impacts on our daily lives. They lead by example and make us feel proud of the city we call home.

More than anything, these 40 people will be responsible for how OKC will look, feel, work, play, eat and thrive in the years to come.

This is the future of OKC. This is Forty Under 40.

A ARON FOX

FO R T Y U N D E R 40

presented by

Citizen Potawatomi Nation

contributing sponsor beer & wine provided by

LEAD ARCHITECT, BENHAM

Aaron Fox is the lead architect of the architectural department of Benham, a leading firm in the fields of architecture and engineering in Oklahoma City.

“My most significant business achievement occurred in 2015, when I was selected to take on a new role as the lead architect for Benham in OKC,” he said.

Fox was a member of the design team for projects at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center and many others.

The University of Oklahoma graduate is active in the American Institute of Architects, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and Church of the Servant. He serves on the Division of Architecture Professional Advisory Board of OU’s College of Architecture, the board of Oklahoma Children’s Theatre and the board of the Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity.

The firm won the 2017 People’s Choice Award in Canstruction, a nonprofit organization providing canned food to local food banks. It also was the overall winner and People’s Choice Award winner in Science Museum of Oklahoma’s Out of the Box Design and Construction Challenge in 2012.

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ALISHA ALLEN-GARDNER

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CO-OWNER, EASY TIME CLOCK

Alisha Allen-Gardner is the co-owner of Easy Time Clock, which she purchased with her husband, Chuck, in 2016.

Since then, they redesigned the website, resulting in web traffic growing from 300 visits monthly to 16,000.

Gross revenue is up 30 percent.

In expanding, the couple developed a day care management product. “My husband and I overcame our fear, and we persevered in succeeding as business owners,” she said.

She helped organize Good to Grow, a health and wellness event for underprivileged children. Seventeen organizations participated in this year’s event.

Allen-Gardner serves on the Community Engagement Committee of the Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber. She is active with Aspire, the Impact and Development Committee of the Oklahoma City Young Professionals.

She volunteers for Vizavance, an organization where she worked previously to prevent and advance children’s vision. She received Vizavance’s Above and Beyond Recognition Award.

“Through her involvement over the years in multiple fundraising events for our organization, she exemplifies a level of commitment that serves as a model for others,” Vizavance’s President and CEO Dianna L. Bonfiglio said.

Allen-Gardner also volunteers at Piedmont Public Library and Edmond Public Schools. Her company is a corporate sponsor for Family Builders.

ASHLEE ADAMS

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Ashlee Adams is the GiveSmartOKC coordinator and program officer for Oklahoma City Community Foundation.

GiveSmartOKC, a local version of GuideStar USA, is an online platform for nonprofits to tell their story. It seeks to enrich charitable giving in the community.

Adams has grown GiveSmartOKC into the foundation’s primary tool for due diligence on nonprofits in evaluating grant applications.

Her community involvement goes beyond her official duties.

“I invest in helping others find their passion and connect them to resources and causes,” she said.

These efforts include volunteering with The Spero Project, which helps people in underresourced communities, and by serving on the planning team for Marked OKC. Adams spent many years as a small group leader for high school girls and continues to support them as they near college graduation.

Adams is passionate about nurturing knowledge and leadership and motivating people into action. This passion led her to pursue a master’s degree in organizational leadership and learning from George Washington University.

“There are many good people in this work and our community. Sometimes all they need to reach their full potential is someone to help them along the way,” she said.

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BANSARI MEHTA

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A fourth-generation member of her family business, Ashley Adair-Garner serves as the company broker at Adair & Associates Real Estate in Norman.

She also is the executive director and founder of Downtown Norman Fall Festival.

Fall Festival partners with Center for Children and Families and Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland County in the Costume Closet, which offers free Halloween costumes to hundreds of children.

Fall Festival won first place for Outstanding Children’s Attraction or Event presented by the Central Oklahoma Frontier Country Marketing Association.

Adair & Associates won the Business in the Arts Award from Norman Arts Council and Norman Chamber of Commerce this year.

Adair-Garner helped restore historic buildings in downtown Norman for the past decade alongside her father and brother.

She is also the founder of Urban Alley, which is creating murals in hopes of decreasing graffiti in the downtown area.

The University of Oklahoma graduate is vice president of programs at Norman Chamber of Commerce, a board member at Norman Arts Council and Norman Downtowners Association and a member of Norman Arts and Humanities Roundtable.

AGE COORDINATOR AND PROGRAM OFFICER, GIVESMARTOKC, OKLAHOMA CITY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

ASHLEY ADAIR-GARNER

CLINIC ADMINISTRATOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASES INSTITUTE, TITLE AND ANNUAL UNIVERSITYJOB OF OKLAHOMA HEALTHSALARY SCIENCES CENTER

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ANDY MOORE

Andy Moore is the clinic administrator for Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

This year, he received the Public Citizen of the Year Award from the Oklahoma chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

“Through the hard work and determination of our team and other members of the Oklahoma City AIDS Coalition, we have achieved viral suppression in nearly 90 percent of our patients — as close to a cure as current science allows,” he said.

In April 2016, he organized a group of people to talk to legislators. When more than 100 people attended, he founded Let’s Fix This, Inc., which educates and equips Oklahomans to actively engage in their government.

He is a member of the Oklahoma HIV and Hepatitis Planning Council and a board member of Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund, Diversity Center of Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business MBA Student Advisory Board.

He is a single dad of Hudson, age 5, and Elise, 3.

“I am incredibly fortunate to have a very supportive family and friends who encourage me, ensure I get enough rest and are understanding that I still haven’t watched a single episode of Game of Thrones,” he said.

COMPANY BROKER, ADAIR & ASSOCIATES REAL ESTATE

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MEDICAL PRACTICE ADMINISTRATOR, RETINA VITREOUS CENTER Bansari Mehta is medical practice administrator for Retina Vitreous Center, which includes three physicians at five locations with a staff of 25.

“I have been at the helm of this organization for three years, and we are always working towards our goals for top-notch patient care, increased profitability and staff stability,” she said.

Her professional accomplishments include conducting a webinar for the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives. She is the organization’s West South Central Regional Lead.

She earned a master’s degree in health administration and policy from the University of Oklahoma and was chosen as the Outstanding Multicultural Student among seven colleges.

She received a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy technology from Manipal University in India and an associate’s degree in respiratory therapy from Independence University in Utah.

Mehta, who speaks seven languages, served as a youth mentor for mentees worldwide for the United Nations 2017 Summer Youth Assembly.

She is the vice president of membership for United Nations Association of Oklahoma City and the treasurer of World Experiences Foundation.

She is active with Shot@Life Champions: Childhood Immunizations of the U.N. Foundation and is a Make-AWish Foundation granter.

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FO R T Y U N D E R 40 AGE

BL AKE BULL ARD

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OWNER, OSSO SPORTS & SOCIAL

Blake Kerr founded and serves as senior CPA at the innovative accounting firm B.A. Kerr Financial PLLC in Edmond.

“I resist both how the accounting world tells me to run my firm and society’s narrow understanding of success,” he said. “I work to chart a new path, one in which CPAs are both a friend and a partner to and champion of the individuals, small businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators working to revive our home and using their passions and talents to bring vibrancy and life back into our community.”

His firm takes a laid back and playful approach aimed at encouraging creativity, thinking boldly and believing in your passion.

“We are committed to helping our clients understand that money isn’t the measure of success; it’s the agent,” he said.

Kerr is a member of Salt and Light Leadership Training (SALLT). He is board member of Urban Bridge Inc. and treasurer of Thunder Networking Group OKC. He holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, and he is an instructor in the martial art. He is a board member of Oklahoma Wrestling Association and a member of OKC Midtown Rotary, Edmond Chamber of Commerce and Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants.

He studied at the U.S. Air Force Academy before transferring to the University of Central Oklahoma, where he received his bachelor’s degree.

SENIOR CPA, B.A. KERR FINANCIAL PLLC 16

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BL AKE KERR

40 Under 40, meet 16 oz. of '57.

Blake Bullard owns OSSO Sports & Social. The company creates and manages adult social and competitive leagues in volleyball, kickball, flag football, Chicago-style softball, footgolf and nine-pin bowling.

“I created OSSO Sports & Social because I recognized that 20- to 40-somethings needed a social and active lifestyle,” he said.

Nearly 5,000 members have participated in OSSO Sports & Social since it was founded in 2016.

Bullard is chair-elect of Oklahoma City Young Professionals and a member of Edmond Chamber of Commerce and Edmond Young Professionals.

OSSO Sports & Social hosts several charity events for organizations such as Serve Moore, Warriors for Freedom, Support the Kid, Operation Smile and the equipment drive for Police Athletic League.

Bullard also is a partner in Lighthouse Beach Bar. “We’ve created an outdoor mecca for sand volleyball players and built the largest footpool table in the U.S.,” he said.

More than 600 kickball players play at Lighthouse Beach Bar. “By getting adults out of the house to play the games we loved as kids, OSSO Sports & Social and the Lighthouse Beach Bar are making Oklahoma City a better place to live,” he said.

Bullard received a bachelor’s degree in hotel/ restaurant management from Oklahoma State University.

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Brian Busey serves as president and chief operating officer of Delaware Resource Group of Oklahoma, a global defense contractor.

The graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University was a member of the 2003 Bulldog football team.

Earlier, he was a member of the Benedictine College Ravens football team that was a 2001 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics semifinalist.

Delaware Resource Group, which employs 700 people at more than 40 locations globally, specializes in training air crews and simulator maintenance for the U.S. military and for other allied nations. It also supports many Defense Department platforms.

Busey was named to the Native American 40 Under 40 by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. He serves on the Regent Bank board of directors.

He is involved with his family’s foundation, El Sistema Oklahoma, which operates an afterschool program serving 200 underserved students in the heart of Oklahoma City.

El Sistema Oklahoma trains students on ensemble-based music.

“We want them to share the joy of music making and grow as responsible citizens,” Busey said. “I have been very fortunate and blessed to work alongside so many great people who have taught me so many life lessons.”

Carrie Blumert directs the Wellness Now Coalition and Open Streets OKC for the Oklahoma City-County Health Department.

She is a candidate for Oklahoma County Commissioner District 1.

The north Open Streets OKC event in the Uptown 23rd and Paseo Arts districts has been held for the past four years. More than 25,000 attended in 2016.

Blumert worked with Leadership Oklahoma City’s LOYAL program, Historic Capitol Hill District and Southwest 29th Street District to create the south Open Streets OKC event, which 15,000 people attended in 2016.

In 2015, Blumert coordinated Wellness Now Coalition’s Mental Health Work Group to bring free mental health online screenings to five Oklahoma City metro libraries.

Online screenings went from 500 in 2014 to 2,000 in 2015. The group received the Screening for Mental Health’s national award for Top Depression Screening Event.

Blumert’s work with the coalition’s Mental Health Work Group this year earned her the Future of Population Health Award from the Public Health Foundation.

Blumert is a yoga instructor, and she serves on the ministry team of Crestwood Vineyard Church.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

DIRECTOR, WELLNESS NOW COALITION AND OPEN STREETS OKC AT OKLAHOMA CITY-COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

AGE Cody Blake founded liquidfish, builder of websites for nonprofits including YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, Friends of Multisport and Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. His clients include two top professional basketball players, and Blake has served in many capacities with the Entrepreneurs’ Organization American Advertising Awards.

Blake taught himself web development at the age of 15 in 1999 and relied on web development to pay tuition while attending the University of Oklahoma.

“I started before there was any real interest in the niche market of digital marketing and web development,” he said.

“My team and I strive to produce projects that are entirely new, fresh and unique each and every day for each and every client,” he said.

In 2016, liquidfish placed sixth in Metro 50, Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce’s recognition of the metro’s fastest growing companies. The company also won 17 American Advertising Awards in 2013, 21 in 2014, 16 in 2015 and 23 in 2016.

Under Blake’s leadership, liquidfish now employs 21 staffers. “We have become a leader in the industry with full-service capabilities, including web design, development and digital marketing,” he said.

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FOUNDER, LIQUIDFISH

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CODY BL AKE

Interior decorator Carissa Stevens owns Scout Studios.

While a student at the University of Central Oklahoma, she hosted a television show that was first runner-up in the Zenith Awards for electronic media from Public Relations Society Student Association.

While she attended Singapore American School, she performed humanitarian work, which included helping on a mobile surgery vehicle in India, cataloguing species of birds and fish in Australia and bringing first aid supplies to villages in Malaysia.

She helped create an Oklahoma Designer Showhouse this year. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City, and she is has held leadership positions with Arts Council Oklahoma City.

She co-chairs Arts Council’s Opening Night this year, which is expected to draw up to 50,000 people downtown.

“Once I decided to go out on my own, it became clear that my civic obligations and community involvement could play a bigger role in my life,” she said.

Growing up as an expatriate in Southeast Asia, her family hosted families that were evacuated from the Jakarta riots.

“This experience and my humanitarian work in high school fostered a sense of always wanting to do the right thing,” she said.

CARISSA STEVENS

OWNER AND INTERIOR DECORATOR, SCOUT STUDIOS

CARRIE BLUMERT

BRIAN BUSEY AGE

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, DELAWARE RESOURCE GROUP OF OKLAHOMA

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FO R T Y U N D E R 40

CYNDI MUNSON

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After losing a bid for Oklahoma House District 85 in 2014, Cyndi Munson went through donor information for her race and others.

“I noticed the lack of women donors for women candidates across the state,” she said.

Munson co-founded 2020 Oklahoma, a political action committee working to increase the number of women in the Legislature by 2020, and in 2015, she won the set in a special election and is now the House’s assistant Democratic whip.

This year, Munson received the YWCA Social Justice Activator Award for Civic Engagement.

While working for Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma, she got to know young women in the juvenile justice system.

“Each of the young women I had worked with experienced some type of trauma,” she said.

“These young women were not criminals. They were children who have experienced challenges that very few of us understand.”

In partnership with the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, she helped develop the Girl Scouts Art Program.

“Much of my desire to run for the House of Representatives began while working with young women in the juvenile justice system,” she said.

Munson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s in leadership education from the University of Nebraska.

Invited by the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research to speak at a congressional briefing on keratoconus, a condition in which the cornea becomes stretched and thins at its center, Dimitrios Karamichos is pursuing a patent for using the plant extract quercetin for treating eye disease.

“My long-term plan is to develop noninvasive treatments for people who lose their vision due to corneal injuries, trauma or dystrophies,” said Karamichos, an associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Department of Cell Biology at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Karamichos previously was a researcher and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. He has spoken at professional conferences in Germany and China and elsewhere.

Having received numerous professional recognitions, Karamichos has made more than 20 presentations for professional groups and is a reviewer and editor for several professional journals and publications. He is also a member of several study sections for the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and OU College of Medicine Alumni Association. The Greece native also serves on the college’s graduate council.

Karamichos received a doctorate from University College London, a master’s degree from Imperial College in London and a bachelor’s degree from Manchester Metropolitan University.

EL AINE HAMM

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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF OPTHAMALOGY AND DEPARTMENT OF CELL BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER

AGE REPRESENTATIVE, OKLAHOMA HOUSE DISTRICT 85; FOUNDER 2020 OKLAHOMA

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CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, ACCELE BIOPHARMA

As chief operating officer for Accele BioPharma, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology incubator, Elaine Hamm manages research and development operations for two infectious disease companies and a hearing loss company that are in drug trials.

Working as venture advisor with i2E, Hamm helped close $7.6 million in equity investment for Oklahoma startup companies and created two statewide technology accelerator programs, Venture Assessment Program and Oklahoma Proof of Concept Center.

She was a finalist in 2017 for the Combating Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria Award.

Hamm holds two commercialized patents.

“My passion is to get science out in a real and tangible way to the public and to bring communities and resources together in our state,” she said.

Hamm holds a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Oklahoma. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the OU Health Sciences Center.

“Watching ideas become reality and helping develop new therapeutics that could help people is an amazing and humbling experience,” she said.

DIMITRIOS KARAMICHOS

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY, MAJOR GIFT FUNDRAISING AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

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CODY PEPPER

Cody Pepper was looking to make a lasting and significant impact in the state he loves. He found that purpose as associate director of philanthropy, major gift fundraising and stakeholder engagement for the Oklahoma chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

As part of his efforts to empower those working to protect Oklahoma’s environment, Pepper founded Oklahoma Conservation Leadership Academy. The 12-month program brings together people from diverse backgrounds to increase their ecological IQ and inspire innovative solutions to urban growth challenges.

Part of his inspiration for Oklahoma Conservation Leadership Academy came from Benjamin Franklin’s secret society, Junto Club.

Franklin called upon community stakeholders and leaders to gather and discuss politics, economics, finances and more, resulting in the first public library and the idea for a volunteer firefighter system.

“I hope that the conservation leadership academy will inspire similar kind of innovations through naturebased solutions designed to help both people and nature thrive,” Pepper said.

In the training sessions, participants learn about science-based conservation principles and work together to develop innovative and sustainable naturebased solutions.

Pepper received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma.

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GRETA ANGLIN

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Greta Anglin, a group account director for VI Marketing and Branding, is dedicated to improving health indicators in Oklahoma.

The agency creates communication messages to improve the health of Oklahomans.

“My team’s award-winning work has caught national attention and set the bar for best practices in behavior change,” she said. “But the best part of my job is that we actually save lives and create systemic change in our state.”

Anglin led a team that made seven presentations this year at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Conference of Health Communication, Marketing and Media in Atlanta. She was named the Oklahoma City Ad Club’s member of the year in 2015.

Anglin chaired the American Advertising Awards (Addys) for three years. The competition brings in 1,200 entries, and 675 people attended the last gala she chaired.

In addition, Anglin helped develop the Ad Club’s People’s Choice Award, which raised almost $3,000 for student advertising scholarships in its first year.

Anglin is proud of leading her team in their professional development. “My desire is to hire smart people who want to not only help the agency better itself, but also to help the city and the state prosper,” she said.

GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, VI MARKETING AND BRANDING

DIRECTOR OF PEER PROGRAMMING AND INTEGRATION, OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES

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HEATH HAYES

The director of peer programming and integration for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Heath Hayes also administers the Employee Assistance Program for 50,000 state employees and their family members.

As part of his duties, Hayes helped create a requirement that all contracted and certified providers with Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services become tobaccofree workplaces and incorporate tobacco cessation interventions.

This year, Hayes received the Professional of the Year Award from Oklahoma Citizens Advocates for Transformation and Recovery Association.

He serves on The National Council’s Addressing Health Disparities Leadership Program as well as the board of directors of the Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives Foundation and is a member of the Oklahoma Public Health Association.

Hayes received master’s degrees in human relations and administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma and a women’s and gender studies graduate certificate. His bachelor’s degree is from the University of Central Oklahoma.

A published researcher, Hayes served as a fellow with the Center for Social Justice and is past member of the board of Oklahoma City Pride and Oklahoma City Youth United. He is also a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City.

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FO R T Y U N D E R 40

EXECUTIVE CHEF, AURORA BREAKFAST, BAR & BACKYARD

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JANINE E. COLLINGE, MD

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HENRY BOUDREAUX

Henry Boudreaux, who recently ended a long tenure at Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Museum Cafe, is now executive chef at Aurora Breakfast, Bar & Backyard, a successful new eatery in 16th Street Plaza District.

“I worked my way up at a relatively young age from prep cook to executive chef at the Museum Cafe,” he said. “My hard work, dedication and willingness to learn, combined with eight years of loyalty and stability, enabled me to rise to the top position.”

He also was co-lead cook at Ludivine, and Boudreaux served as lead cook at Agriturismo Tenuta Antica in Italy for four months in 2011.

Boudreaux received various awards, including second place in Taste of Elegance in 2016 and first place at Artini in 2015.

He has participated in many events, including Chocolate Decadence, Oklahoma Iron Chef, Pork Summit in Napa Valley, Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts, Design Appetite, Tree to Table Benefit and Chef’s Feast.

He has also volunteered for activities with Russell Westbrook’s Why Not? Foundation.

“By bringing locally sourced foods to Oklahoma City and preparing them in new and exciting ways, I help Oklahomans develop a broader palate,” Boudreaux said.

Janine Collinge’s mother inspired her with advice she gave in the family’s kitchen.

“She told me, ‘You can be anything you want to when you grow up,’” said Collinge, who has treated patients in China, Swaziland and Guatemala. “‘Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.’”

Collinge, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus at Dean McGee Eye Institute and the University of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and her medical doctorate from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

She completed her ophthalmology residency training at Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University Hospital and a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology with Indiana University School of Medicine and received the Edward and Thelma Gaylord Faculty Honor Award in 2016 and the TARFF Resident Feedback Award 2015.

“I live each day with the hope that the relationships I build with families and patients, meaningful beyond measure, and the medical knowledge I foster over my lifetime have the impact of a butterfly effect, living up to the aspirations of a little girl standing in her mother’s kitchen,” she said.

CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY AND ADULT STRABISMUS, DEAN MCGEE EYE INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA CHIDREN’S HOSPITAL

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John Ross is the director of development and operations at Urban Management Inc., which operates five restaurants in the OKC metro.

It recently added an 80-person private event space at Packard’s New American Kitchen.

It also is adding a new counter service breakfast and lunch concept, HunnyBunny Biscuit Co., in the Tower Theatre building, 429 NW 23rd St. “We create and host some wonderful experiences for people, and we love that we get to share in people’s special moments, whether it’s a birthday, anniversary or first date,” Ross said. “We even had a couple that met, got engaged and got married at Packard’s.”

Packard’s has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and on the Food Network.

Ross has hosted many charitable events through Packard’s, including Chef’s Potluck Picnic benefitting Homeless Alliance and Oklahoma Hospitality Foundation’s Thirst for a Cause, which raises money for a hospitality worker with a serious medical need.

Rorke holds a bachelor’s degree in business entrepreneurship from the Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma.

He is on the Oklahoma Restaurant Association’s board of directors and is a merchant liaison for the Midtown OKC Association board of directors.

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PROGRAM MANAGER, SUPPORTIVE SERVICES FOR VETERAN FAMILIES

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS, URBAN MANAGEMENT INC.

