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INSIDE

INSIDE Fa la la la la ’round the holidays this year. The Oklahoma City metro area offers a blizzard of heartwearming, soul-soothing, less-stressful local shopping opportunities this season, which is a gift every shopper can enjoy. Cover by Chris Street

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State employment law Education Edgemere Elementary School

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Education Every Student Succeeds Act

10 12

Chicken-Fried News Letters

13 14 16 17

Feature energy boosters Review Fusion Kitchen Briefs Feature OKC Over Easy podcast

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Gazedibles quiet places

27

GAZETTE WEEKLY WINNER! JALAINA MILLER

30 Performing Arts Canterbury Christmas 31

Youth Metropolitan Library System ONEcard

31

Youth Mystery of the Mayan Medallion

34 Calendar

25 Culture Downtown in December

37 Event Brian Setzer Orchestra 39 Feature Leon Russell’s legacy 40 Shopping Record Store Day: Black Friday 41

FUN

26 Visual Arts Resonator creative workspace

29 Performing Arts A Love Supreme — The Legacy of John Coltrane

33 Buy This

MUSIC

A&C

24 Shopping Holiday Pop-Up Shops

Performing Arts Brian Regan comedy

32 Community Luggage with Love

20 Shopping Small Business Saturday 22 Shopping Deluxe Winter Market

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28 Performing Arts A Tuna Christmas

ARTS & CULTURE

EAT & DRINK

NEWS

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COVER

MISSION STATEMENT Oklahoma Gazette’s mission is to stimulate, examine and inform the public on local quality of life issues and social needs, to recognize community accomplishments, and to provide a forum for inspiration, participation and interaction across all media.

39

Live Music

41 Astrology 42 Puzzles sudoku | crossword

CLASSIFIEDS 43

To claim your tickets, call 528-6000 or come by our offices by 11/30/16!

For information on entering this week’s Gazette Giveaway see pg.42

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s tat e

NEWS

Work changes New federal overtime regulations could have a have big impact in Oklahoma.

By Laura Eastes

A new U.S. Department of Labor rule that is expected to have an enormous impact on the workforce goes into effect next week, impacting some 48,000 white-collar workers in Oklahoma.

Under the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations, salaried workers must get overtime pay — time and a half after 40 hours — if they earn less than $47,476 a year, double the previous threshold of $23,660.

Some workers earning $47,467 or more annually would be exempt from being paid overtime.

Championed by President Barack Obama, the federal law change is intended to increase take-home pay for salaried workers — classified as executives — who regularly work more than 40 hours. In other words, employees who put in 60 hours in a week no longer earn the same amount of money as when they worked 40. Ideally, the Obama administration hopes employers raise salaries to $47,476 or workers clock every hour above 40 to earn time and a half.

While the new law was viewed as a welcome change by many of the estimated 4.2 million impacted workers across America, it’s not turning out to be the gamechanger many imagined as businesses adopt approaches to ensure compliance and minimize the potentially sizable impact to their company’s bottom line.

That’s especially true in Oklahoma, where the median household income was $46,235 two years ago; the new national rule presents significant challenges to most employers. Employment experts say it’s unlikely that 48,000 workers will see a significant bump in take-home pay.

“Although it is estimated that 4.2 million workers will be affected by the new regulations, employees should realize that not everyone is getting a raise,” said Elizabeth Bowersox, an employment attorney with McAfee & Taft law firm in Oklahoma City.

“Some employers may decide to reclassify employees as hourly rather than salaried, and some employees simply do not fall under the new regulation in the first place. … Gone are the days of managerial employees making $25,000 or $30,000 per year and regularly working 50 or 60 hours a week with no overtime.”

With the deadline to implement the new regulations nearing, many human resource professionals and business owners are moving quickly to figure out how they’ll respond to the changes, said Lindsey Nichols, a human resources professional who serves as director of the Oklahoma State Council for Human Resource Management.

“The intent of the regulation was to grant overtime to more workers,” Nichols said.

“The reality is that most employers cannot afford a substantial increase to their payroll 4

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budget. Employers must make adjustments to employee pay, schedules and duties to ensure that the financial impact does not prevent them from accomplishing other company goals.”