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John Rorke is program manager of Supportive Services for Veteran Families, which assists hundreds of veterans and their families who experience homelessness.

He received a Veteran of the Week citation from the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Outstanding Teamwork Award from Goodwill.

Rorke started in public service in the Army.

“I have always considered my most successful business achievement in the nonprofit sector to be providing necessary services to those populations, even when community resources are at their leanest,” he said.

Rorke received a master’s degree from St. Bonaventure University and a master’s in social work from Arizona State University. He also obtained a graduate certificate in social entrepreneurship and community development from ASU. His bachelor’s degree is from Oklahoma State University.

He has made presentations and written articles on topics including greening social work education, equine-facilitated psychotherapy, underage drinking diversion and building global estimates of child domestic workers.

He is a field instructor for the University of Oklahoma Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work.

Rorke is a member of the Oklahoma City Homeless Veterans Task Force, the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Oklahoma City and various other organizations.

JOSHUA A. BUSBY

JOHN RORKE

35

AGE

32

JOHN ROSS

Jennifer Lamirand is an associate attorney at Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City.

She serves as an associate justice for the highest appellate court of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

“Since the justices of the court protect and interpret our tribal law, selection for such a position represents the recognition that the nominated attorney possesses a high level of legal ability,” she said. “It’s quite an honor for the nation to choose me as one such attorney.”

Lamirand received a master’s of law conferred with merit from The London School of Economics and Political Science and a juris doctor cum laude from the The Law School at the University of Notre Dame. She received a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

She is the budget officer for the Oklahoma Bar Association Indian Law Section, and she is a member of several other professional groups.

Lamirand is also secretary on the board of directors of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park.

“Shakespeare’s lessons, language and magic transcend time,” she said. “I recognized this fact from the very first performances by Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park I attended at Hafer Park over 20 years ago, and I still believe it today.”

JENNIFER L AMIRAND

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY, CROWE & DUNLEVY

Joshua A. Busby is the dean of students at Langston University.

He previously was the university’s director of student life as well as the annual giving officer for the Office of Development and the coordinator of counseling in the Office of Financial Aid. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Langston and a master’s of public affairs from Indiana University, and he is working toward his doctorate of education from Oral Roberts University.

Busby has held many leadership roles at Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church. He is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City.

He is the past president of Oklahoma Lions Service Foundation and the current president of Langston City Lions Club. He received the International Melvin Jones humanitarian service award from Lions Clubs International.

He is the southwestern regional director of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and has been a volunteer basketball and baseball coach at the North Side YMCA. He served on the planning committee that created ONE OKC: A Northeast Renaissance in 2016. The event won Neighborhood Alliance’s Best Neighborhood Project award.

Joshua is the husband of Kamisha Busby and the father of Cobie (14), Kara (11) and Joshua II (4).

DEAN OF STUDENTS, LANGSTON UNIVERSITY O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

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AGE

33

VICE PRESIDENT ADN BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, JPMORGAN CHASE Joshua Whittington is a vice president and business relationship manager at JPMorgan Chase in Oklahoma City.

He started as a teller when he was 18 years old, and has had various roles in banking.

“In these roles, I have enjoyed developing and mentoring others into their own success,” he said.

He has a passion for the success of his clients.

“Working with businesses of all sorts in all manner of industry in my current role is the most rewarding step in my career,” he said.

Whittington is the treasurer of Norman Addiction Information & Counseling’s board and Norman Music Alliance’s board. The Alliance runs the Norman Music Festival.

He volunteers for Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) at Eisenhower Elementary School, which his son attends. Watch D.O.G.S. is a national initiative that brings fathers and father figures into public schools.

“As a single father, this opportunity has offered valuable insight into my son’s daily life that I otherwise would not have been afforded,” he said.

He is a graduate of Leadership Edmond and Leadership Norman.

Whittington is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and a graduate of Southern Nazarene University.

AGE

35

22

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Marissa Raglin is the director of museum experience for the Oklahoma Hall of Fame at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum.

She also is a visual artist creating ethereal, minimalist collage works on paper using imagery plucked from magazines and books.

Raglin helped create the interactive exhibition Picture Yourself at the museum.

The exhibition was the first investment in the museum in nearly a decade. Raglin said it increased monthly attendance by 60 percent.

America’s Road: The Journey of Route 66, which she helped create, was named the Best Temporary Exhibition in the Frontier Country Marketing Association Awards in 2015.

She has been selected as the 2017-18 Skirvin Paseo Artist Creativity Exposition Artist in Residence at The Skirvin Hilton Oklahoma City.

While at The Skirvin, she will create a new body of work and oversee Cut & Paste OK, in which Skirvin guests create their own collage postcards.

She has participated in many exhibitions, including Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s (OVAC) 12x12, Allied Arts’ ARTini and Individual Artists of Oklahoma’s (IAO) Red Dot fundraiser.

Raglin volunteers with OVAC and co-chaired Plaza District Festival.

She received a bachelor’s degree and graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma Baptist University.

DIRECTOR OF MUSEUM EXPERIENCE, OKLAHOMA HALL OF FAME AT THE GAYLORD-PICKENS MUSEUM

AGE

29

AGE

27

MARISSA RAGLIN

Lindsey Kanaly is an attorney involved with litigation and the oil and natural gas industry at Chesapeake Energy. She also is a diversity and inclusion champion with Chesapeake.

She helped organize the Women’s March on Oklahoma in January. “That day has inspired me to do what I can every day for the people of my state and elsewhere,” she said.

She serves on the board of Freedom Oklahoma as well as a new national organization, March On, which looks to transform political action nationwide.

Kanaly holds a juris doctorate from Oklahoma City University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma.

When she was 21, she became pregnant with her son, who is now 13, but she continued her studies.

“I didn’t want school to take away from those precious years,” she said. “I would wait until he was asleep to study, sometimes only getting three to four hours of sleep a night. When I graduated law school with my 6-year-old son right beside me, saying he was proud of me, it was the proudest moment of my life,” she said.

LEAD DESIGNER AND COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE, OKLHAOMA CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER

LINDSEY KANALY

ATTORNEY, CHESAPEAKE ENERGY

Luke Atkinson sees himself as an agent of change in Oklahoma City through volunteer service and his work in arts education.

As the lead designer and communications associate at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Atkinson works directly with camps, exhibitions and events.

He organizes community outreach events — Make + Take — that bring art projects to children and families. One was held at the Plaza Walls Mural Expo, and another is being planned in collaboration with Metropolitan Library System.

“Luke is one of the most talented designers I’ve had the privilege to work with,” said Oklahoma Contemporary director of communications Lori Brooks. “He’s embraced our mission of providing accessible, inclusive arts experiences to everyone, regardless of socio-economic status.”

Atkinson is vice president of Sunbeam Family Services’ young professionals board, Beacons, and he helped organize its first fundraiser, the Glow For It bowling tournament.

“My personal mission is to improve our community by elevating those less fortunate into positions of equal opportunity,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson has volunteered for TEEM (The Education and Employment Ministry), Pet Food Pantry of Oklahoma, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and Stop Hunger Now. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, and he is working on a master’s of public administration at the University of Central Oklahoma.

LUKE ATKINSON

JOSHUA WHIT TINGTON

FO R T Y U N D E R 40

MINDEE DUFFELL

Meg Wheeler is the founding school leader and principal of KIPP OKC South Community Prep, a public charter school for middle schoolers.

The school opened this August in south Oklahoma City.

Wheeler previously was assistant principal and taught writing and social studies at KIPP Reach College Preparatory in northeast Oklahoma City.

As an assistant principal, she helped to lead the school to the highest student achievement outcomes in its 15-year history. One hundred percent of KIPP students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch.

“We inspire the hearts of our students to deeply know and love themselves and to uplift and push one another,” Wheeler said.

She is the leader of a racial affinity group with Teach for America in Oklahoma City.

Earlier, she was sixth-grade chair of Summit Academy Charter School in Brooklyn through Teach for America.

She was the manager the Harlem RBI youth softball team from 2010 to 2014. She led the team to runner-up and championship accolades in their final two seasons.

She received a bachelor’s degree and graduated summa cum laude from Oklahoma State University and earned a master of arts degree in teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education.

AGE

35

INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR, CITIZEN POTAWATOMI NATION Mindee Duffell, internship coordinator at Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Shawnee, helps develop internships, career development programs and employment placement services benefitting both Native Americans and non-Native Americans.

“I have a heart and a passion for helping people realize that they can reach their educational and professional dreams,” she said.

When she started working for the Potawatomi Nation, she did not have a college degree, but she credits her employer for encouraging her to reach that goal.

When Duffell graduated from St. Gregory’s University, she received the Joseph M. Dowd Award, which honors the valedictorian of the graduating class of the College of Continuing Studies.

She was selected as a member of Noek Nmeshomesek, a tribal professional leadership program teaching culture and leadership skills.

Duffell also is active in community groups, including the Youth & Family Resource Center, March of Dimes, Little Olympics, Bikes for Kids and Faith Christian Outreach.

She is a graduate of Leadership Shawnee, and she serves on the board of United Way of Pottawatomie County.

She also serves in leadership positions with the International Association of Workforce Professionals and is on Gordon Cooper Technology Center’s business advisory board.

MEG WHEELER

FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL, KIPP OKC SOUTH COMMUNITY PREP

AGE

30

Congratulations!

Forty Under 40 Class of 2017

Janine E. Collinge, MD Clinical Assistant Professor Clinical Focus: Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus

Dimitrios Karamichos, PhD Associate Professor Research Focus: Corneal Wound Healing and Corneal Dystrophies O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

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FO R T Y U N D E R 40 AGE

MYLO MILLER

37

Mylo Miller is the superintendent of Harding Charter Preparatory High School.

The school has been ranked at or near the top nationally by The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and TheBestSchools.org.

It was designated a National Blue Ribbon School in 2013.

As principal, Miller has many roles and duties at Harding Charter Prep.

He made a web-based presentation on civic engagement of students for the University of Oklahoma and Pennsylvania State University.

He also wrote successful grant applications to the Oklahoma State Department of Education and a $60,000 grant application to the Inasmuch Foundation for renovation of the school’s science wing. The Charles and Cassandra Bowen Charitable Foundation provided a $70,000 matching grant.

Miller organizes monthly parent workdays at the school and oversees community leadership projects for students. He coordinates food and donation drives for Make-A-Wish, Hearts for Hearing, City Rescue Mission and the YWCA domestic abuse shelter.

“Harding Charter Preparatory High School represents the outstanding positive outcomes school choice can provide here in Oklahoma,” Miller said.

He received a doctorate in education from the University of Oklahoma, a master’s degree from East Central University and a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist University.

SUPERINTENDENT, HARDING CHARTER PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL

Rachael Gruntmeir is the owner of The Black Scintilla, a boutique in Midtown.

She is most proud of her boutique for carrying sizes small to 3XL and offering free alterations. She is passionate about dressing all shapes and sizes of women while maintaining affordable prices and timeless styles.

Gruntmeir founded the biannual Midtown Walkabout, which encourages residents to get out and explore their own neighborhood while also bringing in a lot of foot traffic.

She is a member of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and Keep It Local. She also is an Adventure Road Travel Partner.

She previously worked as a residential and commercial interior designer.

She organized the first A Dog Day in December fundraiser and deadCenter Film Festival Pass Perks program. She volunteers for Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation and Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

She was a Yelp Award winner for the Small Business Coast-to-Coast annual gathering in San Francisco and has been featured on Expedia’s website.

She has a marketing degree from Oklahoma State University and a bachelor of fine arts degree in interior design with a minor in art history from the University of Central Oklahoma.

RACHAEL GRUNTMEIR

OWNER, THE BLACK SCINTILLA

AGE

33

24

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SAMANTHA CRAIN

31

Samantha Crain is a singer, songwriter, musician and activist.

In 2009, Native American Music Awards honored her with the Songwriter of the Year Award.

Her music has been featured on 90210, HBO’s Hung and many independent films and documentaries, including Barking Water and Unreserved: The Work of Louie Gong.

She appeared on Conan on TBS with First Aid Kit for their filmed performance of “Stay Gold.”

Crain has toured with The Avett Brothers, Langhorne Slim, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats, Murder by Death, Brandi Carlile, William Elliott Whitmore, Josh Ritter, Adrian Edmondson and The Bad Shepherds, Ha Ha Tonka, Deer Tick and many other performers.

She has also produced many of her own recordings. In 2014, she produced the debut record of Oklahoma-based country singersongwriter Kierston White. The album Don’t Write Love Songs was recorded at Blackwatch Studios in Norman.

In 2015, Crain produced Thought of You a God by the Oklahoma-based band Annie Oakley.

She has released five full-length records and two extended-play records and various recordings on compilations.

AGE

38

CO-FOUNDER, ENDING VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE

SKYE L ATIMER

AGE

Sara Bana is a co-founder of Ending Violence Everywhere (EVE), a coalition seeking change in the culture of violence.

She also is executive director of Civic Services Community Advocacy (CSCA), which serves various people in need.

Her community involvement includes serving as vice chair of Amnesty International Oklahoma City and on the executive board of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. She is the vice chair of the Police and Community Trust Initiative (PACT).

She has been involved in the YWCA Stand Against Racism series and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast Committee. She chairs the Midwest City Police Community Advisory Board.

She received the State Sen. Connie Johnson Community Advocacy Award from the Oklahoma Black Museum and Performing Arts Center, the Community Advocacy Award from the Police and Community Trust Initiative and Summit and Outstanding Achievement in Human Rights Award from the Oklahoma Universal Human Rights Alliance.

Her family immigrated to the United States from Iran to flee political prosecution following the IranIraq War. “I believe that encouraging direct civic engagement utilizing our democratic procedures can empower all Americans to feel that their government is of the people, by the people and for the people,” she said.

AGE SINGER, SONGWRITER, MUSICIAN, ACTIVIST

27

AGE

32

SARA BANA

Rebecca Kaye has been the chief of staff at Oklahoma City Public Schools since January.

She and her family moved here from Atlanta, where she was the policy and governance advisor in the office of the superintendent.

In the spring, Kaye helped implement all-central office meetings that created two-way communications throughout the district. Based on feedback from the meetings, she sponsored a team charged with collaborating to improve morale and organizational culture.

“This work is still emerging, but the improvement on our staff’s sense of being valued is already palpable,” she said.

In Atlanta, she was featured on Tantrum!, a podcast featuring original stories and essays about the glory of parenting. She also served as a lay minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta.

She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s from the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and an education specialist degree from the University of West Georgia. She is working on a doctorate from Vanderbilt University.

She said her greatest achievement was balancing work on her doctorate with raising her sons, Elliott (8) and Oscar (4).

“I am a lucky woman to have my husband Michael, a math adjunct at OSU-OKC and daddy extraordinaire, as a partner on this journey,” she said.

REBECCA KAYE

CHIEF OF STAFF, OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

OPERATIONS COORDINATOR, THE METTISE GROUP; OWNER, SKYEROCKIT MEDIA

Skye Latimer is operations coordinator with The Mettise Group, a business consulting firm.

“The partners in the firm refer to me as the ‘Mettise Magic Maker,” Latimer said. “I am a Jane-of-all-trades office manager, executive assistant, researcher, social media consultant and project manager.”

She also owns SkyeRockit Media, which assists businesses in social media, media relations, customer service and engagement.

She has been active in many organizations, including the Exchange Rotary Oklahoma City, Women Lead Oklahoma, OKC Social, OK Women in Tech, Propel Women’s OKC chapter and the Oklahoma City-County Health Department’s Wellness Now Coalition. She was also on Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City’s mentor advisory board and the Arise Ministries governing board.

She is the assistant studio manager at Studio 7 and serves as a hip-hop and fitness instructor for adults.

She is the director of innovation and inspiration on the Confidence Con board of directors.

“After attending the debut of Con Con, I was hooked and was asked to be a panelist, emcee and marketing chair,” she said.

Through Worthy of Existing, an online community that promotes women of color and LGBTQ women, she is working on an apparel line.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

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cheers TO OKC'S TOP 40, from the station on which you'll never hear OKC's top 40.

can be heard every day on KOSU from 7:00pm-5:00am, and across the state 24/7 on iTunes Radio, Roku, TuneIn, or TheSpyFM.com @TheSpyFM

91.7 OKC | 107.5 Tulsa | 88.3 Stillwater | KOSU.org

Susan Riley is the new social media manager for Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau. She also keeps busy with other endeavors.

“If you have ever flipped on a local radio station, been to a theater show in the metro area or attended an Oklahoma City Dodgers game, you probably have seen me live and in action,” she said.

She has been the voice of the Del Rancho cowboy, the Braum’s dairy cow and Rene from the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel and has even appeared on Steve Harvey in a holiday challenge.

“I embraced a vegan lifestyle and strenuous workout regimen. I lost 30 pounds,” she said.

Riley was selected as one of 20 Hilton Socialites for creative thinking and creative use of media and has taught at Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, among others.

She has served on the board of directors of Poteet Theatre and the play selection committee for Carpenter Square Theatre.

She attended Oklahoma City University and the University of Central Oklahoma and received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Excelsior College. She continues to work in sales and marketing at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel on a part-time basis.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER, OKLAHOMA CITY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

AGE

TARA ROBERTS

33

26

N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

AGE

38

SUSAN RILEY

THE INDEPENDENT SOUND OF OKLAHOMA™

FO R T Y U N D E R 40

Tara Roberts is the founder of Eldorado Energy.

As a child, she would visit the office of her grandfather, William D. Turley, at Transok. Turley died Jan. 25.

“I was fascinated by all the moving parts within the oil and gas industry,” she said. “I often would ask my grandfather if he was the boss, and he would always reply, ‘Yes, and someday you will be too in this industry.’”

Her company acquires nonoperational financial interests in oil and gas wells.

In her office, Roberts has a drawing of Turley working on an oil rig.

“I often look at this picture for inspiration and gratitude,” she said. “He was telling me, a child in the ’80s, that someday I would be a leader in a male-driven industry.”

She has run in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and joined with other Junior League of Oklahoma City members in creating a running club at Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County. Club members and Junior League members ran in the Redbud Classic 5K. Roberts has a master’s degree in energy legal studies with high honors from Oklahoma City University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.

FOUNDER, ELDORADO ENERGY

WILLIAM STACKABLE

Vahid Farzaneh is the CEO of Freestyle Creative, a marketing and advertising agency, formerly Freestyle Marketing + Films.

The company, which was founded in 2007, reached $1.1 million in revenue in 2016.

It has received numerous awards, including Best Short Narrative at the Trail Dance Film Festival and Best Film at deadCenter Film Festival.

Its film The Posthuman Product was shown at Comic-Con International in San Diego and was released in AMC theaters.

It has produced work for the Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole and Muskogee tribes. Its marketing clients also include Price College of Business’ Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business at the University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State University Medical Center and Galleria Furniture and Home Creations.

Farzaneh was the executive producer of Kevin Durant: The Speech, which won a Heartland Emmy in 2015.

His family donated more than $1 million to establish the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Oklahoma and donated another $1 million to establish the Farzaneh Family Professorship in Iranian Studies.

Farzaneh graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in film and media studies.

AGE

30

VAHID FARZANEH

CEO, FREESTYLE CREATIVE

Accomplished Crowe & Dunlevy congratulates attorney Jennifer N. Lamirand on her okc.BIZ Forty Under 40 award.

A member of the Indian Law & Gaming, Litigation & Trial and Securities Litigation Practice Groups, she is a dedicated advocate for the Oklahoma City community and the firm. Congratulations on this merited accolade.

AGE

33

OWNER, SCISSORTAIL MEDIA

William Stackable is the owner of Scissortail Media, a video production company.

He also is the co-owner of Upward VR, a virtual reality arcade, and of SpringboardVR, a VR software platform.

“I think the stories a community tells helps shape that community, and I’m proud to be part of an amazing group of storytellers in our state,” he said. “I love creating video content that helps people get noticed.”

Scissortail Media has filmed more than 300 videos for businesses and nonprofits in Oklahoma, tech startups in California, aid organizations in the Middle East and the University of Oklahoma.

“Being interested in new media, I got into virtual reality kind of early and felt strongly that it was going to be a revolutionary technology, a new medium for stories and entertainment,” he said.

In order to run their VR arcade, Stackable and his team built custom software and ended up selling it.

“We grew so fast we barely kept up. We were hiring developers left and right,” he said. “We were talking with customers all over the world and trying to not screw something up.”

SpringboardVR now has a team of 17 and serves customers in more than 20 countries.

crowedunlevy.com

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You can’t spell great without Greta.

To VI Group Account Director Greta Anglin, greatness comes with the name.

She’s an industry authority on public health communications.

And she’s the greatest multi-tasker you’ll ever meet.

When she’s not scouring research, crafting masterful marketing plans, presenting at national conferences and leading her clients to success, she’s raising a family — inspiring her kids to be great too.

It takes great skill to push the marketing world forward.

Oklahoma should be grateful they’ve got Greta.

Congratulations on being named to OKC’s Forty Under 40 list.

Keep up the great work.

125 park avenue . suite 200 . oklahoma city , ok . 73102 . vimarketingandbranding.com . 405.525.0055 28

N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

EAT & DRINK

Photos bigstock.com

F E AT U R E

Photo bigstock.com

Beyond turkey

Local chefs share some of their favorite nontraditional recipes for the holiday season.

By Jacob Threadgill

The perfect post-Thanksgiving dish is equal parts family activity and delicious. Amie Gehlert, chef de cuisine at Barrios Fine Mexican Dishes, 1000 N. Hudson Ave., envisions the perfect use for leftover turkey: tamales.

“In the Mexican culture, [tamales are] a big holiday custom, but it’s moved in the last 20 to 30 years up through Texas and is now a tradition in a lot of American families,” Gehlert said.

“Tamales are so delicious, but they take so much work, so a lot of times, people shy away from it. When you’ve got everyone sitting around or you have leftover turkey, it can be something everyone does together.”

Gehlert devised a tamale that combines roasted turkey and sweet potatoes as a filling that is topped with cranberry sauce, fried sage, toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and cotija cheese.

Gehlert wants to leave the filling to personal taste, but she did provide a few tips for making tamales.

“Make sure you soak the cornhusk in water so that they’re pliable,” Gehlert said. “The dough is made with lard, and you have to whip the lard first; it is a crucial step. It’s an easy recipe, and the ingredients are available at any supermercado in the area. The sauce is up to you; you can top it with gravy if you want to.”

and tie it off with a thin strip of the husk.

Using a steamer or Dutch oven (you can add water or broth to steam), place the tamales in with the open side up, stacking them on top of each other.

Cover and steam for 40 minutes. To check for doneness, pull one tamale out and let it rest for several minutes. If they do not stick to the husk, they are ready.

Tamale dough

2 cups lard (about 16 ounces) 1 tablespoon baking powder 5 1/4 cups corn flour (19.5 ounces) 3 cups hot water 2 cups chicken broth 1 tablespoon salt

Mix the corn flour and the water and set it aside.

In a mixer, whip the lard with the paddle until it’s light and fluffy. Continue to mix while adding the corn flour a little at a time. Then add the broth a little at a time also. Add the salt and check the seasoning.

Soak the cornhusks in water so they are pliable. Use 2 ounces of the tamale dough and spread it on the lower half of the husk, leaving about a 1/41/2-inch edge. Add 1 tablespoon of leftover turkey (light or dark) and 1 tablespoon of roasted sweet potatoes (can use lef tover ca ndied yams). Then roll the tamale with the husk, fold up the end that has no dough on it

Cranberry chile sauce

1 package of fresh cranberries 1 ounce of fresh sage 4 cups of water 3/4 cup of sugar 1 roasted Anaheim chile,

peeled/seeded/diced (can use green chiles) 1 cup Barrios salsa verde 1 tablespoon salt

Combine the first four ingredients in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Cook until the cranberries are soft. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for another 15 minutes on low-medium heat. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt, sugar, spice) as necessary.

Duck Confit and Gnocchi Casserole

Are you looking for a poultry alternative to Turkey this Thanksgiving?

Consider this duck dish from Jonathon Stranger, executive chef at En Croûte and St. Mark’s Chop Room & Bar, that has recently been added to the seasonal menu at En Croûte, 6460 Avondale Drive.

“It’s a great dish for main entree and can also work as a decadent side dish,” Stranger said. “If someone did not have time to make the duck confit, it can easily be purchased, and same with the gnocchi.”

For the duck confit

6 duck legs 1 orange, sliced 1 bunch fresh thyme 1 bunch fresh rosemary 3 tablespoons kosher salt 1 tablespoons fresh black peppercorn 1 quart duck fat (pork fat or extra virgin olive oil can be substituted) Photo bigstock.com

continued on page 30

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F E AT U R E

continued from page 29

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N ov e m b e r 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Heat your oven to 280 F. While the oven is warming, place 1 tablespoon of the duck fat into a sauté pan. Season the duck legs with salt and brown them on all sides over medium heat. When they are done, place them in a shallow baking dish. Warm the rest of the fat so it turns to a liquid. Cover the duck with the orange slices, fresh thyme, rosemary and the black peppercorns.

Cover with the duck fat and seal the dish tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.

Cook it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until the duck is very tender. Let it cool and remove the duck legs from the pan.

By hand, pull all the meat from the legs Photo bigstock.com

and set it aside. This can be done up to three days in advance.

Ricotta gnocchi

1 cup ricotta cheese 1 egg 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 lemon, zest 1 teaspoon kosher salt

In a bowl, whip together the ricotta cheese, egg, lemon zest and salt. When everything is well mixed together, add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing by hand. When all the flour has been incorporated, you should have a nice, sticky dough. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. If the dough is too sticky, knead in a bit more flour and make sure the dough is still nice and soft. Divide the dough into five pieces and roll it into long ropes until the rope is about 3/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into 1-inch-long pieces. When you have all of your gnocchi formed, cook it in batches in the boiling water. When the gnocchi float, remove them from the water and set them aside.

For the sauce

1 cup fresh goat cheese 1 cup Brie, cut into small pieces 1/2 cup blue cheese 2 shallots, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 lemons, zest and juice 1 cup dry white wine 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup heavy cream

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At The Grand Buffet

Traditional Thanksgiving Meal

Roasted Turkey Breast | Fresh Baked Ham Pot Roast | Fried Catfish

Side Items

Stuffing • Mashed Potatoes • Sweet Potatoes • Corn Red Potatoes • Green Bean Casserole • Cranberry Sauce

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In a saucepan, add the butter over medium heat. When bubbles begin to form, add the shallots and garlic and gently simmer until translucent. Add the wine and reduce by half. Add the herbs, lemon zest, lemon juice, goat cheese, Brie and blue cheese. When the cheese begins to melt, add the cream and reduce the heat to low. When you can see that the rind of the Brie has begun to melt, add the duck confit and gnocchi to the pot and stir everything together. Turn off the heat. Place the mixture into a 9-inch glass baking dish and let it cool. Once it has cooled, you can begin to finish the dish.

To build the casserole

1 cup breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 teaspoon lemon zest 2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup melted butter

Turn oven to 350 F. Mix all the ingredients together until everything is incorporated and all the breadcrumbs have been touched by the butter. Take the casserole mix from the refrigerator.

Cover the casserole with breadcrumbs evenly and bake it for 35 minutes.

Remove and serve.

Spicy cranberry relish

Under the guidance of Boo Hee Thomas, Cheever’s Cafe, 2409 N. Hudson Ave., has turned into a city favorite. The restaurant took first place in five categories during this year’s Best of OKC voters’ poll, including best restaurant overall. Thomas has recommended a pair of nontraditional holiday recipes that are personal favorites.

“Within the last few years, I’ve started making this spicy cranberry relish,” Thomas said. “It’s a condiment to go with your turkey dinner and a twist on the canned stuff your parents used

to have. I like to use fresh cranberry and I like spicy food, so I added jalapeños.”

4 pounds fresh cranberries 10 green onions 4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger or 1 tablespoon ground ginger 5 fresh jalapeños, seeds and all 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3 limes, juiced Salt and pepper to taste

19

$

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Includes Soup & Salad Bar and Dessert Bar

Due to the high volume of business, we will be unable to accept reservations. Grand Casino Hotel & Resort coupons and Player’s Club redemptions accepted.

GRANDRESORTOK.COM

I-40 EXIT 178 | SHAWNEE, OK | 405-964-7263

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until evenly blended. Chill and enjoy with a leftover turkey sandwich.

Apricot cookies

The cookies have become such a favorite for Thomas, they were even served at her wedding this year, where she said they were a hit with guests.

“It’s a general shortbread, but when you add the apricot preserves in there, it takes it to a whole new level,” she said.

“They’re bite-sized and not overly sweet because the shortbread is kind of savory, but then you add the apricot and it is sticky and sweet.”

8 ounces original cream cheese (room temperature) 2 sticks butter (room temperature) 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 24 ounces apricot preserves

Mix all ingredients except the preserves with your hands and form the dough into a ball. Divide the ball in half and roll it out until it’s 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut into 2-by-2-inch squares.

Dollop one ounce of apricot preserves in the center of each square. Bake at 375 F for about 12 minutes or until the corners turn golden brown.

continued on page 32

Making all celebrations merry Since 1959

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EAT & DRINK

Photo bigstock.com

corn grits, oat flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly whisk the dry mixture into the larger bowl until fully combined.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and pour in the batter. Place the skillet in the oven, reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes. When finished, set aside to cool.

F E AT U R E

continued from page 31

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Gluten-free skillet cornbread dressing

Thanksgiving shouldn’t be a time to forget about those of us embracing a meat-free lifestyle. Tevin Grupe, co-owner of vegan comfort food restaurant and food truck The Loaded Bowl, 1211 SW Second St., offered up her take on a Thanksgiving classic.

Cornbread

2 cups unsweetened soy milk (or almond milk) 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 1 1/2 cups cornmeal 1/4 cup corn grits 1 cup oat flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt oil to coat skillet

Stuffing

Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat cast-iron skillet with oil of your choosing. Place oiled skillet in oven and begin making batter.

In a large bowl, combine soy milk, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup.

In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal,

1 1/2 cups celery, chopped 2 cups onion, diced 1 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced 3 tablespoons ground sage 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups vegetable stock

Remove the cooled cornbread from the skillet. Place it in a large bowl, breaking it apart in large pieces with your hands.

Fold in chopped vegetables, spices and vegetable stock. Once all ingredients are evenly combined, put the mixture into the re-oiled skilled and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to one hour or until the top is crispy and the center is above 160 F internal temperature.

The Pecan Pie Flip The mixologists at The R&J Lounge and

Free Delivery 1-2 miles: Minimum purchase of $50 1-5 miles: Minimum purchase of $100 1-15 miles: Minimum purchase of $250 Prices subject to change without notice.

8am-10pm everyday 1620 SW 89th St. OKC (Next to Saigon Taipel Asian Market) BistroBOKC.com | 405-735-6358

Supper Club, 320 NW 10th St., concoct a seasonal drink menu every few months. The restaurant’s winter specials will not go into effect until Dec. 15, but the selections will be buoyed by the Pecan Pie Flip, which bar manager Megan Harris said is similar to eggnog.

The bar is creating its own butterwashed bourbon, which requires one stick of unsalted butter sautéed until brown for 16 ounces of bourbon.

2 ounces butter-washed bourbon 1/2 ounce toasted pecan syrup 1 egg yolk Combine whipped egg yolk, bourbon and syrup and shake. Serve topped with freshly grated cinnamon.

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SPONSORED PROGR AM

MA P O F

EVENTS Brought to you by

D O W N T O W N O K L A H O M A C I T Y PA R T N E R S H I P

and presented by

NW 6th St.

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Free Holiday Water Taxi Rides A Dog Day in December at Midtown Mutts Dog Park Automobile Alley Light Display Bricktown Canal Lights LifeShare WinterFest & Snow Tubing Little Willie's Triple Dog Dare Myriad Gardens Holiday Events Film Row Light Display Lights on Broadway Annual Event OKCMOA Holiday Events Deluxe Winter Market Holiday Pop-Up Shops at Midtown OKC Arts Council’s Opening Night Lyric's A Christmas Carol Sheraton Hotel Holiday Events OKC Philharmonic's The Christmas Show OKC Ballet's The Nutcracker Canterbury Christmas Bricktown Holiday Parklet Historic Church Tour & Scavenger Hunt Santa Fe Station Open House Red Earth TreeFest Skirvin Holiday Events Candy Cane Christmas The City Cabaret’s Retro Wonderland Mannheim Steamroller Christmas

NW 13th St.

N Shartel Ave.

5.

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N Classen Blvd.

Devon Ice Rink Devon’s Saturdays with Santa SandRidge Santa Run Bricktown Tree Lighting Festival presented by Sonic

N Western Ave.

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D E VO N E N E R GY

Sheridan Ave.

W Reno Ave.

Oklahoma City Boulevard

I-40 OO kg KG aA ze Zt Et Te T .Ec. o CO mM| N | O ov Ce TO mB bE eR r 2 1 56,, 220 01176

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SPONSORED PROGR AM

An annual collection of

H O L I DAY

EVENTS

Downtown in December, presented by Devon, is a collection of more than 30 holiday events that take place in and around downtown Oklahoma City each year.

All information about the following events, including schedules, pricing, and other details can be found online at DOWNTOWNINDECEMBER.COM

@DOWNTOWNOKC @DOWNTOWNOKC @DOWNTOWNOKC @DEVONICERINK @DEVONICERINKOKC @DEVONICERINK @SATURDAYSWITHSANTA @SATURDAYSWITHSANTA #DOWNTOWNINDECEMBER

DEVON ICE RINK AT MYRIAD GARDENS

The Devon Ice Rink returns for its 8th season in the Myriad Botanical Gardens November 10 through January 28. Join us for another great winter of outdoor ice skating at Downtown in December’s premier attraction.

Open seven days a week, the Devon Ice Rink hosts daily public skating, private parties, and special events all winter long.

The Devon Ice Rink is located in the Myriad Botanical Gardens at 100 S. Robinson Ave. (at the corner of Robinson and Sheridan.) Please call 405-708-6499 to book a private party or for general questions.

Visit DowntownInDecember.com to see the full schedule and daily hours of operation.

DECEMBER 2 - 10AM TO 4PM DECEMBER 9 - 10AM TO 4PM DECEMBER 16 - 10AM TO 4PM

Devon Energy Center is located at 333 W. Sheridan Ave. in downtown Oklahoma City.

For more information, visit DowntownInDecember.com.

SANDRIDGE SANTA RUN On Saturday, December 9, guests will be prancing in the streets of downtown Oklahoma City in the 2017 SandRidge Santa Run. As part of Downtown in December, the SandRidge Santa Run includes a 5K race, a one-mile Fun Run, and a free Kids’ Dash, plus a warm-up with Rumble the Bison.

All runs begin and end at SandRidge Energy (123 Robert S. Kerr Ave.) where there will be free snacks and coffee, a photo booth, kids activities, and a mad scientist show!

Medals will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers in each 5K age group, and all runners are invited to dress up in their most festive holiday attire for cash prizes in a costume contest afterward! Register now at DowntownInDecember.com.

BRICKTOWN TREE LIGHTING FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY SONIC

Reservations are encouraged for groups

On Friday, November 24 from 5pm to 7pm, the annual Bricktown Tree Lighting Festival presented by SONIC, America’s Drive-In will take place on the 3rd Base Plaza at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

Guests will enjoy a live band, hot cocoa and coffee from Junction Coffee, food and fun as Mayor Cornett lights the Christmas Tree and kicks off the holiday season. Santa will make an appearance at the festival to take free photos with the kids, which are printed on-site. The event also features food trucks, face painters, and musical performances.

The Bricktown Tree Lighting Festival presented by SONIC is free and open to the public. For more information, visit DowntownInDecember.com.

DEVON’S SATURDAYS WITH SANTA

FREE HOLIDAY WATER TAXI RIDES

RATES:

› $13 per person for all ages, includes skates › $8 for guests who bring their own skates › $9 for 10 or more guests, includes skates

Bring the kiddos downtown to the Devon Energy Center December 2, 9, and 16 to visit Santa, make crafts, and participate in holidaythemed activities.

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All aboard for an adventure cruise on a Bricktown Water Taxi! Come enjoy a funfilled float down the beautifully-adorned Bricktown Canal free of charge, courtesy of the

Downtown Business Improvement District.

The narrated and holiday-themed Free Holiday Water Taxi Rides will begin at the main dock on canal level, below the entrance to Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse.

The tours will run on a continuous loop through Bricktown, Thursdays through Sundays, November 24 through December 31 from 6pm to 9pm (closed Christmas Day.) Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call 405-234-TAXI or visit DowntownInDecember.com.

AUTOMOBILE ALLEY LIGHT DISPLAY

See the historic buildings of Automobile Alley in a whole new light at Automobile Alley’s Lights Display on Broadway Ave. beginning November 18 through January 1.

More than 180,000 colorful LED lights will drape the buildings along eight blocks of North Broadway making for a magical holiday wonderland. (NW 4th to 10th St. on Broadway Ave. in downtown Oklahoma City.)

BRICKTOWN CANAL LIGHTS

The Bricktown Canal light display will brighten your Bricktown experience from November 24 through January 1. As you stroll the canal, enjoy the dining and shopping along downtown OKC’s premier entertainment district under the gorgeous holiday lights. The light display is free to the public. Also, check out the Free Holiday Water Taxi Rides on certain nights of the week throughout the season.

LIFESHARE WINTERFEST & SNOW TUBING

The LifeShare WinterFest at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark opens on Friday, November 24! Riding down the gigantic snow tubing slope is a thrill you won’t want to miss.

From snow tubing to visiting Santa’s Workshop, plus sparkling holiday lighting and decor, this will be a holiday highlight that your family will remember for years to come! There’s something for the whole family, so bring everyone along for a ride in the snow, hot chocolate and a snack, and a festive holiday atmosphere.

Non-riders can purchase LifeShare WinterFest tickets for just $3 per person.

Guests that will be snow tubing can buy single-session tickets for $13 per rider.

Please call 405-218-1000 for group rates and private event information or visit DowntownInDecember.com.

LITTLE WILLIE’S TRIPLE DOG DARE

The 6th annual Little Willie’s Triple Dog Dare will be held Saturday, December 2 at Leadership Square (211 N. Robinson Ave.) This stair climbing athletic event is open to people of all ages, and keeping in line with the “Little Willie’s” spirit, there’s even a Firefighters Division – racing in full gear of course! All proceeds go to charity. Awards will be given to Top 3 overall male and female, as well as age group divisions. For more information, visit LittleWillieStripleDogDare.com.

A DOG DAY IN DECEMBER AT MIDTOWN MUTTS DOG PARK

Bring the pups and enjoy a pet-friendly holiday party fundraiser on Friday, December 1 from 6pm to 8pm at Midtown Mutts Dog Park (407 W. Park Pl.), benefitting the Midtown Association. Dogs can take photos with Santa (printed on site), enter into a drawing for a chance to win a gift card to a Midtown business, and enjoy “puppuccinos” from The Children’s Hospital Volunteers’ new Paws for Purpose program. This event is sponsored by the Midtown Association, COOP Ale Works, Prairie Wolf Spirits, Oklahoma Gazette, and The Children’s Hospital Volunteers’. For more information, visit DowntownInDecember.com.

BRICKTOWN TREE LIGHTING FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY SONIC

SPONSORED PROGR AM

LIFESHARE WINTERFEST

DEVON ICE RINK

AUTOMOBILE ALLEY LIGHT DISPLAY

SANDRIDGE SANTA RUN

featuring all local and handmade goods.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit DeluxeOK.net.

HOLIDAY POP-UP SHOPS AT MIDTOWN LIGHTS ON BROADWAY ANNUAL EVENT

Cruise down historic Automobile Alley for the district’s holiday open house and the first day of this year’s stunning light display with the second annual Lights On Broadway event on Saturday, November 18 from 4pm to 8pm on Broadway Ave. between NW 4th & 10th Streets.

Retail shops and restaurants will be featuring buzz-worthy holiday window displays in addition to children’s activities, special promotions, and giveaways. There will be complimentary carriage rides, visits with Santa, live artists and musicians, a free photo booth, an outdoor screening of classic holiday cartoons, hot cocoa, and more!

Join us in discovering the Alley “in the new old-fashioned way”! For more details, visit DowntownInDecember.com.

FILM ROW LIGHT DISPLAY

Beginning Friday, November 24, enjoy Film Row’s holiday light display. Film Row once housed the offices of major Hollywood film studios like Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, MGM, and more. The streets are lit up during the holiday season to showcase rich history and vibrance. The lights will be on display until January 1.

DELUXE WINTER MARKET

On Saturday, November 25, 11am to 5pm, the Deluxe Winter Market will take place in Leadership Square (211 N. Robinson Ave.) Back for its 10th year in 2017, the market will offer an opportunity for guests to do their holiday shopping at more than 60 vendor booths

The Holiday Pop-Up Shops are returning to Midtown in 2017!

Visit 35 Oklahoma-owned shops and an urban Christmas tree lot for five weeks this holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Shops rotate weekly through a set of geodesic domes at NW 10th and Hudson, next to Bleu Garten. The holiday shopping village is open each weekend, starting Black Friday, Thursday through Sunday. Entry is free, shopping is encouraged. For more information, including the list of shops, visit OKCPopUps.com.

NOVEMBER 24-26 NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 3 DECEMBER 7-10 DECEMBER 14-17 DECEMBER 20-23 THURSDAYS-SATURDAYS 10AM TO 9PM SUNDAYS - 10AM TO 6PM

LYRIC’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL

In its 7th year running, the spectacular Oklahoma holiday tradition returns with Lyric’s production of Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, sponsored by Devon Energy.

Go on a magical journey with Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future!

Tickets start at $25, and the show takes place at Lyric’s Plaza Theater (1725 NW 16th St.) To purchase tickets or for more information visit, www.LyricTheatreOKC.com or call 405-524-9312.

OKC PHILHARMONIC’S THE CHRISTMAS SHOW

The OKC Phil’s annual holiday extravaganza returns starring Broadway’s Elizabeth Stanley,

the Philharmonic Pops Chorale, the Mistletoes, and of course, Santa – all singing and dancing to your favorite holiday songs. This show delivers laughter, joy, and maybe even a few sentimental tears, all packaged in delightful costumes and fantastic sets and lights. Kick-off your holiday season with this festive musical experience for the whole family, as only The Christmas Show can provide. For more information, visit OKCPhilharmonic.org or call 405-842-5387.

SHOW DATES & TIMES: NOVEMBER 30 - 7:30PM DECEMBER 1 - 8PM DECEMBER 2 - 2PM & 8PM

OKLAHOMA CITY BALLET’S THE NUTCRACKER PRESENTED BY DEVON

A family trip to the Civic Center Music Hall to see The Nutcracker creates special holiday memories that will last a lifetime. Oklahoma City Ballet’s stunning professional dancers are joined by over 100 children from The Dance Center of Oklahoma City Ballet, plus the OKC Philharmonic, to complete the production.

The story of Clara, her Nutcracker prince, and the Sugar Plum Fairy will enchant with performances this holiday season. Enjoy special activities before and after performances for families to participate in together!

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit OKCBallet.com or call OKC Ballet at 405-848-8637.

SHOW DATES & TIMES: DECEMBER 9 - 2PM DECEMBER 10 - 2PM DECEMBER 15 - 7PM DECEMBER 16 - 2PM & 7PM DECEMBER 17 - 2PM DECEMBER 18 - 7PM DECEMBER 29 - 7PM

CANTERBURY CHRISTMAS AT THE CIVIC CENTER

Canterbury Voices will hold their 80-member adult chorus holiday performance on Sunday, December 3 for Canterbury Christmas at the Civic Center Music Hall at 7pm. Also featured will be the traditional holiday carol sing-a-long with the children of the Canterbury Youth Voices. To purchase tickets, call 405-232-7464 or visit CanterburyOKC.com.

SHERATON HOTEL HOLIDAY EVENTS

The Sheraton Hotel will be offering several holiday events this season. Enjoy dinners and events located in the heart of downtown. For more information, visit SheratonOKC.com.