Reactions

Some business leaders have warned that the new overtime regulations could force them to eliminate some services and lay off employees in addition to making other workforce changes. This fall, federal lawmakers sounded off on the new overtime regulations, including those from Oklahoma’s delegation.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican representing south-central Oklahoma and chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, included language in a 2017 appropriation bill to prevent the rule.

“I am a strong supporter of small business in America, and I am also a strong advocate for improving the lives and livelihood of middle-class families,” Cole wrote in an Oct. 31 column titled, This Rule Can Put You Out of Business. “Unfortunately, these new overtime rules do damage to both of these groups. Congress would be wise to pump the brakes on this proposal and to advance proven, free-market economic policies which help small businesses thrive and their workers prosper.”

Republican U.S. Senator James Lankford proposed a bill to delay the rule’s implementation from Dec. 1 to June 1. The Oklahoma City lawmaker said the rule goes “too high, too fast” and many business owners are unaware of the new regulations.

The Oklahoma Department of Labor began receiving calls with questions from business owners and labor associations last summer. In response, department officials studied the rule and came away with two concerns, said Labor Commissioner Melissa McLawhorn Houston.

In a September letter to Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Houston wrote, “The minimum salary level of $913 per week ($47,476 annually) may be too high of a mandate to force compliance on a state like Oklahoma. This level of income, which defines so-called ‘white-collar employees,’ is greater than the Oklahoma median household income. … The difference in the cost of living in Oklahoma compared to, say, New York or California, should be properly considered before making an across-the-board revision; one size does not always fit all.”

The new rule also automatically increases the minimum salary level every three years, another concern of the state Department of Labor, Houston said.

“To automatically raise salaries every three years without rule-making is not how our system of government was designed to

Labor Commissioner Melissa McLawhorn Houston sent a letter to Attorney General Scott Pruitt addressing concerns with the new Fair Labor Standards Act overtime regulations. | Photo Gazette / file

work,” Houston told Oklahoma Gazette.

Oklahoma is one of 21 states challenging the law in federal court on such concerns.

The complaint urges the court to prevent the implementation of the new rule, and a federal judge could issue an injunction just before the Dec. 1 implementation date.

Workplace changes

Oklahoma State Council for Human Resource Management has guided its members on the new regulations. Since May, monthly meetings included discussion on the FLSA regulations and members sharing strategies for coming into compliance.

“Those strategies began with a review of existing job descriptions, analyzing current compensation and hours worked,” Nichols said. “After initial assessments were made, strategies were developed to minimize the impact of the regulations on organizations.”

Groups like teachers, blue-collar workers, first responders and some sales workers do not quality for the new change in exemption. Generally, employees classified as executive, administrative and professional will be impacted under the new federal law.

After analysis, employers were left with substantial decisions, said Bowersox, whose law firm has worked with clients to aid with compliance.

“Employers who have employees who are currently classified as exempt under the executive, administrative or professional exemption but who make less than the

$47,476 amount will have to decide whether to raise the employees’ salaries so they can keep the exemption or whether they should be reclassified as hourly employees,” Bowersox said. “The decision whether to give a raise will depend on many factors, including how many hours the employee generally works, how close they are to the new salary amount already and the administrative costs of tracking. These are decisions that will be difficult to make overnight.”

The U.S. Department of Labor recommends employers either raise workers’ salaries above the new threshold, pay time and a half for overtime work or limit workers’ hours to 40 per week. Some employers plan to enact a combination of those three recommendations.

As more employers announce reclassifying salaried employees to hourly, it appears the new rule will have little impact on compensation levels. Instead, workers should expect a major shift in the white-collar workforce environment.

“We are telling our employees that now, not only will you be an hourly employees, but you must keep record of your hours worked and will be paid accordingly,” Nichols said. “We also are telling those employees who are now being classified as non-exempt that they won’t have access to company email after hours. If they have a doctor’s appointment, they must clock out and now substitute that time with paid time off or work longer hours to ensure they work at least 40 hours that week.”

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NEWS Colin Strickland talks about Edgemere Elementary School, which adopted a community schools model during the 2014-15 academic year. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

shared with families in need. With each meal, each gift, each day, Strickland said, the bonds between the parents and school leaders strengthen.