SANTA FE STATION OPEN HOUSE

Step back in time as you tour the newly renovated Santa Fe Station, (100 South E.K. Gaylord) for an open house on Saturday, December 9, 10am to 4pm. The 80-year old train station was recently restored to its former opulence. Kids will enjoy free hot chocolate and train safety coloring books, station tours, and interacting with characters from the 1930s. The historic station is home to Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer. For more information, visit DowntownInDecember.com.

BRICKTOWN HOLIDAY PARKLET

Enjoy the Bricktown Holiday Parklet this winter season. The parklet will be decorated with lights and holiday garland for pedestrians to enjoy during holiday shopping and strolling throughout Bricktown.

A parklet is a temporary, pop-up park. The Bricktown Holiday Parklet was purchased by The Bricktown Association and Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership in 2016 as a placemaking project to create additional seating in downtown Oklahoma City’s entertainment district.

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SPONSORED PROGR AM

MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis has been America’s favorite holiday tradition for over 30 years! Grammy Award winner Chip Davis has created a show that features Mannheim Steamroller Christmas classics along with a selection of compositions from Chip’s groundbreaking Fresh Aire series which introduced the distinctive Mannheim sound to all of America.

Experience the magic as the spirit of the season comes alive with the signature sound of Mannheim Steamroller at the Civic Center Music Hall on Tuesday, December 26 at 7:30pm. For more information, visit OKCBroadway.com.

HISTORIC CHURCH TOUR & SCAVENGER HUNT

The third annual Historic Church Tour will take place Sunday, November 19 from 2pm to 5:30pm. This event features self-guided tours of historic churches in downtown Oklahoma City. All proceeds benefit Good Shepherd Ministries. Wristbands are $20 each. For more information or to purchase wristbands, visit GoodShepherdOKC.org.

MYRIAD GARDENS HOLIDAY EVENTS

LEARN TO CURL AT THE DEVON ICE RINK Join the Oklahoma Curling Club as they teach the basic rules and etiquette of curling. Dress warm, wear rubber-soled shoes, and prepare for the most fun you can have with a broom

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this side of Quidditch! All other equipment will be provided by the Oklahoma Curling Club.

November 18 - 9AM-10:30AM December 2 - 9AM-10:30AM December 16 - 9AM-10:30AM January 6 - 9AM-10:30AM January 20 - 9AM-10:30AM *Members $20, Nonmembers $25 WINTER BREAK DROP-INS DECEMBER 18-DECEMBER 22, 10AM-2PM Kids will discover the beauty and fun nature has to offer even during the winter. Join us each day with story time every 30 minutes, holiday ornament or gift making and interactive education. Every day has a different theme.

FESTIVE FRIDAYS DECEMBER 1, 6PM-8PM: POLAR EXPRESS PJ PARTY Do you BELIEVE? Join the Myriad Gardens for an evening of holiday festivities in the Park House Event Center. Guests will be able to ice skate at the Devon Ice Rink, drink hot cocoa, and create Polar Express crafts! Our special guest, Santa, will also make an appearance.

DECEMBER 15, 6PM-8PM: SENSORY SANTA EVENING An event for families with children with special needs, join us inside the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory for an evening with Santa. This event provides a more controlled and welcoming environment for a Santa Photo Experience.

The Myriad Gardens will be offering additional paid classes to enjoy this holiday season, such as: PAINTING IN THE GARDENS GINGERBREAD HOUSE WORKSHOP HERBAL HOLIDAY GIFTS LIVING WREATH CLASSES

For more information and to sign up for classes, visit MyriadGardens.org or call 405-445-7080.

RED EARTH TREEFEST

Red Earth Art Center will host a Holiday Open House event in December at the Red Earth Art Center (6 Santa Fe Plaza, next to The Skirvin.)

The third annual Red Earth TreeFest runs from November 13 through January 5, featuring twenty Christmas trees adorned with ornaments created to showcase the Native cultures that make Oklahoma unique.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit RedEarth.org or call 405-427-5228.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: DECEMBER 9 - 10AM-3PM

FREE HOLIDAY WATER TAXI RIDES

DEVON’S SATURDAYS WITH SANTA

SKIRVIN HOLIDAY EVENTS

As Downtown Oklahoma City comes to life this holiday season, the Skirvin Hilton once again will host several festive events, including Holiday High Tea and Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Plus, enjoy fabulous Skirvin holiday breakfasts, brunches, and dinners on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. For reservations or more information, contact the Holiday Desk at The Skirvin at 405-702-8444.

OKC MUSEUM OF ART HOLIDAY EVENTS

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will feature several holiday events this winter. Art installations, drop-in art making, SONIC Free Family Day on December 3, a New Year’s Eve event, and more. The new exhibition ‘Master Strockes’ opens at the Museum this fall and features works by Peter Paul Rubens, Sir Anthony van Dyck, and Rembrandt van Rijn, among others. For more information, visit OKCMOA.com.

OKC ARTS COUNCIL’S OPENING NIGHT

Ring in the New Year in style! Since 1987, Opening Night has been the place for families and friends to enjoy the performing arts and “open” the New Year in the spirit of community. Downtown Oklahoma City is the setting for a variety of bands, fireworks, and an unforgettable children’s craft and performance area. The day begins with a festive 5k and all the excitement concludes with a fireworks extravaganza at midnight. Wristbands are $8 in advance and $10 the night of the event. For more information, visit ArtsCouncilOKC.com.

CANDY CANE CHRISTMAS AT THE AMERICAN BANJO MUSEUM

The American Banjo Museum welcomes our friend from the North Pole, Santa Claus. Santa will be stopping by and bringing his banjo!

Executive Director Johnny Baier will take the stage to perform holiday favorites and invite everyone to sing along! There will be wonderful music, candy canes, and lots of fun.

Admission is FREE when you bring a new unwrapped toy to support the Red Andrews Christmas Dinner. Join the American Banjo Museum for Candy Cane Christmas on Sunday, December 9 from 2pm to 4pm. For more information, visit AmericanBanjoMuseum.com.

THE CITY CABARET’S RETRO WONDERLAND

The City Cabaret OKC is celebrating the holiday season by transforming into an intimate 1940’s jazz club offering a mix of Christmas and classic jazz standards in Retro Wonderland at the Paramount Theatre (11 N. Lee Ave.). A new force in the local theatre and music scene, The City Cabaret OKC endeavors to bring a New York City style cabaret experience to audiences in Oklahoma City. Tickets are $25. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit TheCityCabaretOKC.com.

SHOW DATES & TIMES: DECEMBER 21 - 8PM DECEMBER 22 - 8PM DECEMBER 23 - 8PM

EAT & DRINK Campbell is the in former category.

“I like mine a little more saucy,” Campbell said. “The sauce-to-noodle ratio needs to be high so that if you have some sauce leftover, you can drag a biscuit or roll through it. I like a crunchy top.”

The prix-fixe meal begins with an amuse-bouche of a fried oyster served over a deviled egg sauce and spiced with tasso seasoning, a mix traditionally used on ham in southern Louisiana.

Make it a Happy Holiday

with cookie trays, party trays & party subs, breads & pastries

feature

We’re a big family here, so we want to share that with our guests.

Holiday reprieve

If you don’t feel like cooking, Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge offers a four-course meal on Thanksgiving. By Jacob Threadgill

The life of a hotel restaurant chef doesn’t change just because it is a holiday. The crew at Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge at 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., shows up to work 364 days a year, taking only Christmas off.

Executive Chef Jason Campbell has designed a special Thanksgiving meal for those in Oklahoma City looking for a replacement for their holiday meal or perhaps something a little different while their traditional dinner is prepared.

Mary Eddy’s offers a special fourcourse prefix dinner — available for $49 per person — that pays homage to Campbell’s Southern roots in Florida and is available 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 23.

“We’re a big family here, so we want to share that with our guests,” Campbell said. “A lot of people don’t like to cook. There are a lot of people in town, and sometimes it’s too much.

We want to take that weight off their shoulders with the menu that we’re going to offer on Thanksgiving.”

Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge offers a four-course Thanksgiving dinner for $49 per person. | Photo 21c Museum Hotels / provided

The turkey breast will be cut off the bone and brined overnight before it’s cut into cutlets and fried. Guests will also get braised turkey leg meat, which cooks with collard greens that are sweetened with apple cider vinegar and complemented with spicy Calabrian pepper.

“It’s all about options; you get the white and dark meat combo,” Campbell said. “We’re going the Southern route with mac and cheese and greens. With my being from Florida, it’s how we grew up eating Thanksgiving.”

The main course is also paired with mac and cheese with sage breadcrumbs and aged cheddar. Macaroni and cheese has been subject of debate on social media.

Some people like it to be creamy and saucy while others like it to “cut like a cake.”

Southern dinner

Campbell is combining the flavors of Tennessee and Alabama with the main course: Nashville hot turkey, which is available “not hot” and is served with house-made white bread, pickles and Alabama white sauce.

“Nashville hot chicken is a pretty famous trend right now,” Campbell said.

“We’ve got an option for not hot if you don’t want it … [the Alabama white sauce] doesn’t go with hot chicken normally, but it’s nice and refreshing. It’s mayobased sauce that shouldn’t be considered barbecue sauce because you don’t cook with it. It’s applied after things come off of the grill or out of the smoker.”

The tangy sauce has plenty of black pepper, Key lime juice and herbs de Provence, Campbell said.

Jason Campbell It will follow with a choice in salad.

The wedge salad features blue cheese vinaigrette, tomatoes, everything spice and salumi bits (the nubs of charcuterie that have been ground and turned into something like a high-end bacon bit). A shaved Brussels sprout salad is topped with warm mustard vinaigrette, apples, turnips and a coddled egg, which is cooked in its shell in a sous-vide.

After the entrée, the dinner ends with an apple hand pie or a flourless chocolate cake. The hand pie is served with cinnamon whipped cream, thyme brittle and sweet cream ice cream. The cake comes with brown sugar ice cream, candied orange and bourbon whipped cream.

“The cake is gluten-free but very delicious,” Campbell said. “I actually enjoy it because it’s like a brownie, kind of fudgy. … The hand pie is like a fried pie. I wanted this menu to be approachable. When people can relate to your food, it makes it that much more fun.”

Selections from the regular Mary Eddy’s menu will be available a la carte on Thanksgiving, including the burger, pasta and roasted items from the hearth.

“I pull ideas from all over the world, and we like to put our own spin [on traditional recipes],” Campbell said. “It could be turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, which is delicious and has been going on for years, but we want to give guests something that they can’t have anywhere else.”

A f ter t he k itchen closes Thanksgiving night, Campbell said the staff will have its own potluck dinner, which he said will include a bake-off with prizes.

“It’s our way to give back to people who had to work overnight and on the holiday,” Campbell said.

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Soul revival

Mama E’s finds peace after a dramatic appearance on Restaurant: Impossible.

By Jacob Threadgill The chicken and waffle, featuring

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Tip: Order the two for $20 on Tuesdays.

As host of Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine has seen his fair share of turmoil as he helped revitalize eateries on the brink.

Irvine revealed on a recent episode of the show that the episode with the most drama and biggest explosive blowup happened right here in Oklahoma City, at Mama E’s Soul Food.

The soul food restaurant has the distinction of being featured on both Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (DDD) and Restaurant: Impossible. Its first appearance on the Food Network was a joyous occasion. Fieri featured Mama E’s Wings and Waffles on the sixth season of his show in 2009, not long after owner Keith Patterson opened his own restaurant with his wife Stephanie after two decades as the head chef at Twin Hills Country Club.

Expansion misstep

Fieri left town with some advice: The appearance on DDD would bring new customers; take advantage and expand the business. The Pattersons opened a second location a year after their first appearance on the Food Network, but it would also lead to the ignominious episode on Irvine’s show. According to Irvine’s website, it’s the only restaurant to ever be featured on both DDD and Restaurant: Impossible.

four huge wings, is the signature dish at Mama E’s. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

When Irvine arrived in 2014, he found the second location neglected.

Keith Patterson was stretched too thin, trying to manage two restaurants, preaching duties at a church across the street and helping at the country club.

Irvine helped the Pattersons with portion control to increase profits and even provided extra time for Keith and Stephanie to work on their marriage — they admitted the last year of turmoil with the restaurant had impacted their relationship.

Irvine and Fieri are long gone, but their souvenirs remain. The second Mama E’s location has closed, leaving the original location at 3838 Springlake Drive. A Food Network logo adorns the outside sign, and the signature “Guy Ate Here” drawing is among the first things you see when you walk into the door.

Cooked to-order

I arrived for my meal before noon on a Saturday because I had a feeling that it would fill up quickly during the weekend, and I was right. Business was more than brisk on the unseasonably bright and sunny fall day.

More than three years removed from their most recent television appearance, there is no more celebrity bump; customers are there for soul food: wings, neck bones, catfish chitlins and more.

When I ask Patterson how things have gone since the appearance on Restaurant: Impossible and subsequent closing of the second location, he answers as if the weight of a thou-

sand overdue bills has been lifted from his shoulders.

“It’s been great,” Patterson said with a gleaming smile. “[Restaurant: Impossible] was a great experience, and it exposed us to a lot of things. It helped us to streamline, and I’m enjoying it.”

If the crowd on Saturday is any indication, Patterson has plenty reasons to smile.

The restaurant has gone through a slight rebranding since its original DDD appearance, dropping “Wings and Waffles” from its moniker and putting an emphasis on soul food, but its signature meal is still chicken and waffle with two sides ($16.95).

When a restaurant advertises something as a signature dish, I have to order it on my first visit. I ordered macaroni and cheese and greens as my sides and waited a few minutes for the waffle and chicken to be cooked to-order.

When you walk into Mama E’s, a lot of the slow-cooked food like sweet potatoes, smothered pork chops, neck bones and sides are available under heating lamps, but I was happy to see the wings served hot and fresh.

The size of the wings was the first thing I noticed. There need be no debate whether you like drums or flats at Mama E’s because you get both. Four giant wings and powdered sugar top the fluffy Belgian waffle.

The wings hit their mark: fresh and crispy — a classic fried wing. There’s no

Buffalo sauce, but they carry Louisiana hot sauce, which I find far superior to the thin and vinegary Tabasco.

The star of the meal is the waffle. It might be the best I’ve ever had in my life. In fact, I’m struggling to think of what No. 2 would be. It’s chock-full of butter, and the edges caramelize in the iron. The addition of cinnamon to the batter gives it almost a savory element in conjunction with the melted butter.

I suspect I might have to go to Belgium to find a better waffle.

The greens were one side item given a makeover during Irvine’s visit; he implored Patterson to add apple cider vinegar to the collards for extra sweetness. Patterson has ditched the suggestion, returning to a salty, tomato-based cooking liquid that Patterson said customers refer to as “liquid crack.”

I’ll be honest; I thought I’d be with Irvine. I like some sweetness in my greens, but the tangy greens won me over.

The only disappointment was the macaroni and cheese, which was very soupy.

Overall, the meal at Mama E’s lifted my spirits. The service was friendly and welcoming as customers began to snake through the line. I still haven’t forgotten about the waffle, and I’ll be back on Tuesdays to try the two for $20 meal featuring two entrees of a meat and two sides. It’s great to see the Pattersons in such a good place after their rocky second appearance on the Food Network.

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Mama E’s is the only restaurant featured on both Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Restaurant: Impossible. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | N ov e m b e r 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

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g a z e di b l e s

eat & DRINK

Driving through

We all know about Oklahoma fastfood icons like Sonic and Braum’s that have expanded across the country and have a spot in our hearts for eateries like Del Rancho and Taco Mayo that have multiple locations in the Sooner State. What about some other overlooked restaurants serving food on the go?

By Jacob Threadgill Photos by Megan Nance

GIVE & RECEIVE! Receive a $25 gift card and one of our house made dressings for every $100 gift card you purchase between Nov. 20 and Dec. 20!

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Neptune Submarine Sandwiches

3301 N. Classen Blvd. neptunesubsokc.com | 405-525-0414

You won’t wonder why Neptune’s has been a Classen mainstay since 1974 once you take a bite into its pillow-soft bread. The fresh baked bread is the star of the show and can only be ordered through the drivethru menu after 2 p.m. Order a supreme sandwich, no mayo, and ask for extra vinegar — it’s among the best sandwiches in the entire city.

Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies 3721 NW 50th St. arbucklemountainpies.com 405-946-1300

The original location near Davis has been featured on all sorts of national food television programs, but there is no reason to drive all the way to southern Oklahoma to try the sweet fried pies when there is a location right in OKC. Pies are available in four categories: savory, fruits, cream and sugar-free. Savory flavors include broccoli and chicken and Polish sausage and potato. Make it a dessert with peach, blackberry or chocolate cream fried pies.

Tim’s Drive Inn

5037 N. MacArthur Blvd., Warr Acres 405-789-5410

In service since 1956, Tim’s Drive Inn is a testament to doing things well. In the case of Tim’s, it’s the fried Indian taco, which is chili, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and onion piled high on a fluffy piece of Indian fry bread, and it’s only $5.49 on Wednesdays.

Also try a chili coney dog or an onion hamburger combination that will only set you back $5.39. Just be sure to have cash on you; Tim’s doesn’t take credit or debit cards.

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This former food truck has transformed an old Whataburger into some of the best burgers in the city. New owner Kris Standridge-Pedersen bought the business after founder Bryce Musick died of brain cancer in 2015 and kept a commitment to high-quality burgers and sandwiches.

Order a Beanie Burger, which tops a single patty with bean dip, Fritos, jalapeños and chili or a Thunder Bird Sandwich: turkey breast with bacon, lettuce and tomato.

Since opening this summer, Taste of Korea has gained fans by offering authentic Korean food. Operating in the former Amy’s Noodle House, the drivethru window works better as a takeout pick-up window. The dolsot bibimbap and a variety of hot pots, in addition to a variety of stews with rice dumplings, highlight the menu.

Just look for the anatomically correct bull outside to find one of the best spots for catfish and barbecue in the city. Owned

by Frank Henderson, who you might remember from Broadway Ford in Edmond and the “that’s no bull” commercial, Beef & Buns, Mr. Catfish is only open Thursdays-Saturdays. However, the scarcity of its delicious barbecue and catfish only amps up the demand for when it is open. Choose from a variety of smoked meats, but its catfish and butter cookies are the real star of the show.

Taking over a former Taco Bueno, Taco Rico made its own name by offering both fast and fresh food out of its drive-thru window. You won’t find fresh tamales, chile rellenos or street tacos at a Taco Bueno or most quick-service Mexican restaurants.

Order the Rico’s chips and dips where the trio of salsa, queso and guacamole is served in tiny chip dishes.

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T h e at e r

ARTS & CULTURE

Guthrie tradition

The 30th anniversary of Pollard Theatre Company’s A Territorial Christmas Carol will be the final production in its current form.

By Jacob Threadgill

It’s been 30 years since A Territorial Christmas Carol debuted at Guthrie’s Pollard Theatre and helped spawn the downtown transformation that has meant an influx of tax dollars and holiday cheer for Oklahoma’s original capital.

As the theater begins its pearl anniversary of the production, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol by Oklahoma playwright Stephen P. Scott, Pollard Theatre’s artistic director W. Jerome Stevenson said it’s the last chance to see the current iteration of the play performed annually at the Pollard since 2001.

“This will be the last year we produce the show exactly this way,” Stevenson said. “There will be fundamental casting changes, perhaps new direction for the show and looking forward to that. This incarnation is being sent off with all of our fondness, love and memories.”

City transformation

A Territorial Christmas Carol began at the Pollard in 1987 and sparked a townwide celebration that evolved into a month’s worth of events highlighting the city’s history in full Victorian regalia.

Guthrie’s territorial Christmas celebration begins Nov. 25 with a parade and the naming of a territorial governor.

The celebrations continue with an historic home tour Dec. 9 and Victorian Walks on Dec. 9 and Dec. 16. At 1 p.m.

Dec. 16, Santa will fly into the GuthrieEdmond Regional Airport for a free event and a Christmas Organ concert is held at 8 p.m. at Guthrie Scottish Rite

Masonic Center, 900 E. Oklahoma Ave. Andrea Post, Guthrie Visitor Bureau’s executive director, said an average of 10,000 people visit the town for territorial Christmas celebrations each year and spend an estimated $360,000 in the city.

This incarnation is being sent off with all of our fondness, love and memories.

W. Jerome Stevenson “It’s a living window into history that is a unique interactive,” Post said. “We have a rich history that you don’t see other places because this was the close of the Wild West, the last portion to be settled.

It commemorates a time when people sat around and caroled. The beauty and magic of the atmosphere is romantic.”

Pollard Theatre opens its casting call looking for child actors for A Territorial Christmas Carol. | Photo provided

to fall into that trap.

“It reminds us that we’re connected and each event plays a role in who we become and how we are viewed. If we’re not careful, it’s easy to turn that cynicism into cruelty, and that story resonates with our audience, and across the country.”

While many of the cast changes from year to year, in particular the roles for children, veteran Pollard company member James Ong has portrayed the role of Scrooge since the turn of the millennium.

Ong doesn’t play a businessman like the Dickens version. The Oklahoma Scrooge is a pioneer eking out a living.

“He’s different than any other Scrooge I’ve seen,” Stevenson said. “He has a Santa Claus-esque personality to begin with, so finding the harshness and coarseness, the broken part of him is the real discovery for the audience.”

Shows run Nov. 23-Dec. 23, and many play to sold-out audiences, which Stevenson said has led the production to have the largest audiences the theater

will see all year. A Christmas Carol, in many different adaptations and variations, is the most produced play in the country, Stevenson said.

“There’s no other show that plays to so many people who already know the story and still want to be moved,” he said.

Stevenson was involved with the Pollard’s production as an actor before taking over as artistic director. He takes pride in the fact the production introduced generations of children to their first professional production. The theater extends its casting call across central Oklahoma, looking for children to play roles even if they don’t have previous professional experience.

“Sometimes there will be more than one child from a family in a production, and they become part of the larger Pollard family,” Stevenson said. “It’s been very gratifying to see the Pollard become such an integral part of people’s lives beyond seeing a show on the weekend.”