“It opens communication between families and the school,” he said. “We might not be able to track down resources for every single person in need, but we’ve started the conversation: ‘How can we help? How can we connect you?’”

e d u c at i o n

Support

Allied effort

Edgemere school leaders, along with the community, labor to erase the achievement gap by addressing the root of the problem: poverty.

By

Laura Eastes At Oklahoma City’s Edgemere Elementary School, challenges follow many children into classrooms each morning, but the community school model brings light.

Longtime educators in high-poverty schools, like Alisa Stieg, understand that the struggles are not just for academic success but also to improve the lives of children from economically disadvantaged homes.

Hungry bellies prevent students from retaining classroom lessons. The stress of a dysfunctional or unstable home can lead to acting out, which disrupts the learning process for all students.

Leaders at Edgemere enacted a community school framework to address these challenges with a robust academic program for the school’s 200 students. It provides an array of in-school mental, physical and social services to students and families.

“Our purpose is to find out what is broken,” said Stieg, who was named principal in 2014. “What are the barriers, and how can we build a bridge for the child? We want the child to cross over to the other side where, as an adult, they have the opportunity to be employed and live a rich and fulfilling life. We are trying to un-break a broken system.”

Edgemere is one of 54 elementary schools in Oklahoma City Public Schools, the state’s largest public school district.

Edgemere, a Title 1 school with a long history of serving students from Jefferson Park, 6

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Paseo and Crown Heights-Edgemere Heights neighborhoods, distinguishes itself as a community school, a preferred model of education reform by former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Community schools combine education with strong school and community resource partnerships. School staff and community partners work to meet the needs of students and their families, a majority of which live in or on the edge of poverty. More than 90 percent of students qualify for Title 1 services, which are determined by the federal government. The nonprofit group Friends of Edgemere School advocated converting the prekindergarten through sixth-grade school into The David R. Lopez Community School at Edgemere Elementary. Lopez is a former Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and OKCPS interim superintendent.

At Edgemere, education also means a Sunbeam Family Services counselor sits with troubled students at lunch. It means school leaders share donated holiday meals with families who would otherwise go without. It means a college student volunteers to teach strings lessons after the school’s program was cut.

Today, in Edgemere’s third academic year as a community school, more than 30 organizations, businesses and churches, along with a lengthy list of parents, neighbors, professionals and college students who volunteer weekly, work with the school.

Signs of early success are obvious.

Student artwork adorns hallways. Pupils sit rapt in the library as their teacher reads to them. Children wave and smile to school staff as they pass each other in the hallways.

One classroom was converted into a tutoring space for volunteers to meet one-on-one with students. In the front office, blue fliers provide parents a starting place to fill gaps in basic needs like food, clothing, housing and health care.

“Our school system can’t do it alone,” Stieg said. “It takes every other individual from outside the walls of this school to contribute their time, talents or treasures.”

Building resources

As the community school coordinator, Colin Strickland is mainly responsible for fostering the partnerships and programs established over the past three years. The partnerships can be broken down into three categories: resources, enrichments and academics.

For resources, Strickland works with local businesses on school supply and book drives. He fields calls about needs and facilitates donations. Strickland knows who to call to help families in crisis. He refers families to myriad local nonprofits and government agencies.

Organizations like Boy Scouts of America, Arts Council Oklahoma City, El Sistema Oklahoma, Girls on the Run and Oklahoma Children’s Theatre complete the enrichment plan with afterschool learning programs. For academics, Strickland welcomes volunteers into the building daily.

Some read to children, while others tutor in subjects like math and English. Students also discover friendship and mentorship among the volunteers.

This week, more than 30 Edgemere families received Thanksgiving food baskets. In a few weeks, holiday gifts will be

When school began Aug. 1, one of the first questions posited by Heather Coffey’s fourth-graders was, “When are we starting afterschool programs?”

“They kept asking,” Coffey said and explained afterschool programs energize classrooms and individual students. “They get to be involved in extracurricular activities that most schools do not offer.

Typically, only students whose parents can afford and can drive get a chance to be involved. It’s a huge difference.”

Coffey’s first interaction with urban schools was as an adult teacher in Oklahoma City. She grew up 60 miles west, in a small rural school district. There, the sense of community translated to strong student and teacher support. She noticed communitywide support wasn’t as developed in the urban schools she taught at before Edgemere.