From year to year, Stevenson said he’s always looking for one more nuance to make the audience have a more joyous time or the one change that will make Scrooge’s plight resonate that much more, but the production has stayed largely the same for 16 years. He said he will likely hand over the reins next year as director of the play.

“It’s about time that it take a different look in terms of what the casting looks like and what some of the moment-to-moment work in the show is like,” Stevenson said. “I’m excited to see someone else get ahold of it and shepherd it down the road. As artistic director, I’ll be here and an integral part of that, but letting someone else shape the story and present it to a new audience with a new sensibility.”

Visit guthriesterritorialchristmas. com and thepollard.org.

A Territorial Christmas Carol Nov. 23-Dec. 23 Pollard Theatre 120 W. Harrison Ave, Guthrie thepollard.org | 405-282-2800 $15-$30

Oklahoma’s own

The adaptation is set in Guthrie during the Oklahoma Land Run and showcases themes of brotherly love and redemption through the character of Ebenezer Scrooge.

“We see ourselves in Scrooge,” Stevenson said. “He’s not just a stereotypical version of mean; he’s a person who has been hurt and broken. He has all these incidents in his life that cause him to harden up and close off. The story reminds us that it is so easy for us

Jones Ong center has portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the Oklahoma-adapted version of A Territorial Chrismas Carol for the better part of two decades. | Photo provided

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | N ov e m b e r 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

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T h e at e r

ARTS & CULTURE

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Midcentury Messiah

Canterbury Voices’ production of Messiah puts a midcentury, seasonal spin on Handel’s classic. By Ian Jayne

You might have heard of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, but there’s more than one way to experience the passage of time this holiday season. At 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., Canterbury Voices performs Handel’s Messiah. Tickets are $15-$60 and are available at canterburyokc.com.

Composed over a few weeks in 1741 and premiered the following April in Dublin, Ireland, George Frideric Handel’s piece has long inspired differing interpretations since its inaugural performance. A talented musician and savvy businessperson, Handel made the switch from writing operas to the more commercially successful oratorio form, said Dr. Randi Von Ellefson, artistic director at Canterbury Voices and professor of music at Oklahoma City University.

“The oratorio then just simply developed as a piece for chorus orchestras and soloists — like an opera but without staging,” Von Ellefson said. “Generally, there’s a larger reliance on the chorus in oratorio.”

Informed by the sweeping, dramatic stories of the Old Testament, oratorios were often performed in English and Italian, Von Ellefson said. Musical themes from La resurrezione (“The resurrection”), an early Handel oratorio, would eventually find their way into Messiah, a piece that encompasses the entire scope of Christian theology.

Divided into three sections — Prophecy and Birth, Death and Resurrection and The Second Coming — Messiah was considered an Easter piece by its creator, but it has also become associated with the Christmas season.

“Messiah remained pretty much in the same form it did at Handel’s time for quite a while,” Von Ellefson said.

“He did rewrite different arias. There are different versions.”

After Handel’s death in 1759, other composers (among them Wolfgang

Amadeus Mozart) began to pay homage to the popular piece. According to Von Ellefson, Mozart added clarinets and other instruments to his orchestration of the oratorio. Influences from the piece also popped up elsewhere in Mozart’s work, a form of “tribute” that wasn’t seen as a copyright violation, Von Ellefson said.

“There’s a reason why it’s famous,” Von Ellefson said.

Instrumental evolution

One of the most transformative elements in Messiah’s performance history is the development of modern instrumentation and the subsequent changes in sound.

“We’re going now from Baroque instruments into the more modern 19thcentury instruments, where the strings go from gut strings to steel strings on the violin, the violin neck is extended to get more volume, the bow is changed, we have the development of the clarinet,” Von Ellefson said. “The instruments are now becoming what we would say is ‘modern.’”

The new instruments were bigger, more reliable, made more sound and were played more in tune than earlier versions, Von Ellefson said. In addition to these changes in sound, chorus sizes continued to grow. These conditions are what Von Ellefson said Canterbury Voices hopes to recreate in its performance.

“This edition that we’re doing is not authentic to Handel’s time,” Handel said. “We’re going back into time, into the late 1950s in London.”

Taking as a model the famous orchestration produced by Eugene Goossens and Sir Thomas Beecham, Canterbury Voices’ production will take a more legato approach to the music, featuring slower tempos and less Baroque ornamentation, Von Ellefson said.

Canterbury Voices’ performance counters a past trend to perform Messiah

Canterbury Voices performs Handel’s Messiah Dec. 3. | Photo Canterbury Voices / provided

authentically, how it would have been heard during its composer’s time.

“What you’re hearing is a completely 19th-century Romantic version in the orchestra,” Von Ellefson said. “There are added cymbal crashes on some big chords in the dramatic choral movements. There were no cymbal crashes in Handel’s original, but it’s really fun.”

Von Ellefson said Canterbury Voices has previously performed Messiah, always keeping it light and buoyant, with faster tempos, energetic playing and modern ornamentation. The upcoming performance will be an opportunity to hear Handel’s oratorio in a different context.

“It’s really fun to listen to if you approach it from the idea that we’re going back to 1958 London. This is how the people would go to Messiah when they would go to concerts in the season of Christmas,” Von Ellefson said.

Canterbury’s orchestration of the oratorio will include its standard 130 singers, among them guest artists Autumn West, soprano; April GolliverMohiuddin, alto; Steven Sanders, tenor; and Jordan Andrews, bass. In addition to its vocal elements, this orchestration features 45-50 players from Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

At the end of Messiah, Von Ellefson said the audience would be invited to join in a sing-along of the famous “Hallelujah chorus.”

Von Ellefson said that the concert is well-suited for children, as its length will be trimmed to make it reasonable for modern audiences. In addition to the performance, attendees can enjoy punch and cookies (made by Canterbury Voices choral members) as well as photo opportunities with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

“Messiah can certainly withstand any amount of change and experimentation,” Von Ellefson said. “It would be the perfect way to get in the Christmas spirit — by hearing one of the greatest works of all time.”

Visit canterburyokc.com.

Handel’s Messiah 7 p.m. Dec. 3 Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. canterburyokc.com | 405-232-7464 $15-$60

OU Opera Theatre celebrates the holiday season with cautionary classic Hansel and Gretel.

By Jessica Williams

A story about two children fleeing from a bloodthirsty witch can, in fact, elicit holiday cheer and jovial laughter.

The University of Oklahoma’s Opera Theatre presents Hansel and Gretel Nov. 30-Dec. 3 at Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 560 Parrington Oval, on OU’s campus.

Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1893 opera reimagines the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale as a lighter, more playful story about childhood whimsies in an enchanted setting.

“I think this kind of fairytale works great with music,” OU stage director William Ferrara told Oklahoma Gazette.

“This is a very accessible opera for anyone to understand, and it’s a great holiday tradition for families to enjoy.”

Translated to English, the story stays true to the original: A brother and sister find themselves in a magical forest, encounter a malevolent yet clumsy witch and must escape before she turns them into everyone’s favorite holiday treat — gingerbread cookies.

Ferrara reassured theatergoers with children that this particular rendition maintains a more humorous tone over the darker original. The plot is set to lighthearted, energetic opera pieces and is broken into three acts.

Think hillbilly Hansel and Gretel, and you’ve got our show.

William Ferrara “This version takes a fairly light, comic approach to the traditional story — it’s not at all spooky,” he said. “The witch is a source of laughter throughout the production, the songs are very folksy and upbeat and the lyrics are completely understandable.”

The family-friendly production features unique, folksy costumes, continuous dancing and a vivid stage design full of holiday icons and festivities.

“We have wonderful set design and costume design programs for students in the OU theater department, so everyone in this department gets to contribute to the production,” said Ferrara. “These students have been working with me and our faculty to produce some really unique, funny designs.”

This isn’t your average Christmasthemed production. Setting itself apart from the usual Hansel and Gretel productions, OU’s version gives the story a country-fried twist.

Maggie Armand plays Gretel in OU Opera’s Hansel and Gretel. | Photo Photo University of

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“Think hillbilly Hansel and Gretel, and you’ve got our show,” said Ferrara. “We placed the kids in a farmlike shack, the father has a moonshine flask and the witch is like Paula Deen on steroids. She even has her own cooking show.”

OU students extend their acting chops with this mix between modern-day parody and classic children’s story. A double-cast lineup of young singers and musicians makes for a unique experience each production night.

Maggie Armand and Rachel Snapp perform as Gretel, while Maddie Breedlove and Bea Kim play Hansel.

Matching Hansel and Gretel’s good with mischievous evil, Nina Estelle Whyte and Melissa Delgado take on the role of the witch.

Hillbilly antics aside, Ferrara said productions like Hansel and Gretel give OU music and theater students the platform to shine while developing their talents.

“Certain stories reoccur during the holidays for a reason, and Hansel and Gretel offers light despite darkness in the world,” said Ferrara. “In returning to this narrative each year, we relive the joys and optimism of childhood. The ultimate message is one of hope in times of stress and disaster, no matter how playful the production seems. I know without a doubt this show will brighten the holiday season.”

Hansel and Gretel 8 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1-2, 3 p.m. Dec. 3 Reynolds Performing Arts Center University of Oklahoma | 560 Parrington Oval ou.edu/finearts | 405-325-4101 $10-$30

oklahomacontemporary.org | 405 951 0000 | @okcontemporary 3000 General Pershing Blvd. | Oklahoma City, OK 73107

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Virtual virtuoso Violinist Ray Chen uses social media to bring a love of music to the masses.

By Jessica Williams

Social media helps keep classical music alive — just ask world-renowned violinist Ray Chen on his Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

The 28-year-old musician performs 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28 at Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S. Bryant Ave., bringing his talent, youth and knack for connecting a new generation to classical masterpieces through grassroots efforts.

“I consider music to be one of the most fundamental forms of communication,” Chen told Oklahoma Gazette. “Music transcends language and touches so many people, regardless of countries, ethnicities or boundaries. I feel a responsibility to continue that communication.”

Known for earning standing ovations and awards from the world’s top music institutions, Chen considers his start in classical violin simple. Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Chen picked up the violin instinctively at age 4.

“I had a plastic guitar that I would play like a violin,” Chen said. “My parents noticed and decided to enroll me in violin lessons. It started with group lessons while I was living in Brisbane using the Suzuki method and then advanced to entering different competitions.”

Much like a professional athlete, Chen started young — his career took off before he even hit puberty.

“At 8, I was invited to play at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan with over 500 children from around the globe,” Chen said. “It was an amazing experience that gave me a glimpse into the life of a musician. I was obviously very young, but at that point, I knew that was the path for me.”

Chen was accepted to Curtis Institute of Music at 15. By age 20, he had gained acclaim through the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin and Queen 46

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Violinist Ray Chen performs with pianist Julio Elizade at Armstrong Auditorium Nov. 28. | Photo Sophie Zhai / provided

Elizabeth violin competitions.

Recently gaining pop culture status through appearances on Amazon Prime series Mozart in the Jungle, being featured in Vogue and signing with Giorgio Armani, Chen redefines the public’s relationship to classical musicians and their music in the 21st century.

Despite these accolades, Chen’s focus remains music education.

“Music simply brings people together, but now, there are so many ways to make those connections,” he said. “Cavemen used what they had to communicate naturally, and honestly, I’m just doing the same thing on social media.”

Apt audience

An online search of Chen yields a healthy mix of rave performance reviews, interviews and his own content. The musician’s YouTube channel features downto-earth violin tutorials, funny commentary and a relatable tone rendering classical music accessible.

“People commonly consume news and entertainment through social media,” Chen said. “Things like Facebook or YouTube helped get my voice out there to start, and now it’s a way to reach more people with classical music.”

Chen talks violin jargon with top musicians and critics, but he just as easily adapts his language to make any novice feel included in the violin world.

With videos consisting of breakdowns of everything from his concert performances to silly blooper reels, Chen values his ability to connect with millions of aspiring musicians.

“As an artist, you’re most successful when your audience reciprocates,” he

said. “I’m lucky to be at a place in time when I can share my music with audiences and my audience can share information with me.”

The musician’s reach goes beyond information and into action on behalf of classical music’s future. Last year, Chen rallied his social media audience to raise over $80,000 for the charity Musical Heroes, which provides music education for children in underserved communities.

Chen seeks these kinds of philanthropic initiatives, no matter how large or small, through his platform.

Social media is a means to an end for bringing new listeners to classical music. Chen considers these outlets valuable tools in introducing audiences to music of bygone eras yet strongly advocates for the continuance of live performance.

Don’t be fooled by his age — tradition is key in Chen’s performance style. His style is bold and personal but always adherent to time-honored standards.

“You’ve got to be careful when it comes to changing up live performances,” Chen said. “There’s a significant classical music audience that expects you to uphold a tradition that spans over 300 years. It’s important to maintain the integrity of a practice.”

Wedged between a concert in Sydney, Australia, and following a performance in Switzerland, Chen’s recital at Armstrong marks his first time in Oklahoma. Journey Across Europe celebrates music from Spain, France, Belgium, Germany and Hungary.

“I’m excited to perform in a recital rather than a concert style,” he said.

“Recitals are more intimate and pareddown, and since I am able to choose each of the pieces, it’s very personal.”

Chen and accompanying pianist Julio Elizalde will perform a program sweeping across time and space in Europe, from Ludwig van Beethoven’s classically structured violin sonatas to Vittorio Monti’s experimental “Csárdás.” The program ebbs and flows through the subdued to the passionate, presenting a tidal wave of emotion.

When describing his careful curation of the program, Chen’s passion for the history and execution of classical violin music shines.

“I’m just thrilled to showcase the different time periods, trends and musicians that sit at the foundation of classical music today,” he said. “There’s always an incredibly powerful, palpable energy in the auditorium when I get to share this musical journey with an audience.”

Visit armstrongauditorium.org.

Journey Across Europe 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28 Armstrong Auditorium 14400 S. Bryant Road, Edmond armstrongauditorium.org | 405-285-1010 $23-$48

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Winter wonderland

Downtown in December transforms OKC into a holiday hotspot with dozens of events. By Jeremy Martin

Beginning as a tree-lighting ceremony in 2001, Downtown in December has since expanded to brighten Bricktown throughout the holiday season.

“I think my favorite part of Downtown in December would have to be the light displays,” said Riley Cole, Downtown OKC Inc.’s events coordinator. “So whether that’s the Bricktown Canal lights or the Automobile Alley light displays, I think that in itself is a destination. It just creates a good environment to stroll around and go into different businesses, and it makes the holiday experience just even better.”

Despite its name, Downtown in December — produced with funding from the Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership, Downtown Business Improvement District, Devon Energy and other corporate sponsors — actually begins 4 p.m. Saturday with the second annual Lights on Broadway event.

Businesses along Broadway Avenue between NW Fourth and 10th streets will be lit up, and some will feature holidaythemed window displays, activities, specials and giveaways. RCB Bank will host an outdoor screening of holiday films including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jack Frost.

“Really, it’s geared to pushing people into the doors of all the retailers and businesses that are in Automobile Alley,” Cole said. “So they’re offering specials and programming, and then we have street activities. So we will do a face painter, and Santa will be walking around. We’ll have free carriage rides and s’mores. A live brass band will be performing. So that’s one of my favorites because it’s not just one central location of something to do.”

It makes the holiday experience just even better.

Riley Cole The Curbside Chronicle will be on-site selling wrapping paper to benefit the Wrap Up Homelessness program. Other events also included in Downtown in December benefit charities as well. Self-guided tours of the historic churches in the area are available 2-5:30 p.m. Sunday for $20 per person, with all proceeds going to Good Shepherd Ministries, which provides medical and dental care to the unin-

sured. Little Willie’s Triple Dog Dare, a 138-floor stair-climbing race benefitting Homeless Alliance, begins 8 a.m.

Dec. 2, in Leadership Square.

Registration is $45 per racer, and the event is open to all ages with awards for the top male and female finisher in each age category and a special competition for firefighters who’ll be required to complete the course dressed in full firefighting gear.

Devon Ice Rink opened at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 100 S. Robinson Ave., Nov. 13 and is open through Jan. 28. Tickets are $7-$13. Rock N’ Skate nights and private parties are available.

New to this year’s festival is Bricktown Holiday Parklet, a temporary pop-up park decorated with garlands and lights from Nov. 24 through Jan. 1, and Santa Fe Station Open House 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Dec. 9 in celebration of the 80-year-old train station’s recent renovation. Children in attendance will receive free hot chocolate, train-safety coloring books and train whistles and have the chance to create their own holiday craft. Guided tours of the station will also be provided.

Another Downtown in December first is Mannheim Steamroller Christmas presented by OKC Broadway and featuring musical selections from the popular group’s bestselling holiday albums released over the past three decades. The show is scheduled to begin 7:30 p.m. Dec. 26 at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., and tickets are $27.09-$86.70. Several other musical stage shows also take place at Civic Center Music Hall as part of Downtown in December. Oklahoma City Philharmonic’s annual The Christmas Show runs Nov. 30-Dec. 2, and tickets are $19-$68. Choral group Canterbury Voices presents Handel’s Messiah with its famous “Hallelujah Chorus” 7 p.m.

Dec. 3. Tickets are $15-$60 with a reception and Santa Claus photo-ops.

Oklahoma City Ballet’s presentation of

Bricktown Tree Lighting Festival is Nov. 24. | Photo / Downtown in December / provided

Reserve your Holiday Party or Book Your Holiday Catering Today!

N Penn 2804 N Penn 405.528.2824 Northpark 12252 N May Ave. 405.212.4577 Devon Energy’s Saturdays with Santa offer holiday characters, crafts, train rides, live music and more surrounded by Devon’s impressive holiday decorations. | Photo Downtown in December / provided

The Nutcracker runs Dec. 9-19, and tickets are $15-$70.

Fans of classic holiday theater productions will also have the opportunity to see Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Nov. 29-Dec. 24 at Lyric at the Plaza, 1727 NW 16th St. Tickets are $25$71. The City Cabaret OKC will give holiday favorites a jazzier presentation with Retro Wonderland 8 p.m. Dec. 21-23 at The Paramount Theatre OKC, 11 N. Lee Ave. Tickets are $25, and retro-style dress is encouraged.

For those who’d rather not sit still, LifeShare WinterFest & Snow Tubing offers two-hour snow tubing sessions for $13 per rider, and Bricktown Water Taxi offers free holiday-themed rides on Bricktown Canal Nov. 24-Dec. 31, excluding Christmas and New Year’s Day and weather permitting.

Of course, Downtown in December’s original tree-lighting tradition continues with the 16th annual Bricktown Tree Lighting Festival beginning 5 p.m.

Nov. 24 at Third Base Plaza at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive. Mayor Mick Cornett, aided by Santa Claus himself, will light the tree, and the cast of Lyric Theatre’s A Christmas Carol and local

musicians Adam & Kizzie are scheduled to perform.

The year’s holiday festivities all lead up to OKC Arts Council’s Opening Night Dec. 31 celebrating the New Year with performances by Bricktown Clowns, OKC Improv, Sativa Prophets, Moetowne Alex and the Nightview Band, Jabee and several other acts.

Food trucks and a children’s area that includes face-painting and a mirror maze offer other festive diversions, and headliners David Bruster and the Walkabouts are scheduled to take the Bicentennial Park stage 9 p.m.-midnight, when a fireworks display will ring in the New Year, putting even more lights into the night sky. Wristbands are $8-$10 and go on sale Dec. 1.

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The shop local movement ramps up its efforts to spread the word about the importance of supporting local businesses during the holiday season.

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A few wooden pallets with leftover pumpkins from Halloween are the only things keeping the near-vacant lot warm at the corner of NW 10th Street and Hudson Avenue in Midtown Oklahoma City.

That is until late November when the empty gravel space transforms into a miniature winter wonderland equipped with six geodesic domes, a Christmas tree and enough retail vendors to keep Oklahomans busy throughout the holiday shopping season.

Holiday Pop-Up Shops features 45 local and independent businesses spread out over five weekends, although the biggest event easily comes during the Thanksgiving weekend, more specifically Nov. 25, as part of Small Business Saturday and the shop local initiative.

“We’ve set this up so you can say, ‘I bought everything I needed in a really fun, relaxing way, but most importantly, I knew for a fact that it supported a small business in Oklahoma City or somewhere in Oklahoma,’” said event producer Allison Barta Bailey, who started the pop-ups in 2012.

Keeping local

Holiday Pop-Up Shops is one of many events or businesses in OKC directly or indirectly participating in Small Business Saturday, a national campaign created in 2010 by American Express to help promote shopping local.

In 2016, an estimated 112 million consumers reported shopping at small businesses, a 13 percent increase from 2015, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

Barta Bailey said on any given weekend, 10,000 visitors roll through the shops located a stone’s throw from The Bleu Garten food truck park. Many more

will roam the streets of OKC for Small Business Saturday, as areas like Midtown, 16th Street Plaza District, The Paseo Arts District, Automobile Alley and downtown, among others, participate in the community-driven event.

“There’s this continued idea of quality and having a story to tell with your gift,” Barta Bailey said. “It comes with this inherent story. It adds that layer to giftgiving that makes it special and doesn’t feel like you’re filling a box with something to give someone.”

The financial ramifications are key.

Lindsay Zodrow, who owns Collected Thread in the Plaza District, said a majority of her holiday revenue comes from Small Business Saturday and when she sets up at the pop-up shops Dec. 14-17.

“It’s huge for us. It’s a big percentage of our sales for the month,” she said.

All of the districts have a familiar theme — they are all walkable, much like downtown, where Deluxe Winter Market, a one-day shopping event at Leadership Square, features original works sold by artists and vendors. While unaffiliated with the Small Business Saturday campaign, it provides another avenue for consumers to support OKC over big-box stores and online retailers.

Ultimately, the goal is to make every day Small Business Saturday.

“Some things may cost more, but if they could see it as investing in their community, I think a lot more people would do it,” said Bryce Bandy, the co-founder of Keep It Local OK, whose mission is to promote shopping and spending local via a $15 rewards card. “Wouldn’t you rather spend money with your friends, family and neighbors than going to some big place where the money goes somewhere else?”