“When I walked into Edgemere, I felt like I was back in my hometown,” Coffey said. “The teachers and students get support, both in time and in finances.”

For the past six years, Jackie Fix — a Friends of Edgemere School board member and parent — has watched the school closely and contends the community school model has served both teachers and students well.

“The students know that teachers care about them,” Fix said. “Teachers are telling their students they will succeed. That changes attitudes. It helps the kids with their approach to life and prepares them for when they go home and deal with situations they shouldn’t have to.”

On point

School leaders like Stieg and Strickland are optimistic that Edgemere has established the right supports to close achievement gaps and influence the future of impoverished students from nearby neighborhoods. At the same time, the two realize the community school model requires long-term work. The effects of poverty and complex social structures, exacerbated by levels of inequality and minimal funding, will continue indefinitely to challenge Edgemere and other schools.

“I don’t think we will ever get to the place where we feel like we’ve arrived,” Stieg said.

Both want Edgemere to become a school of choice, one where all parents want to send their children.

“There are resources in place here so that any child can be successful,” Strickland said. “There is no reason why this can’t be a neighborhood hub. It is just a matter of resources and connecting.”

Provided this degree of care and communal support continues, it might only be a matter of time.

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NEWS Joy Hofmeister listens to a teacher speak during a Nov. 14 town hall meeting at Capitol Hill High School. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

how to measure student and school success at Oklahoma City’s Capitol Hill High School.

It was the third of a seven-city town hall series that continues into December.

With each question, hands were raised as community members asked about revamping school policies under ESSA, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. The federal legislation allows states the authority to create their own school accountability measures and other policies. In Oklahoma, where education is viewed as being in crisis, public input was abundant.

Narrowing focus

E d u c at i o N

Gathering views

The community weighs in on public school achievement and accountability guidelines as Oklahoma crafts plans to meet federal Every Student Succeeds Act requirements. By Laura Eastes

When Oklahoma’s top school official asked community members what changes to the state accountability system they want under the Every Student Succeeds Act, many teachers, parents and school leaders were ready for their turn at the microphone.

One teacher suggested creating student portfolios as an assessment tool for student growth. Another educator recommended districts be held accountable for the number of graduates in remedial college classes a year after receiving their high school diplomas.

Poverty’s impact

One superintendent, surrounded by teachers, described students arriving to school ravenous, as their last meal was the day before. A minority of students on the varsity basketball team live with their parents.

Poverty isn’t considered when the Oklahoma State Department of Education configures state A-F grades for public schools, the superintendent asserted. A label of “D” or “F” also demoralizes communities and teachers.

As many in the crowd nodded and murmured in agreement, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said

that a state education department task force was exploring ways to address poverty’s impact when considering school accountability.

“Our kids deserve to have a vibrant and well-rounded education,” Hofmeister said as she emphasized expectations would not be lowered for children who live in economically disadvantaged households.

State guidelines

As part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), in 2016, all 50 state education departments assembled task forces, created online surveys and hosted town hall meetings. The federal standards are not a “one size fits all” approach to education.

Unlike past federal requirements, teachers and parents in every state have opportunities to discuss and shape policy before it becomes a mandate.

In Oklahoma, Hofmeister established 13 advisory councils and an online survey allows public feedback. Last week, Hofmeister discussed with the community what’s missing in Oklahoma’s schools and

Two years ago, Oklahoma voters elected Hofmeister, who campaigned heavily on addressing issues such as overtesting, low pay, teacher shortages and faults in the state’s assessment of schools. Once in office, Hofmeister continued her push to improve issues such as salaries and shortages. Her accomplishments include overhauling student testing requirements, ushering in new academic standards and advocating for increased public education funding.

For many in education, ESSA is an opportunity to improve the state’s A-F school accountability system. New guidelines could provide more insight into how to best facilitate higher student achievement, especially in high-poverty schools and districts.

Drafting a plan

This month, state education officials released the first draft of the Oklahoma plan.

The state is required to develop longterm goals in areas of academic achievement, graduation rates and English language proficiency. Following feedback from town halls and surveys, a second draft is planned for a February release. Again, the public is encouraged to comment on the proposal.

In May, the governor will review Oklahoma’s plan. In July, the United States Department of Education should receive state-approved guidelines.

The public is still months away from getting a full sense of the state’s final ESSA plan. Everyone agrees the stakes are high.

“I am very encouraged as I hear some of the comments because we are going in the right direction,” Hofmeister said. “I do have hope that we will continue to meet the challenges head-on with the spirit of Oklahoma resiliency.”

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11/15/16 3:209 PM

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chicken

friedNEWS

Flavored with Hamm

Oklahoma oil magnate Harold Hamm could be getting a big promotion soon.

USA Today reported the Continental Resources owner and Donald Trump campaign advisor — whom Trump calls the “king of energy” — is rumored to be a candidate for energy secretary in Trump’s cabinet.

Fortune reported the president-elect, in a speech at a shale gas conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in September, vowed to “eliminate all ‘unnecessary’ regulations in the energy industry and place a temporary moratorium on all new regulations that aren’t compelled by Congress or public safety.”

Naturally, Hamm agreed. He believes the government has greatly impeded the oil and gas industry and the regulations gotta go.

“There’s so many of these overreaching regulations that’s gone on. My goodness. We called it death by a thousand cuts, and that’s exactly what it was intended to do,” Hamm recently told CNBC’s Power Lunch.

CNBC reported that Hamm thinks the government should lease more federal land for drilling instead of “holding back exploration and productions firms like Continental.”

The news channel also reported the Bureau of Land Management only issued 852 leases for drilling in 2015, down from 2,188 leases in 2011.

USA Today and Washington consulting firm ClearView Energy Partners reported that the new Trump administration changes could include coming to the aid of controversial projects like the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines and revise exporting and disclosure requirements related to climate change risks. Fortune reported that other rules could reverse protections of waterways and eliminate the Clean Power Plan.

Changes, they are definitely a-coming, and there’s a chance they could have Hamm all over them.

Law & Order: Facebook

The most stolen vehicle in Oklahoma last year was a 1994 full-sized Chevrolet pickup, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Second, third and fourth places went to full-size pickups from Ford, Dodge and GMC, respectively.

Nowhere on the list is a classic 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, but that’s exactly what was taken from Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws star James “The Reaper” Goad overnight Nov. 9 or 10 from the 8600 block of S. Interstate 35 Service Road, according to Oklahoma City Police Department’s Facebook page.

The distinctive copper and black car is reportedly worth $175,000, but Goad told KFOR.com that he

wasn’t interested in the money as much as getting back a classic automobile he spent 2,000 hours building and customizing.

Also taken were three all-terrain vehicles, a motorcycle and 16 vehicle rims and tires, police said.

Wouldn’t a classic car driven by a reality TV star be easy to spot? It turns out the thieves thought so, because Goad reported live on Facebook Nov. 11 that the car was back in his possession.

“I got my car back,” he told his followers. “I received a private message earlier today that said the car was going to be put out on the street and I could come get it.”

He thanked the people on the social media site and police for sharing the theft and helping him retrieve the Chevrolet. A few days later, he shared pictures of it with an update on its condition.

“Back home safe and sound [with] three pretty good gouges in the paint and the corner of the hood bent, but very minor compared to what it could have been,” Goad wrote.

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Crime watch

We at Chicken-Fried News don’t know if the Heritage Hills neighborhood has an established crime watch or crime patrol.

If it does, we recommend Dr. Benjamin White at the top of the list to lead the organized group of neighbors preventing crime.

After reading a recent KFOR. com article, we know a few things about the very excellent doctor.

First, he isn’t afraid to admit cat burglars and thieves make him mad.

Second, in the moments of rage, he will approach any suspected intruder and ask what they are doing.

According to the TV news outlet, earlier this month, White encountered a man coming out of his own garage with his bike.

“I should have retreated, but I confronted him and shone my flashlight in his eyes and asked what he’s doing in my garage with my bike,” Dr. White told KFOR.com.

The perpetrator set the bike down and ran away.

Days later, another neighbor reported someone breaking into their garage to Oklahoma City police, who later arrested

the suspect. Police believe the accused is connected to three burglary cases, including Dr. White’s.

The good doctor has some advice to those thinking about stealing bicycles or breaking into garages.