Duncan Bros Salon Holiday Pop-Up Shops features 45 local businesses Thursdays-Sundays between Nov. 24 and Dec. 23. | Photo Holiday Pop-Up Shops / provided

McKenna Howard, creator of The Wild Sprout, a natural bath and body concept, is new to the retail scene, but she has quickly figured out the impact it can have.

“It’s a win-win for everything Oklahoma,” she said. “I never realized how shopping in stores locally can make a difference for so many different people.”

Relaxed atmosphere

You won’t see any mad dashes for bigscreen TVs or a block-long line for the new iPhone at any of the local shops in OKC. If Black Friday is known for hectic, adrenaline-fueled fun, the following day is best described as the total opposite.

The local businesses provide a relaxing experience for consumers, which can be a refreshing change of pace to the usual hustle and bustle.

It adds that layer to gift-giving that makes it special.

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“You don’t want the Christmas experience at a stressful shopping place. You want this nostalgic idea of wandering with a cute coat on and a hot chocolate, buying a Christmas tree and buying gifts,” Barta Bailey said. “People come down for the idea of shopping in this environment.”

That night, the pop-up shops hold a champagne toast and light the Christmas tree. Katiebug’s and The Big Friendly Craft Beer Bus will be on-site to serve hot chocolate and beer.

Most of all, the atmosphere is conducive to consumer interaction where visitors can meet the creators. Several business owners noted how, over the years, some of their close friendships were created from selling a good or service.

“The crowd of people that come out to these shows are really interested in not only the product but the maker itself,” Howard said.

Howard is one of 60 different vendors at Deluxe Winter Market, where the motto is “If you didn’t create it, you can’t sell it.”

“I feel like every bag of dog treats I sell is giving a little piece of myself away in a great way,” Bark & Breakfast owner Tara Voth said. “I really feel passionate about what I do. I feel excited about what I do, and to see it adds value and adds joy to other people’s lives is an exciting, thrilling rush. I can’t imagine my business being in any other city because this city has supported me beyond my wildest dreams.”

Home for the Holidays The American Spirit Dance Company Jo Rowan, Director presents

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Destined doodles

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum showcases the early comics, caricatures and doodles of Tom Ryan. By Ian Jayne

All too often, it can seem, an artist’s work overpowers individual personality. Who is the person behind the canvas? What is their artistic evolution? Cartoons & Comics: The Early Art of Tom Ryan answers such questions and offers a window into the mind of its titular artist before he achieved widespread acclaim.

Running through April 1, 2018, at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd, Cartoons & Comics surveys 24 pieces of Ryan’s earliest known artwork. Composed during Ryan’s teenage years, 1936-45, the works reflect their creator’s (sometimes humorous) observations about the worlds in which he found himself: a Jesuit school in Wisconsin and serving in the U.S. Coast Guard.

The exhibition originated after Kimberly Roblin, director of the Dickinson Research Center and curator of archives, came across Ryan’s early work in the research center. Roblin said Ryan held a long association with the museum as a member of the Cowboy Artists of America, which regularly exhibits at the museum, and Ryan donated some of his pieces in 2002.

“Most of it relates to his later work,” Roblin said of the donated pieces. “But I was surprised to find … one composition book and a handful of sketches. …

I thought it would be interesting to the public — not only those that know him, but even those who don’t — to see a different side of Western artists.”

Among Ryan’s early works is Dan the Cop, a comic strip he created in junior high, Roblin said. Over four installments,

Ryan told the story of the eponymous police officer, whom Roblin described as “well-intentioned but goofy.”

While Ryan was only 14 when he created Dan the Cop, Roblin said his compositional skill and attention to detail is already apparent in such early works.

Ryan also looked more immediately at his surroundings for inspiration.

“He liked to draw his teachers in not the most flattering styles,” Roblin said.

“And even priests were not immune from his pencil.”

To Roblin, Ryan’s early works are inherently relatable. His composition book cover features a plane engine on fire with the pilot trying to bail out, Roblin said.

“I think most of us grow up doodling and sketching, drawing on our notebook covers, but most of us don’t become professional artists,” Roblin said. “It’s something that everyone can relate to, and that’s not always the case when we see art. These were pieces that he did for himself and for his friends.

They’re really a glimpse into his personality, and they aren’t the polished pieces of a career artist. There’s a spontaneity about them.”

In addition to his cartoons and caricatures, Ryan also illustrated for the student newspaper at his school.

These pieces are more realist in nature, and they further evidence his later abilities, Roblin said.

As Ryan left high school and began his service in the Coast Guard, Roblin said he continued to create comics and caricatures that remind her of Popeye in their black-and-white contrasts. As he

Tom Ryan derived inspiration from the things around him, including ship during his time in the U.S. Coast Guard. | Image Tom Ryan / Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

honed his craft, Ryan also began to do line studies and portraits, Roblin said.

Attendees can view the beginning of Ryan’s stylistic evolution in Cartoons & Comics, and Roblin said the museum also has some of his later pieces.

Cowboy made

While Ryan’s later works, such as “Sharing an Apple,” “Split Decision” and “Six Pack Saturday Night” showcase cowboy life, he was not born in the West.

Rather, like so many of the people he painted, Ryan made his way there.

Inspired by ever yone from Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn to Andrew Newell Wyeth, Ryan himself altered the landscape of Western art and influenced many others working in his field.

“By the time he passed away in 2011, he was one of the most well-known and wellrespected Western artists,” Roblin said.

Born in Illinois in 1922, Ryan worked as an illustrator for calendars and book covers. After a 1963 assignment sent him to Texas, he fell in love with the landscape and the people. In 1967, he joined Cowboy Artists of America and found the subject matter that would continue to preoccupy him.

Ryan frequently depicted iconic elements of cowboy life, such as the 6666 Ranch, but he steered away from sentimentality in his artistic representations.

“[He] spent the rest of his career really dedicated to showing not the romanticized version of the West, but the working cowboys, the working ranch hands,” Roblin said. “I think he was really drawn to the values and work ethic they showed.”

Deriving inspiration from illustrations he saw in books as a youth, Ryan’s art retained a sense of his keen observation and narrative quality. Even though he moved on from his illustration career, Roblin said, he continued to tell stories through his work.

“He was always observing the world around him … and processing what he saw with either pen and paper or a paintbrush.

That core motivation he had even as a young boy — observing the world around him and drawing it — continued throughout his life,” Roblin said.

In Cartoons & Comics, attendees have the opportunity to see the person behind the art, the young adolescent who would leave a major impact on Western art when he was still satirizing authority figures and drawing caricatures of his friends.

“This is a chance for the public to meet not Tom Ryan the renowned Western artist, but Tom Ryan the teenager,” Roblin said.

Call 405-478-2250 or visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

tickets @ racedance.com/hip-hop-nutcracker

Cartoons & Comics: The Early Art of Tom Ryan 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, noon-5 p.m.

Sundays through April 1, 2018 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum nationalcowboymuseum.org 1700 NE 63rd St. | 405-478-2250 Free-$12.50

Dan the Cop | Image Tom Ryan / Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

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books

ARTS & CULTURE

Neglected subjects Camille Landry and Oklahoma Policy Institute release a book of essays that shed light on the real struggles of Oklahomans. By Jeremy Martin

Public assistance programs, to quote one Oklahoma author and activist, are really about “enlightened self-interest,” a safety measure to prevent civilization from going down with a wrecked ship.

“This isn’t at all about charity to others,” said Camille Landry of her book Neglected Oklahoma: Voices from the Margins published by the nonprofit Oklahoma Policy Institute. “If you’re in a lifeboat and that sucker starts to leak, you’re all gonna sink. It doesn’t matter if the hole is under your seat or somebody else’s.”

Neglected Oklahoma collects 19 essays Landry wrote for Policy Institute’s blog, chronicling the true stories of people struggling to keep their heads above water despite the insufficient “safety cushion” provided by the state’s programs.

“We come up with some of the most god-awful public policy known to humankind in terms of the way that we treat the most vulnerable among us,” Landry said. “Oklahoma is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to all indicators of a good life, starting with life expectancy and educational attainment, access to health care, infant mortality, heart attacks and strokes and diabetes, incarceration — you name it; if there’s something wrong about it, Oklahoma’s doing it.”

At the request of Policy Institute Executive Director David Blatt, Landry began writing the series in 2013 to show readers “what it was like to be flat broke” in Oklahoma.

“Our real focus in doing this is to try to put a human face on public policy,” Landry said, “to be able to explain to voters, to people who work for agencies 54

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that interact with folks who need services and to the legislators and administrators who make law and policy that there is a real human cost to the decisions that are made.”

The subject of Landry’s first essay “Stayin’ Alive” is a friend of Landry who was having difficulty getting insurance to cover her cancer treatments.

“I had no idea until I sat down and interviewed her how much trouble she had actually had,” Landry said. “It got a really good response from readership because I wasn’t the only one that did not realize just how very difficult and life-threatening, literally life-threateningly, difficult it is to obtain coverage, even for people who you wouldn’t look at and think were in that category.”

After deciding to make the story into an ongoing series, Landry said she worried she would have trouble finding subjects, a concern she soon realized was misguided.

“I thought at first, ‘Oh, Lord! How am I going to find all these people to talk to? Where am I gonna get the subject matter? Am I gonna have to put up a billboard alongside the highway or something?’” she said. “I wish.

Frankly, a good number of the people that I focused on in the series are people that I actually know … people who had gone from being fairly comfortable middle-class families to being desperate in the blink of an eyelid, people who are two paychecks away from being on the street.”

The subjects of these essays — single mothers working multiple jobs but struggling to feed their children and pay the bills, a homeless veteran addicted to methamphetamine, foster children whose parents are lost to

HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR YOUR WHOLE LIST! Camille Landry wrote the essays in Neglected Oklahoma to put a face on the people affected

by Oklahoma laws and policies. | Photo Oklahoma Policy Institute / provided

opioids and prison sentences — are often ignored when legislators discuss the consequences of budget cuts, Landry said, although these kinds of stories are more common than people like to think.

“We have this notion that anybody who really is willing to work hard enough and has a basic amount of smarts can make it if only they’re willing to sacrifice, but how do you do that?” Landry said. “A lot of people know that they’re struggling, but they think it’s just them and that they must be doing something wrong, but that’s actually not the case.”

Writing a story about hunger, for example, Landry discovered she knew several people who weren’t getting enough to eat, even after years of hard work and fiscal responsibility.

“Within the space of a couple of days, I ran into several people that I knew had spent their lives working, were employed or retired from gainful employment and should not have had to struggle with something as basic as food but were, in fact, not getting an adequate number of calories or were filling up on potatoes to the detriment of their health,” Landry said. “People who had worked every day of their lives and raised their families and saved money and had pensions, many of which dried up in the 2008 crash. These were not the people that most people would think of as folks in need of a food pantry.”

While Landry hopes her book gives policymakers a better idea of the human suffering resulting from inadequate public assistance programs, she said everyone has a role to play in the government.

“You can call your legislator and say, ‘Hey, I care. I know that this has real-life consequences for real people, and I’d like you to reconsider and here are some alternatives,’” she said. “There is certainly a role for neighborliness, for awareness that the grandma next door to you runs out of food by the 20th of the month and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to bring her a plate every once in a while … but the fact of the matter is private charity cannot replace good public policy. There’s no way that any charity, no matter how well-funded, can provide the things that government provides … There’s no way that individual action can replace the collective responsibility. Do we want to have to rely on our neighbor and his garden hose if our house catches fire?”

Neglected Oklahoma can be purchased for $15 online at okpolicy.org.

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ARTS & CULTURE from left Nathan and Nichole Dill opened Turf Wars in early November. | Photo Megan Nance

operates 4-9 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays.

Dill said her family still plans to run Bounce the Town and eventually wants an indoor space to house the inflatables instead of traveling with them, but she cautioned it will “be on the backburner” to see where Turf Wars can go.

In the meantime, Dill said Yukon and Norman have already expressed interest in opening locations.

“As quickly as this is growing, we’ll probably outgrow this facility real quick,” she said, “and hopefully we’ll be able to get a bigger location fairly quick.”

PUBLISHES

Dec. 6th, 13th, 20th

Call your Account Executive at 405.528.6000 or email specialsections@okgazette.com

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act i v e

Invite Gazette readers to your house of worship for holiday services in the Holiday Fellowship Directory.

Nerf Wars

Turf Wars brings Nerf battles to an indoor arena in OKC. By Sean Isabella

Nichole and Nathan Dill had nowhere to go but up several years ago after filing for bankruptcy.

A few investments later, the couple created Bounce the Town, a traveling company that provides giant inflatables for parties and events, and have now moved on to their latest creation: Turf Wars, an indoor Nerf gun arena that opened Nov. 4 at 8009 N. Rockwell Ave. Think paintball mixed with laser tag, except sub in foam darts as the ammunition in a new and trendy use of the plastic blasters originally made popular in the ’80s and ’90s.

“We thought this would be perfect,” Nichole Dill said. “It kind of just blew up from there.”

In July, it came via a suggestion by her sister-in-law, whose 14-year-old son is obsessed with having Nerf gun battles at local gyms or church centers.

“She was looking for a place indoors to see if anybody in Oklahoma had this,” Dill said. “She found there are indoor foam dart war places in Colorado and Texas but nothing in Oklahoma. She suggested the idea to us, and we ran with it.”

Plus, it gave Dill a business to run year-round, as opposed to the inflatable season that lasts from April to November.

Turf Wars quickly moved from a spontaneous idea to a business plan in a matter of months. Dill secured the 6,000 square-foot building by August.

The space, previously used for offices, has 30-foot ceilings and enough room to house a 5,000 square-foot arena with a waiting area separated by Plexiglas.

The arena features a turf floor — hence, the name — with obstacles and ammo stations littered throughout. The

rules are simple: Two teams of eight battle in 30-minute sessions. Referees help determine who is hit, and those who fall victim to the foam darts must sit out for several minutes before reentering.

There are indoor foam dart war places in Colorado and Texas but nothing in Oklahoma.

Nichole Dill “It’s just like a paintball arena,” Dill said. “Our bunkers are blow-up bunkers so they can be moved around. We purchased huge Legos. We’re going to build up some bunkers and forts with those.

We have stairs to go up and shoot from.”

Players can bring their own Nerf guns, Dill said, as long as they aren’t modified, or they can rent from Turf Wars.

Turf Wars costs $6 for 30 minutes and is for ages 6 and up. Though Dill’s 9-year-old son and nephew might be the target age range, she said there’s not a specific demographic to cater to, noting she has had interest from church groups and even a bachelor party.

Dill said she’s already booking parties based off three packages.

Bronze guarantees guests have priority for 90 minutes during open play.

Silver is a private party for 2 1/2 hours, while gold is for ages 14 and up and offers the same package as silver with a Rival Nemesis Blaster, a type of weapon that uses ball ammo instead of foam darts.

During the school year, Turf Wars

Turf Wars, an indoor Nerf arena, opened Nov. 4. | Photo Megan Nance

co m m u n i t y

Vet-to-vet

Crossroads Hospice’s LaBerta Baker, Sarah Cooley and Craig Thomas work to improve care available to dying veterans and their family caregivers. | Photo Laura Eastes

Oklahoma City’s Crossroads Hospice meets the needs of dying veterans through their unique veterans program. By Laura Eastes

Oklahoma City’s Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care has long been known for providing quality care for people coping with life-limiting illness. For the veterans who come into their care, hospice staff is focused on not only quality endof-life care but also compassionate listening and grateful acknowledgment of their service.

“We try to serve soldiers the best way we know how,” said Craig Thomas, a U.S. military chaplain who serves as a chaplain at Crossroads Hospice. “I can identify with their needs and their struggles in the last stages of their life.

I let them know I am a solider just like them. They are not alone as they go through this journey in life.”

Military experiences often change veterans in ways that shape and mold their lives and the end of their lives. For veterans, especially those who served during wartime, the moral burden of participating in war can cause immense spiritual pain. Chaplains and veterans

become instruments of peace to help veterans heal in their last stage of life.

“They start sharing stories that they haven’t shared with anyone for several years,” Thomas said. “The emotional part comes out.”

In 2010, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, launched We Honor Veterans, a unique program for hospice and palliative care professionals providing resources and tools for serving endof-life veterans. As a We Honor Veterans participant, Crossroads Hospice serves veterans through its veteran-to-veteran volunteer program, an annual veterans recognition program, and the work of a military chaplain.

Local veterans and military members volunteer to visit patients and their families in the home, assisted living facilities and nursing facilities. During these visits, the volunteer might read, play music or cards, share a conversa-

tion or simply hold their hand so a patient is not alone.

“We like to match veterans with veterans or active military because that gives them something in common, something to talk about,” said Sarah Cooley, volunteer coordinator. “A lot of the community we are serving right now is World War II, Korea and Vietnam veterans.”

Veterans often find it easier to communicate with a fellow veteran, Cooley explained. The feedback she hears from volunteers is also positive. Many have described their experience as an honor and privilege.

“Even for me, I got to hear from one of

our patients who had been in World War II,” Cooley said. “I remember learning about Gen, [George] Patton, but this man knew him. For my generation, that is our history, but these men lived it. I think it is a deep, special bond and a relationship that is created when you volunteer.”

Last week, Crossroads Hospice conducted a handful of Veterans Recognition Programs at various locations as the nation observed Veterans Day. During the ceremony that included the playing of “Taps,” all veterans were honored with certificates of appreciation. Military spouses were also recognized.

“The veterans recognition to me is a solemn occasion,” Thomas said. “Many of these former veterans were never really acknowledged when they came back, especially those from ’Nam and even some of the current veterans. Some of them don’t feel appreciated. Some of them have repressed a lot of their anxieties concerning those engagements that they were in. Providing veterans recognition is a way to say, ‘You are still very valuable people.’”

Contact Sarah Cooley, volunteer manager, at 405-632-9631 or sarah. cooley@crossroadshospice.com.

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CALENDAR These are events recommended

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

BOOKS Read for Adventure, the OKC Zoo and Metropolitan Library Systems have partnered to publish the children’s book Our Day at the Zoo and to create a community Read for Adventure program enabling readers to check out the new book from any of the 19 metro library locations, through March 31. Metropolitan Library System, 300 Park Ave., 405-231-8650, metrolibrary.org.

Oklahoma City’s Mid-Century Modern Architecture, join Lynne Rostochil as she signs her book on the evolution of modern architecture in the capital city, 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 16. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok. com. THU 100 Things Thunder Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, sportswriter Darnell Mayberry signs his book, the ultimate resource for true fans of Oklahoma City Thunder, 12-2 p.m. Nov. 18. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 405340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. SAT The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It!, Ree Drummond is signing her latest cookbook that is full of her very best make-it-happen dishes, pulled from her own nonstop life as a devoted wife, mother of four, food lover and businesswoman, 4-8 p.m. Nov. 18. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT

FILM The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, (USA, 1962, John Ford) a senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed, 1 p.m. Nov. 15. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-4782250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED The Hot Club of San Francisco: Cinema Vivant, an evening of vintage silent films accompanied by live Gypsy swing, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16. Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May Ave., 405682-1611, occc.edu. THU Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, (Germany, 2012, Alison Klayman) a documentary that chronicles artist and activist Ai Weiwei as he prepares for a series of exhibitions and gets into an increasing number of clashes with the Chinese government, 8 p.m. Nov. 17. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. FRI Filmography, 21c Oklahoma City has partnered with deadCenter Film and the OKC Film Society to launch Filmography, a free monthly film series of art films and films about artists, 8-10 p.m. Nov. 17.

21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-9826900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. FRI

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PEPSI, PEPSI-COLA and the Pepsi Globe are registered trademarks of PepsiCo, Inc. FUJIFILM and INSTAX are trademarks of FUJIFILM Corporation and its affiliates. © 2017 FUJIFILM North America Corporation. All rights reserved. © Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved. The Elf on the Shelf and © CCA and B, LLC. All rights reserved.

N OV E M b e r 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

OKC Town Hall Lecture Series, featuring speakers on topics of enhancing health and wellness, U.S. foreign policy, national defense, enlightening students and teachers, an insight into Muslim founding principles and geopolitical strategies. Join Lieutenant Colonel Allen West 10:30 a.m. Nov. 16.

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 222 NW 15th St., 405-232-1371, okctownhall.com. THU Open Meeting and Records Seminars, Attorney General Mike Hunter, the Oklahoma Press Association and Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation invite you to this free session dealing with Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Records Acts, Nov. 16. Metro Technology Center, 1900 Springlake Drive, 405-844-8324, metrotech.edu. THU

Cowboy Poetry: Campfires, Cattle and Cowboys Gathering, enjoy an evening under the stars with a full line-up of performers, cowboy poet and author Ron Secoy and opportunities for an open mic throughout the evening to raise funds for the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center 5-9 p.m.

Nov. 17. Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, 1000 Chisholm Trail Pkwy, Duncan, 580-252-6692, onthechisholmtrail.com. FRI

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Creating New Traditions, a local grief expert will speak to adults while children and teens separate into age appropriate group rooms for holiday themed activities, 6:30-8 p.m. Nov. 15.

Calm Waters Center for Children and Families, 4334 Northwest Expressway, 405-841-4800, calmwaters.org. WED

Trailblazer Luncheon: Pat Potts, shares her journey and answers questions about navigating the professional world with pizza and drinks provided, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 17. State Chamber of Commerce, 330 NE 10th St., 405-757-3223, womenleadok.org . FRI

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HAPPENINGS

Share at the Showroom: Paul Zimmerman and Steve Willingham, Paul Zimmerman of Leaf + Bean and Steve Willingham of Clarity Coffee and Kllr Coffee discuss their coffee brewing history followed by live music with Cameron Neal, 6-8 p.m. Nov. 16. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-5286322, nacok.org. THU

Now – January 1, 2018 • NEW ICE! theme – 2 million pounds of colorful, hand-carved ice sculptures and slides featuring ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas • 2 million twinkling lights along with lavish holiday displays • Build-A-Bear Workshop® & Scavenger Hunt • NEW-Breakfast with the Elf on the Shelf® • Gingerbread Decorating Corner • Ice Skating and Snow Tubing • Cookies with Mrs. Claus, Photos with Santa & much more!

Oklahoma City Beard and Mustache Championship Is your facial hair at the top of its game? That’s what it takes to win Manscape & Massage Clinic’s beard, mustache and creative facial hair competition. Come as a competitor or spectator and support a great cause, as proceeds go to Positive Tomorrows, a private elementary school for homeless children, 5 p.m.

Saturday at Waters Edge Winery, 712 N. Broadway Ave. Visit manscapemassageclinic.com. SATURDAY Photo bigstock.com

Planes, Trains and Automobiles This holiday classic with Steve Martin and John Candy mocks the struggle of getting home in time for Thanksgiving facing flight delays and crazy fellow travelers. It plays 7 p.m. Tuesday at Harkins Theatres Bricktown 16, 150 E. Reno Ave. Tickets are $5. Visit harkinstheatres.com. TUESDAY

Under the Lights on Broadway: A Twilight Market, Oklahoma’s best creators gather for an evening of hot chocolate, treats, friends, family and shopping, 6-10 p.m. Nov. 17. Katiebug’s Shaved Ice and Hot Chocolate, 103 N. Broadway Ave., Edmond, 405-397-4812, facebook.com/ katiebugsokc. FRI Jingle Jangle, a free holiday event for single moms providing a fun evening of encouragement with special messages from several speakers, 6:30-9 p.m. Nov. 17. Quail Spring Baptist Church, 14613 N. May Ave., 405-812-5137, qsbc.org. FRI

Photo/provided.

go to okgazette.com go for tofull okgazette.com listings! for full listings!

ull

Goldfish Swim School, a fun-filled day of facility tours, family swim, bounce house, face painting, music, snacks and refreshments, 1-4 p.m. Nov. 18.

Goldfish Swim School, 10 NW 146th St., Edmond, 405696-7500, Edmond.goldfishswimschool.com. SAT Partner’s for Life Adoption Event, focuses on the effects of smoking not only on people but pets as well with an adoption for cats and dogs, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 18.

OKC County Health Department, 2600 NE 63rd St., 405-417-1364, occhd.org. SAT Basic and Advanced Graffiti and Independent Study, Angel Little teaches three classes from beginner’s level to advanced on the culture of graffiti and its techniques and concepts, 10 a.m.-4p.m. Nov. 18. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-9510000, oklahomacontemporary.org. SAT The Santa Market, support Oklahoma City Alzheimer’s Association at this craft show with over 100 vendors, free admission, food trucks, a visit from Santa Claus himself and more, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 18. Edmond Downtown Community Center, 28 E. Main St., Edmond, 405-359-4483, edmondok.com. SAT Tracing Your Roots, learn the basics of genealogy with topics including: how to begin your genealogical search, record keeping, software, using newspapers for genealogical research and more, 1-4:30 p.m. Nov. 18. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org/historycenter. SAT NeXt2rock Oklahoma Finale Concert, come listen to Oklahoma rock bands battle it out to win a spot in Los Angeles for the national finale; the winner of it all will sign a label and receive radio play, 6 p.m.

Nov. 18. The Ruins Bar & Grille, 12101 Interstate 35 Service Road, 405-418-8209, thesanctuaryokc. com. SAT Oklahoma County 4-H Chili Cook Off and Auction, 4-H Clubs across the county compete in a chili cook off and host a live auction to support youth educational programs, 6 p.m. Nov. 18.

Oklahoma County OSU Extension Service, 2500 NE 63rd St., 405-713-1125, oces.okstate.edu. SAT Historic Church Tour and Scavenger Hunt, tour Oklahoma City’s largest historic churches in Midtown and participate in a scavenger hunt with clues at each location, 2-5 p.m. Nov. 19. Good Shepherd Ministries, 222 NW 12th St., 405-7545190, goodshepherdokc.org. SUN Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, learn how the physical design of your property and even your neighborhood can reduce crime, 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. OCCHD NE Regional Health & Wellness Center, 2600 NE 63rd St., 405528-6322, nacok.org. MON Thanksgiving Floral Workshop, spruce up your Thanksgiving table with a gorgeous centerpiece of your own creation with the help of The Wild Mother, 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. MON Transgender Day of Remembrance, honors the memory of the lives lost in acts of antitransgender violence with speakers and a candlelight vigil, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. Andrews Park, 201 W. Daws St., Norman, 405-366-5472, normanok.gov. MON

Neighborhood Watch Patrol Training, is about neighbors volunteering to become trained in crime watch and crime patrol for their neighborhood, 6-7 p.m. Nov. 21. SW Division Oklahoma City Police Department, 5501 S. Portland Ave., 405-528-6322, nacok.org. TUE

FOOD Fork + Bottle: Espirit Du Vin Fine Wine Merchants, highlights a five-course dinner with wine pairings from Argentina, Chile, France and more, 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15. Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6960, maryeddysokc.com. WED Quick Tech: Frosting, Icing and Decorating, enjoy a fun and interactive class presenting a single quick baking or cooking technique, Nov. 16. Belle Kitchen, 7509 N. May Ave., 405-430-5484, bellekitchen.com. THU Amazing Apples, it’s all about apples with these apple-inspired recipes and a selection of organic apples, 3-4 p.m. Nov. 19. Natural Grocers, 7013 N. May Ave., 405-840-0300, naturalgrocers.com. SUN

YOUTH YES, a radically inclusive LGBTQ+ youth group for ages 13-21 features movies, music, dinner, monthly fandom nights with positive, knowledgeable staff and peers, 7 p.m. Nov. 16. Expressions Community Center, 2245 NW 39th St., 405-570-1638, bethechange.org. THU Christmas in the Park, a magical wonderland of visual entertainment. Drive, walk, or take the Yukon’s Best Express train through miles of illuminated fun in three inter-connected city parks, 6-11 p.m. Nov. 18-Dec. 31. Chisholm Trail Park, 500 W. Vandament Ave., Yukon, 405-3508937, yukonok.gov.

SMO Storytime Science, kids age 6 and under read a story and follow it up with a fun, scientific activity that is included with general admission, 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-6026664, sciencemuseumok.org. TUE SMO Early Explorers, toddlers and preschoolers explore science through hands-on activities that can be easily replicated at home during a comeand-go weekly event, 10-11 a.m. every Wednesday.

Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

S ’ A M O H OKLA R E P A P S W E N * T S BE G

IS HIRIN

EXPERIENCED ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES We’re hiring passionate salespeople who are driven and truly want to help businesses succeed in an ever changing & competitive marketplace.

Please send your cover letter and resume to Marian Harrison via email to mharrison@okgazette.com

WED

When the Earth Shakes, learn all about the science of earthquakes, tsunamis and tectonic plates while being immersed in interactive exhibits explaining the science behind earthquakes, through Jan. 2. Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 405-325-4712, samnoblemuseum.ou.edu.

Explore Evolution, explore the evolution of life and learn about all of Earth’s organisms, from rapidly evolving viruses to whales that walked, through Dec. 31. Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 405-325-4712, samnoblemuseum.ou.edu.

continued on page 60

GRAPHIC DESIGNER If creative makes your heart beat faster, help us design ads and content for Central Oklahoma’s innovative newspaper and digital media company.

Copy-writing skills are a plus.

Please send your cover letter and resume to Marian Harrison via email to mharrison@okgazette.com

Founded in 1979, the Gazette is metro Oklahoma City’s fiercely local arts and entertainment authority. okgazette.com Lights on Broadway Cruise down historic Automobile Alley between NW Fourth and 10th streets for the district’s holiday open house and the first day of this year’s stunning light display 4-8 p.m. Saturday. It features complimentary carriage rides, visits with Santa, live artists and musicians, a free photo booth, holiday short films, a live brass band, free face painting and a s’mores station with the Oklahoma City Professional Fire Fighters Association. Visit downtownindecember.com.

*The Gazette earned Society of Professional Journalists Oklahoma Professional Chapter’s 2017 Best of the Best award in the large market category, which includes news publications with circulation over 25,000.

SATURDAY Photo Myriad Gardens/provided O kg a z e t t e . c o m | N OV E M b e r 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

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PERFORMING ARTS A Drag Queen Christmas: The Naughty Tour, Trinity Taylor hosts the all-star queens of Logo TV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race for a concert, cabaret and comedy extravaganza, 8 p.m. Nov. 15. Rose State College Hudiburg Chevrolet Center, 6000 Trosper Road, Midwest City, 405-297-2584, rose.edu. WED

Starbird, with a New York setting and a story of a dog, a cat and a donkey, this opera teaches the lesson about working with each other’s differences, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15-17. UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. 5th St., Edmond, 405-359-7989, ucojazzlab.com.

The Marriage of Figaro, an opera by prolific composer Mozart, examines the relationship of social classes, 8 p.m. Nov. 17-18 and 3 p.m. Nov. 19. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405-208-5000, okcu.edu. FRI Inasmuch Foundation Classics Series, Flutist Yossi Arnheim performing Piston Ballet Suite from The Incredible Flutist, Reinecke Flute Concerto in D major, Copland Appalachian Spring: Suite, Ligeti Concert Romanesc, 8 p.m. Nov. 18. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-842-5387, okcphil.org. SAT Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, featuring an over-the-top production with world-class Russian artists, larger-than-life puppets, nesting dolls and gloriously hand-crafted costumes bringing the Christmas spirit to life, 7 p.m. Nov. 19. Rose State College Hudiburg Chevrolet Center, 6000 Trosper Road, Midwest City, 405-297-2584, rose.edu. SUN Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical, see all of your favorite characters from the special including Santa and Mrs. Claus, Hermey the Elf, Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius and, of course, Rudolph as they come to life, 7 p.m. Nov. 19. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. SUN USAO Concert Choir Fall Recital, a year of hard work from undergraduates in music culminates in the USAO Concert Choir’s fall recital featuring a wide variety of music, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, 1727 W. Alabama Ave., Chickasha, 405-224-3140, usao.edu. MON Plaid Tidings, the legendary Plaids; Francis, Jinx, Smudge, and Sparky; come back to Earth to spread yuletide fun with the greatest holiday hits of the ages, through Dec. 3. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave., 405-521-1786, jewelboxtheatre.org.

ACTIVE Learn-to-Swim Program, giving residents of all ages and financial situations the opportunity to learn to swim with proper technique and basic water safety at their own pace offered by the King Marlin Swim Club, ongoing, Lighthouse Sports, Fitness and Health, 3333 W. Hefner Road, 405845-5672, marlinswimamerica.com.

Learn to Curl, enjoy one Olympic sport you can learn to perfect with the Oklahoma Curling Club.

1 in 4

POVERTY.

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Co-Ed Open Adult Volleyball, play volleyball with your friends in a competitive, but friendly, game. Lots of fun for couples and a great way to make new friends, 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, ongoing. Jackie Cooper Gymnasium, 1024 E. Main St., Yukon, 405-354-1895, yukonok.gov.

VISUAL ARTS Artist Talk: Beatriz Mayorca, is an artist, interior designer and maker specializing in artwork such as sculptures, functional artistic pieces and more, 2-3 p.m. Nov. 18. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 528-6336, jrbartgallery.com. SAT Body, curated to examine how the body has been used to address the themes of movement, fragmentation and mechanization, geometry and identity, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Ceramic Sale, get your holiday shopping done with these unique, hand-made pieces created by local artists, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. through Dec 23. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

Heiroglyphics 2017: The Spirit of our People, showcasing the works of Ginna Dowling on what she calls ’contemporary community hieroglyphs†telling the unique stories of individual worth and empowerment in relation to creative thought, through Nov. 23. Oklahoma Contemporary Showroom, 1146 N. Broadway Drive, 405-951-000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

OG&E Merry & Bright Enjoy charming holiday light displays and beautiful plant exhibits with free admission 6-9 p.m.

Sundays starting Nov. 26 at Myriad Botanical Gardens’ Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, 301 W. Reno Ave. Call 405445-7080 visit myriadgardens.org. SUNDAY Photo Myriad Botanical Gardens/provided

60

Club members walk you through the basic rules and etiquette of curling, explain the hows and whys of delivering and sweeping a stone and get you on the ice enjoying the sport of curling with friends or family, 9-10:30 a.m. Nov. 18. Devon Ice Rink, 100 N. Robinson Ave., 405-235-3500, downtownindecember.com. SAT

Exhibit and Holiday Sale, several members of the Cotton County Art Council display their works and display pieces for sale, 1-5 p.m. through Dec. 23. Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, 1000 Chisholm Trail Pkwy, Duncan, 580-252-6692, onthechisholmtrail.com.

Oklahoma children lives in

StandUnitedOKC.com

Photo Science Museum Oklahoma/provided

Distinguished Visiting Artist: Robert Taylor, view the works of the Tulsa-based artist combining significant symbolism with traditional and contemporary Native American themes in his evocative paintings burrowing from multiple styles and genres such as surrealism and magic realism to create mystical and often enigmatic images of nature, tribal life and spiritual rituals, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

We fight for those whooice. need a v

We surround our community’s most critical problems, and find every dollar we can to address them. Help Central Oklahoma win this fight for Central Oklahoma. Give today at

SMO’s Science Overnight for Cub Scouts Get a camping experience unlike any other and some extra scouting skills to boot! Scouts will experience a live science demonstration, engage in special hands-on activities, see a star show in the Kirkpatrick Planetarium and camp out among the exhibits. Check-in is 7 p.m.

Friday at Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place. Tickets are $25-$45, and badge classes are $15. Call 405-602-3760 or visit sciencemuseumok.org. FRIDAY

Hidden Messages, the art of Hidden Messages investigates identity and place through ceramics and mixed media featuring artists Marilyn Artus and Amy Sanders, through Nov. 25. Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Gaylord-Pickens Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 405-235-4458, oklahomahof.com.

Life and Legacy: The Art of Jerome Tiger, one of Oklahoma’s most celebrated artists, Jerome Tiger, produced hundreds of works of art and won numerous awards throughout the country.

Celebrate the life and legacy of this remarkable

painter, through May 13, 2018. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Master Strokes: Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the Golden Age, showcasing 93 works from the 16th20th centuries including masterpieces by Rubens, Rembrandt and Sir Anthony van Dyck. Works by lesser-known artists are also included as well as designs of architecture and the applied arts, Oct. 28-Jan. 21. 2018. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT Not For Sale: Graffiti Culture in Oklahoma, an exhibition promoting the positive impact of public street art and its dynamic urban history.

A one-of-a-kind show including 10 artists who have been integral to the Oklahoma graffiti scene, through Nov. 30. Cox Pavilion State Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

Ray Harryhausen: Mythical Menagerie, Mythical monsters, skeleton warriors and Greek gods have invaded Science Museum Oklahoma’s smART Space art galleries in a comprehensive exhibition of the original models, prototypes, bronzes, sketches and storyboards of the fantasy films of stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen, through Dec. 3. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

Red Dot Art Auction and Fundraiser, works by more than 45 emerging and established artists will be on display as Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) hosts its 26th Annual Red Dot art auction and fundraiser, 7:30-10 p.m. Nov. 18. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org. SAT Small Works VII, enjoy an exhibit showcasing regional and local artists with works ranging from landscapes to abstracts, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 1-4 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 22. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. WED Small Works, Great Wonders, featuring a fusion of traditional and contemporary paintings and sculptures at affordable prices with an opening night featuring cocktails with more than 100 of the nation’s finest artists including many from the prestigious Prix de West, door prizes, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live music paired with beautiful works, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Nov. 26. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Sole Expression: The Art of the Shoe, features the creations of 25 local, national and international shoe designers and artists; guests examine how the shoe has been interpreted in art throughout history and the science and engineering behind specific shoe designs, through December. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

The Art of Oklahoma, celebrate the 110th anniversary of Oklahoma statehood with a diverse collection of art created by or about Oklahomans and the cities and landscapes they call home.

Enjoy works by John Steuart Curry, Oscar Brousse Jacobson, Nellie Shepherd, David Fitzgerald and Woody Big Bow, Nov. 16-Sept. 2. 2018. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-2363100, okcmoa.com.

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

ings!

The New Art: A Controversial Collection Fifty Years Later, the 150-piece permanent collection purchased from the Washington Gallery of Modern Art is dedicated to the collection of contemporary art and features abstract expressionism, post-painterly abstraction, color field painting and pop art, through May 13. 2018.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI The Sculptural Works of William Cannings, featuring the unique sculptures of acclaimed British-born artist William Cannings who is currently chair of the sculpture department at Texas Tech University, 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 1. Nesbitt Gallery, 1727 W. Alabama Ave., Chickasha, 405-416-3524, usao.edu/gallery/about.

We the People: A Portrait of Early Oklahoma, enjoy a selection of Henry Wantland’s photography from his family’s arrival to Stillwater in 1891. Images documented over a two-decade span can be viewed during a temporary exhibition, through January 2018. Will Rogers World Airport, 7100 Terminal Drive, 405-4782250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. TUE

USAO’s Meet the Candidates: Gary Jones The fifth forum in USAO’s Meet the Candidate series, which invites all contenders in Oklahoma’s upcoming gubernatorial election to discuss their platform and take questions from the audience, is 7 p.m. Thursday. It features Republican and current state auditor Gary Jones. The free event is in USAO’s Ballroom, 1727 W. Alabama Ave., in Chickasha. Visit usao. com. THURSDAY Photo University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma/provided

Submissions must be received

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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.

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For okg live music

see page 65

List your event!

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.

Submit your listings online at okgazette.com or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

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F E AT U R E

Live Music Thanksgiving weekend!

Willie Nelson makes a big stop at The Jones Assembly the day before Thanksgiving. By Ben Luschen

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N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Family holiday

In the history of country music, few can say they have blazed their career path quite like Willie Nelson.

One of outlaw country’s most venerated kings, Nelson boldly defied industry expectations of the time with his stripped-down, raw and rugged 1975 record Red Headed Stranger. Most country records of that era were about glitz and rhinestones, but Nelson knew what he wanted.

Nelson has won at least 10 Grammy Awards and 11 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards in his career. He is an inductee into the Country Music, Grammy, Austin City Limits and National Agriculture Hall of Fames with more than 70 studio albums to his name and dozens more live and compilation records.

Oh yeah, and he smokes a lot of marijuana, too.

“Willie can smoke you under the table,” said Nelson’s longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael in an Oklahoma Gazette interview from earlier this year. “I saw that in Amsterdam. That’s marathon stuff. It would kill a normal human being.”

Raphael gave his Gazette interview before a March show by Willie Nelson and his famous band the Family at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville. We caught up with Raphael for another interview ahead of Nelson’s return to the state Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving, for a show at The Jones Assembly, 901 W. Sheridan Ave. He will also make a return visit to WinStar a few days later for a Nov. 25 gig.

Nelson & Family still tours relentlessly, even as its namesake edges closer to 85. Despite the frequency, some feel an unspoken sense of urgency to the upcoming Jones Assembly show.

Earnest fans have to ask themselves how much longer Nelson can keep up his touring workload. Will there ever be another chance to see the band in downtown Oklahoma City?

Raphael said seeing Willie Nelson & Family live should be seen as one of the great musical rites of passage.

“Get him while you can,” he said in his most recent Gazette interview. “I wish I saw The Rolling Stones when they came through town. You never knew when we’ll be back through.”

Keeping pace

Though Nelson could not have set the bar higher for himself on immortal releases like Red Headed Stranger and 1978’s Stardust, his recent studio work has done more than hold its own.

In April, Nelson released God’s Problem Child, produced by Buddy Cannon. The sound is unmistakingly his own, and its best moments are somewhat somber reflections on aging and the approach of the end. Tonally, it bears resemblance to darker, meditative works like David Bowie’s Blackstar and Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker — the difference here being that Nelson clearly is not ready for his swan song.

On the song “It Gets Easier,” Nelson sings, “It gets easier, as we get older. It gets easier to say, ‘Not today.’ And it gets easier, as we get older to say, ‘Go

Willie Nelson | Photo Janis Tillerson / provided

away, not today.’”

Last month, Nelson put out Willie Nelson and the Boys: Willie’s Stash Vol. 2, a collaborative album with sons Lukas and Micah, each a respected musician in his own right. Lukas fronts the California country-rock band Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Micah specializes in psychedelic folk on projects like Insects Vs. Robots and Particle Kid. In December 2014, Nelson released Willie’s Stash, Vol. 1: December Day, a collaboration with sister and longtime pianist Bobbie Nelson.

In inter views, Nelson has often compared Willie Nelson and the Boys to a country version of Stardust, which took old pop standards mostly unknown to audiences of the time and adapted them to Nelson’s style.

Willie Nelson and the Boys includes covers of several songs from country legends like Hank Williams, Sr. “I enjoy the old standards, whether it’s Hank Williams or Hoagie Carmichael,” Nelson said in an interview with Esquire. “I never get tired of those lyrics and the melodies. So I felt once people had heard the songs on Stardust, they’d like them, and I kind of felt the same way about this album.”

Raphael, who, of course, contributes his iconic harmonica playing to the record, said it is a special moment to see the Nelson boys perform on a full album together.

“I think it’s a great thing that they have the chance to sing together. I’ve known them since they were babies and have watched them grow up with my own eyes. Neither of them were forced into [music]. They could have been accountants. OK, maybe not — but they had some great parents.”

Lukas and Micah were both mostly raised by their mother, Nelson’s current wife Annie D’Angelo. But Raphael said that does not mean Nelson was an absent parent.

Willie Nelson with his sons from left Micah and Lukas.

Last month, the trio released their collaborative album Willie Nelson and the Boys: Willie’s Stash Vol. 2. | Photo James Minchin / provided

“You can still get threatened by the phone,” he said.

Last chance?

In June, Rolling Stone published a list of its 100 Greatest Country Music Artists of All Time. Of the top 10, only Nelson (ranked sixth), Loretta Lynn (fourth), Dolly Parton (eighth) and Garth Brooks (10th) are alive today. The top ranked artist, “Okie from Muskogee” Merle Haggard, died in April 2016 at age 79. Glen Campbell, No. 17 on the Rolling Stone list, died in August at 81.

No one lives forever, but if anyone was capable of such a feat, it might well be Nelson. Raphael said the country crooner is showing no signs of slowing down while maintaining a tour schedule that has him on the road most of the year.

Fans should be in a rush to see Nelson, he said, but not because the artist himself is on the decline.

“I think the only thing that’s urgent is the need to go see a great show,” he said. “As a fan, you never know when you’re going to die. You could go out and get hit by a truck tomorrow. You never know what the cards may hold.”

As Raphael points out, life is unpredictable. It is not known for how much longer Nelson will be touring regularly, but what is known is that he is an American icon and seeing the great ones perform live is never a bad idea.

So as Oklahoma City concertgoers gather inside The Jones Assembly on Thanksgiving eve, it is good a time as ever to be thankful for living in the era of a legend. And for fans attending the show that night, Raphael has just one piece of advice.

“Don’t eat that day,” he said.

Indeed, there is nothing like Willie Nelson & Family to work up a case of the munchies for Turkey Day.

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caleb mcgee & chris blevins Sat, Nov 25

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clint hardesty Fri, Dec 1

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Willie Nelson & Family 8 p.m. Nov. 22 The Jones Assembly 901 W. Sheridan Ave. thejonesassembly.com | 405-212-2378 $75

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November 18 Mandolin orange November 24 The CrysTal MeThod November 30 CooP showCase December 2 John Moreland December 3 Maria BaMford December 8 aniManiaCs liVe! December 15 hanks holiday ho-down wiTh exile December 21 sTeVe earle and The dUkes December 31 nye - UPTown geT down Tickets and Info TowerTheaTreokC.CoM @towertheaterokc 405-70-TOWER | 425 NW 23rd St. OKC

EVENT

MUSIC

Vegas nights

The Crystal Method winds down its eventful 2017 with a show at Tower Theatre. By Ben Luschen

Oklahoma City is home to one of the last scheduled stops in what has been a busy year for The Crystal Method.

The experimental big beat and electronic dance duo formed as a joint project between Las Vegas, Nevadabased deejays Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in 1993. Jordan, however, announced his retirement from music earlier this year. With the blessing of the group’s co-founder, Kirkland continues touring and recording under The Crystal Method name.

Jordan’s retirement came in the same year The Crystal Method celebrates the 20th anniversary of its biggest album, its 1997 debut Vegas.

Local electronic dance music and rave promoter Subsonix brings The Crystal Method to Oklahoma City in one of its last scheduled U.S. tour dates of the year. The show begins 8 p.m. Nov. 24 at Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St. Admission is $15-$25.

The show will also be The Crystal Method’s first since returning from a string of private and public show dates on the other side of the world in China and Russia.

Kirkland told Oklahoma Gazette he has family in Oklahoma City and is no stranger to the area.

“As a kid, I would spend the summers in OKC, visiting my grandparents,” he wrote in an email sent from a hotel in Beijing. “So I can’t wait to come back and play.”

Staying Vegas fri, Nov 24

12Th annual lefTover Turkey w/ Jason boland & The sTragglers, cody canada & The deparTed Tues, Nov 28

gwar

w/ ghoul, he is legend, u.s. basTards

wed, Nov 29

The revivalisTs w/ souThern avenue Thurs, Nov 30

whisky myers w/ shane smiTh & The sainTs moN, dec 04

phoenix & cold war kids w/ arkells wed, dec 06

alTer bridge

w/ all ThaT remains, sons of Texas suN, dec 10

seeTher

w/ shaman's harvesT, The dead deads

saT, dec 16

Jd mcpherson

w/ parker millsap

moN, feb 26

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fear The fuTure Tour

moN, mar 26

sylvan esso Tulsa ok

423 norTh main sT

TickeTs & info cainsballroom.com 64

N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

The Crystal Method’s catalogue contains plenty of worthwhile releases, including its 2002 remix album Community Service, which featured remixes of Garbage, Rage Against the Machine, P.O.D. and others mixed together as one continuous track, and its recent self-titled record released in 2014. The Crystal Method was delayed for more than a year as Kirkland recovered from the surgical removal of a cyst in his brain.

Still, 10-track Vegas is the project with which the group is most associated.

The mid- to late-1990s were a time when electronic music felt like it was on the edge of a wider commercial breakthrough. Madonna’s career took a new path on her 1998 electronica album Ray of Light. Across the Atlantic Ocean, The Chemical Brothers topped charts while pioneering big beat music in England with hits like “Block Rockin’ Beats” and “Setting Sun.” The Prodigy gave the genre a punk-rock flair on 1997’s wildly successful album The Fat of the Land.

For a time, The Crystal Method was the big beat duo of note in the United States. Vegas was a unique album in that

it more strongly incorporated Jordan and Kirkland’s hip-hop and jazz sensibilities into a mix that was more distinctly American and has aged well through the years. Vegas peaked only as high as 93 on the U.S. charts after its initial release, but years of sustained relevance earned the album a platinum plaque in 2007.

“At the time we were making Vegas, we loved it, but we had no idea it was going to have the impact that it has had,” Kirkland said.

The pair never surpassed the high bar of critical and commercial success it set on its debut, in part due to American musical tastes never taking to big beat and electronica as strongly as the music industry wanted. But The Crystal Method has kept far from irrelevance since then. Its music has often been used in television, movies and video game soundtracks, including Tropic Thunder, Tron: Legacy, Real Steel, Fast & Furious 6 and Lucy.

Kirkland has no problem saying The Crystal Method hit the jackpot on Vegas. All the stars were aligned on that release, and much of the rest of the band’s career is indebted to it.

“Vegas was like catching lightning in a bottle,” he said. “It’s taken us around the world and has allowed us to do what we love for the last 20 years. Nothing can ever match its success, both commercially and culturally, and I’m cool with that.”

At the time we were making Vegas, we loved it but we had no idea it was going to have the impact that it has had.

Scott Kirkland

Recent work

Kirkland is only months removed from a two-date tour opening for Tool. The DJ has formed a close bond with the powerhouse alternative metal and art-rock band in the last couple of years — particularly with bassist Justin Chancellor.

Kirkland teamed up with Chancellor this year to form the side project Bandwidth.

They released a remix to Foals’ “What Went Down” in April 2016.

Fans should be able to hear more collaborations between Kirkland and Chancellor on The Crystal Method’s sixth studio album, likely being released sometime in 2018.

While opening for Tool in front of crowds of over 10,000 people, Kirkland

The Crystal Method plays Nov. 24 at Tower Theatre. | Photo Fab Fernandez/provided

used a unique blend of analog synthesizers and sequencers to give new life to existing Crystal Method material.

He said he is still on a high from the experience.

“It was freaking awesome,” he said.

“It was unlike anything I have ever done before.”

Kirkland recently scored the soundtrack for the documentary Hired Gun, a film about the supremely talented but mostly anonymous session and touring musicians called upon by the biggest bands in the world, including Metallica, KISS and Billy Joel.

The original score is a collaboration between The Crystal Method and Swedish composer Tobias Enhus, who has worked as a composer or music designer on films like Black Hawk Down and Blade: Trinity.

“Hired Gun has been such an amazing opportunity for me to reconnect with the kid in me,” Kirkland said. “Scoring scenes where my childhood heroes talk about events that shaped so many people’s lives was a tremendous honor for me.”

Subsonix presents The Crystal Method 8 p.m. Nov. 24 Tower Theatre 425 NW 23rd St. towertheatreokc.com | 405-708-6937 $15-$25

LIVE MUSIC These are events recommended

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

WEDNESDAY, 11.15 Annie Oakley, Saints.

FOLK Chant, The Root. ROCK Foo Fighters, BOK Center. ROCK Jared Cathey, Will Rogers Lobby Cafe & Bar. JAZZ Kent Fauss Duo, Vices Bar & Venue. COUNTRY Martha Odom, The R&J Lounge and Supper Club.

POP Old Crow Medicine Show, The Jones Assembly.

COUNTRY

THURSDAY, 11.16 Cattle Decapitation/Revocation/Full of Hell and more, 89th Street Collective. METAL Eric Taylor, The Blue Door.

SINGER/SONGWRITER Michael Fresonke, Art Hall. ACOUSTIC Sissy Brown/JonEmery Dodds, Red Brick Bar, Norman. COUNTRY The Roamin’ Jasmine, The Chameleon Room.

JAZZ

FRIDAY, 11.17 Anarbor/Sundressed, 89th Street Collective. ROCK Blind Date, Alley Club. ROCK Brian Lynn Jones, Riverwind Casino, Norman.

COUNTRY EverFade, Cee Gee’s Club, Edmond. ROCK Heartbreak Rodeo, El Toro Chino Restaurant, Norman. ACOUSTIC

Chris Stapleton This country singer/ songwriter has written or co-written six No. 1 hits for other well-known artists, and he brings his Southern rock and bluegrass styles to Oklahoma City.

Stapleton’s All American Road Show featuring Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb stops in Oklahoma City 7 p.m. Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave. Visit chesapeakearena.com.

FRIDAY Photo Saks and Co. / Andy Barron / provided

Mandolin Orange, Tower Theatre. FOLK Mojo Thief, Noir Bistro & Bar. ROCK Pears/Useless ID/Shut Up Matt Jewett and more, Blue Note Lounge. PUNK The Big News/Stubborn Son, Red Brick Bar, Norman. PUNK The Chad Todd Band, Fuel Bar and Grill. COUNTRY

SUNDAY, 11.19 Brooke & Dawn, Lost Highway Bar. COUNTRY Davis Coen, The Depot, Norman. BLUES Iakovos Kolanian/Larry Hammett, The Depot, Norman. ACOUSTIC

Helen Kelter Skelter, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

Jake Worthington, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon.

COUNTRY

Indigos, Vices Bar & Venue, El Reno. INDIE

Johnny Boyd, The Blue Door. BLUES

K.C. Clifford/Mary Bragg, The Blue Door.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Metro Strings, Full Circle Bookstore. CLASSICAL

Kyle Dillingham/Horseshoe Road, CHK | Central Boathouse. BLUEGRASS Layken Urie, Brewskeys. COUNTRY

Mike McClure Band, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ROCK Portrayal of Guilt/The Tooth/Crutch, Warehouse B. PUNK

Mojo Thief, Anthem Brewing Company. ROCK

MONDAY, 11.20

Raina Cobb, The Root. SINGER/SONGWRITER

AJJ, Opolis, Norman. PUNK

Randy Cassimus, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC

Western Settings, Blue Note Lounge. PUNK

Ryan Viser, The Deli, Norman. ELECTRONIC Saint Loretto, 51st Street Speakeasy. POP Sean C. Johnson/Adam & Kizzie/Tony Foster Jr. and more, The Auditorium at the Douglass. VARIOUS Space 4 Lease/Special Thumbs, Opolis, Norman. INDIE The Lovin’ Spoonful, Tower Theatre. FOLK Zin Babys, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

SATURDAY, 11.18 Boogie Fever, Remington Park. VARIOUS

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Yo Gotti, The Criterion. RAP

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Coldfront/Hot Mulligan, 89th Street Collective. POP Hank Woji/Susan Herndon/Terry & ‘Buffalo’ Ware, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER Savoy Trio, Will Rogers Lobby Cafe & Bar. JAZZ Scott Collins, Red Brick Bar, Norman. FOLK

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Brandon Jackson, Anthem Brewing Company.

COUNTRY

Buddy South, Bedlam Bar-B-Q. ROCK DJ Darku J, Fassler Hall. DJ Echo-21, OKC Limits. ROCK Ellis Paul, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER Foxburrows/Slow Dreamer/Sleeping Jesus, Opolis, Norman. INDIE Hawthorne Heights/Heavy Things, 89th Street OKC. ROCK Jason Combs/Kyle Reid, Will Rogers Lobby Cafe & Bar. VARIOUS

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puzzles New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle Lane Changes

By Natan Last | Edited by Will Shortz | 1105 ACROSS 1 Popular web portal 4 Sweet stuff 11 Braggadocio 18 “Well, well, well!”

19 Coming 20 Slant in columns 22 1992 movie based on an SNL sketch … or, diverged: Modus vivendi 24 Railroad line?

25 “Out!” 26 Suffix with host 27 Like pins-and-needles feelings 29 Mystiques 30 Defunct org. in which Donald Trump owned the New Jersey Generals 32 “Adios!”

33 Prince Valiant son 34 “We’re doomed!”

39 Computer mouse action … or,

diverged: Event for RuPaul 44 Less friendly 45 Blue-roofed eatery 47 Gambols 48 Time to remember 49 Erstwhile Fords 50 “The Simpsons Theme”

composer Danny 52 Many a frat pledge 53 Become bored (of) 54 ____ mother 55 Scarcely 56 Freudian “will to live” 58 Better, to an impatient boss 60 Spots likely to smear 63 Italian novelist Morante 66 Destroys, in gamer-speak 67 1916 Frost verse … or, diverged:

Start of a saying about

meaning well 71 Star Wars nomad 73 Opposite of “da” 74 Put a cover on 78 Molson rival 80 “No ____!”

82 Heads overseas?

83 Coral, e.g.

84 A long way off 85 Part of a treasure chest 89 Another form of “Jehovah” 91 Big swig 92 WWII org. whose insignia

featured Athena 93 Prepare, as leftovers

95 Fill-up filler 96 Cassava, for one 97 Bring someone home … or,

diverged: Common high

school offering 100 Frigid 102 From l. to r.

103 Proscriptions 105 Chill out 106 “Button” that’s plainly visible 109 Showy debut 110 A germophobe might have it,

for short 112 Acronym for the four major

entertainment awards 115 Artist with the third-most Top

40 hits in the 1960s, behind Elvis

and the Beatles 117 Nissan SUVs … or, diverged:

Emotional appeal 120 Hit 2007 Will Smith film 121 Some potatoes 122 Comic-strip cry 123 Establish, as rules 124 Gratiano’s love in The

Merchant of Venice 125 Line in the sand?

DOWN 1 Does course work?

2 Bygone title 3 Expression of shock at

someone’s actions 4 Go after for redress 5 Try to induce a bigger purchase 6 Rookery cries 7 Symbols of density 8 Beyond, to bards 9 Sea dogs 10 Went for a whirl 11 Vegas casino robbed in

Ocean’s Eleven 12 Without purpose 13 Supermodel Carangi 14 Armless coats that may bear

coats of arms 15 Overflow (with) 16 Fabulist 17 Russia’s ____ Sea (arm of the

Arctic Ocean) 20 Hungarians 21 Activist youth org.

23 Snacks 28 Ball brand

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36 Monumental support 37 TV band 38 “Word on the street is …”

40 Deadly cobra 41 Wilson of The Office 42 They might be giants 43 Kind of review 46 The usual 50 Actress Sommer 51 “Keep out” sign 53 Burgs 55 Bygone Apple app 57 ____-pitch 59 Autobahn autos

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75 “How Deep Is Your Love” group 76 Introduction to the Analysis of

the Infinite writer 77 Cool again 78 God, informally 79 Gender-neutral possessive 81 Lummox 86 Philip ____, first Asian-

American film actor to get a star

on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

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

Sudoku very hard | n°23651 Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9. www.printmysudoku.com

Digital Media & Calendar Coordinator Hannah Meeske

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87 Milk star, 2008 88 Interrupted midsentence?

90 Like leprechauns 91 Tipsy 93 Shrank 94 Skipjack, e.g.

96 Early flight inits.

98 For naught 99 Straight-talking 101 Certain radio format 104 What you might sit in by the pool 106 Kabuki sash 107 Territory in Risk 108 Motif for Verdi or Monteverdi 109 Whole heap 110 “Fancy seeing you here!”

111 $$$ bigwigs 113 Certain fro-yo add-in 114 Sounds of reproof 116 Back 118 Besmirch 119 Eavesdropping org.

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Advertising advertising@okgazette.com 405-528-6000 Account EXECUTIVES Stephanie Van Horn Saundra Rinearson Godwin Christy Duane Kurtis DeLozier

New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers Puzzle No. 1029, which appeared in the November 8 issue.

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

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EDITOR-in-chief George Lang glang@okgazette.com Assistant EDITOR Brittany Pickering Staff reporters Laura Eastes Ben Luschen Jacob Threadgill Contributors Sean Isabella, Ian Jayne, Jeremy Martin, Jessica Williams Circulation Manager Chad Bleakley Art Director Chris Street Production coordinator Aubrey Jernigan Graphic Designers Megan Nance Jim Massara Order mounted or ready-to-frame prints of Oklahoma Gazette covers, articles and photos at okgazette.yourheadline.com

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free will astrology Homework: Is there a belief you know you should live without, but don’t yet have the courage to leave behind? FreeWillAstrology.com

healthiest for your soul is to bask in the uncertainty for a while.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

According to storyteller Michael Meade, ancient Celtic culture believed that “a person was born through three forces: the coming together of the mother and father, an ancestral spirit’s wish to be reborn, and the involvement of a god or goddess.” Even if you don’t think that’s literally true, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to have fun fantasizing it is. That’s because you’re in a phase when contemplating your origins can invigorate your spiritual health and attract good fortune into your life. So start with the Celtic theory, and go on from there. Which of your ancestors may have sought to live again through you? Which deity might have had a vested interest in you being born? What did you come to this earth to accomplish?

Which of your innate potentials have you yet to fully develop, and what can you do to further develop them?

“Many people go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after,” observed Henry David Thoreau. The spirit of Thoreau’s observation is true about every one of us to some extent. From time to time, we all try to satisfy our desires in the wrong location, with the wrong tools, and with the wrong people. But I’m happy to announce that his epigram is less true for you now than it has ever been. In the coming months, you will have an unusually good chance to know exactly what you want, be in the right place at the right time to get it, and still want it after you get it. And it all starts now.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

I predict that during the next ten months, you will generate personal power and good fortune as you ripen your skills at creating interesting forms of intimacy. Get started! Here are some tips to keep in mind. 1. All relationships have problems. Every single one, no exceptions! So you should cultivate relationships that bring you useful and educational problems. 2. Be very clear about the qualities you do and don’t want at the core of your most important alliances. 3. Were there past events that still obstruct you from weaving the kind of togetherness that’s really good for you? Use your imagination to put those events behind you forever.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

You may be entertaining an internal dialog that sounds something like this: “I need a clear yes or a definitive no . . . a tender revelation or a radical revolution . . . a lesson in love or a cleansing sex marathon -- but I’m not sure which! Should I descend or ascend? Plunge deeper down, all the way to the bottom? Or zip higher up, in a heedless flight into the wide open spaces?

Would I be happier in the poignant embrace of an intense commitment or in the wild frontier where none of the old rules can follow me? I can’t decide! I don’t know which part of my mind I should trust!” If you do hear those thoughts in your brain, Gemini, here’s my advice: There’s no rush to decide. What’s

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

I predict that starting today and during the next ten months, you will learn more about treating yourself kindly and making yourself happy than you have in years. You will mostly steer clear of the mindset that regards life as a numbing struggle for mere survival.

You will regularly dream up creative ideas about how to have more fun while attending to the mundane tasks in your daily rhythm. Here’s the question I hope you will ask yourself every morning for the next 299 days: “How can I love myself wth devotion and ingenuity?”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

This may be the most miscellaneous horoscope I’ve ever created for you. That’s apropos, given the fact that you’re a multifaceted quick-change artist these days.

Here’s your sweet mess of oracles. 1. If the triumph you seek isn’t humbling, it’s not the right triumph. 2.

You may have an odd impulse to reclaim or recoup something that you have not in fact lost. 3. Before transmutation is possible, you must pay a debt. 4. Don’t be held captive by your beliefs. 5. If you’re given a choice between profane and sacred love, choose sacred.

Homes

Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Sagittarians are most likely to buy a lottery ticket that has the winning numbers. But you’re also more likely than everyone else to throw the ticket in a drawer and forget about it, or else leave it in your jeans when you do the laundry, rendering the ticket unreadable. Please don’t be like that in the coming weeks. Make sure you do what’s necessary to fully cash in on the good fortune that life will be making available.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

In the game of basketball, if a player is fouled by a member of the opposing team, he is given a “free throw.” While standing 15 feet away, he takes a leisurely shot at the basket without having to deal with any defenders. Studies show that a player is most

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likely to succeed at this task if he shoots the ball underhanded. Yet virtually no professionals ever do this. Why? Because it doesn’t look cool. Everyone opts to shoot free throws overhand, even though it’s not as effective a technique. Weird! Let’s invoke this as a metaphor for your life in the coming weeks, Capricorn.

In my astrological opinion, you’ll be more likely to accomplish good and useful things if you’re willing to look uncool.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

In 1991, Aquarius rock star Axl Rose recorded the song “November Rain” with his band Guns N’ Roses. It had taken him eight years to compose it. Before it was finally ready for prime time, he had to whittle it down from an 18-minute-long epic to a more succint nineminute ballad. I see the coming weeks as a time when you should strive to complete work on your personal equivalent of Axl’s opus.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

Thomas Edison was a prolific inventor whose work led to the creation of electric lights, recorded music, movies, and much more. When he was 49 years old, he met Henry Ford, a younger innovator who was at the beginning of his illustrious career. Ford told Edison about his hopes to develop and manufacture low-cost automobiles, and the older man responded with an emphatic endorsement. Ford later said this was the first time anyone had given him any encouragement. Edison’s approval “was worth worlds” to him. I predict, Pisces, that you will receive comparable inspiration from a mentor or guide or teacher in the next nine months. Be on the lookout for that person.

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.

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“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”

- Charles H. Duell, Director of the U.S. Patent Office, 1899. “Heavier-than-air f lying machines are impossible.” - Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895. “All the music that can be written has already been written. We’re just repeating the past.” - 19thcentury composer Tschaikovsky. “Video won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a box every night.” - filmmaker Darryl F. Zanuck, commenting on television in 1946. I hope I’ve provided enough evidence to convince you to be faithful to your innovative ideas, Scorpio. Don’t let skeptics or conventional thinkers waylay you.

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The next ten months will be an ideal time to revise and revamp your approach to education. To take maximum advantage of the potentials, create a master plan to get the training and knowledge you’ll need to thrive for years to come. At first, it may be a challenge to acknowledge that you have a lot more to learn. The comfort-loving part of your nature may be resistant to contemplating the hard work it will require to expand your worldview and enhance your skills. But once you get started, you’ll quickly find the process becoming easier and more pleasurable.

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