“To break into a home to steal bikes doesn’t make a lot of sense,” White told KFOR.com. “It doesn’t seem to be a very high reward for the amount of risk he’s taking. Breaking into a garage in Oklahoma, you could very well get shot.”

Loose lips

A recent hotel dispute will leave one man scarred for life.

According to a story by KFOR. com, police were called to Crown Plaza Hotel on Northwest Expressway to respond to an altercation between two men.

When officers arrived at the hotel, they found the victim covered in blood and standing in the lobby with his fiancée.

The couple was preparing to go to a party elsewhere with one of the victim’s coworkers when the two got into a fight.

The police noticed a large chunk of the victim’s lower lip was missing, and it was explained to them that the coworker, Ralfael Chubbs, bit it off during the dispute.

An OKCFox.com report states the victim said Chubbs was “really drunk.”

Police went to the hotel room where Chubbs opened the door for them. When officers asked what happened between Chubbs and the victim, Chubbs reportedly replied, “Nothing.”

As the police surveyed the room, they found blood spattered across the white comforters and the walls. The police report says one officer noticed a “bloody piece of brown, human flesh lying on the hallway carpet.” (This is probably enough detail to end any fantasy about quitting one’s day job and taking up work as a hotel maid.)

Police arrested Chubbs on a charge of felony maiming.

The victim was sent to the hospital along with the piece of his lip found in the hotel room, but OKCFox.com reported doctors were unable to reattach it to his face.

Quote of the week

“When I had a chance to go on the road with Jerry Lee Lewis. I’d just spent three days, 12 hours a day, taking entrance examinations to Tulsa University, and I just thought, ‘Well, it’s a waste of time,’ ‘cause I have to study so many things I’m not interested in,” longtime Oklahoma-raised musician Leon Russell told Rolling Stone magazine in 1970. “ROTC I had to take, and right away, I knew that I didn’t want to do that. I figured this was my chance to eat in a lot of restaurants and travel around, play some rock and roll music, which I decided was easier and better.”

— Tulsa Sound and Southern rock stalwart Leon Russell died Nov. 13 at age 74. See our related story on P. 39.

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11

letters

NEWS getting better and better.

This is still the land of the free. God bless America, humanity’s greatest hope and achievement.

Julian K. Codding Edmond

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.

Hard driving?

Had read an article a few years back about friction commuter cyclists get with Oklahoma drivers.

Just thought you might want to know what I learned today; because I ride a bicycle to work, I’m a “faggot” and I don’t own any automobiles and I don’t have a family. Wow; this guy sure makes a bad representation of Oklahomans. What does my sexual preference have to do with being a commuter cyclist?

William Wester Midwest City

Processing the election

So, I took a day or so to process my feelings over the election. As many of my friends know, I posted a lot of political things over the last year. And yesterday morning, I woke up in tears. I was so sick to my stomach I couldn’t function most of the day. Some of you are probably thinking, “Come on. Seriously. Why all the drama?”

Why should I be so upset, right?

You are obviously different from me. I read all the well-meaning and positive comments about unity and hope and praying for our new president (all of them, by the way, written by my white friends). I tried to put everything into perspective. I made a list of what I felt I had in my favor to feel hopeful for the future. I am a “past-her-prime,” deliriously happily married Christian white woman who doesn’t have to work for a living anymore, with a nice home, a healthy family, a few cars in my garage and the ability to travel and concentrate on my hobbies in a state so safe that a lot of people don’t even lock their homes. What do I have to be so worried about?

My ancestors either came to this country in the 1600s or were already here.

I am as American as it gets. I mean, I’m not a Muslim who must now fear even more for her safety, but I have friends who are.

I’m not African-American with all the social injustices that come with that, but my grandchildren are. I’m not in my childbearing years, worrying about health care, but my daughters are. I’m not MexicanAmerican, but my grandchildren are.

The Second Amendment was never a worry for me. In fact, I have never known a single person in my 58 years that has had to defend his or her family using a handgun or automatic assault weapon. I don’t own any guns, but I watch the news every day wondering who will be the next victim of those who do have those weapons.

I’m not young and attractive, so I don’t have to worry much about sexual predators in safe little New Hampshire, but my daughters have to worry, especially now that they have a role model in the White House. I don’t have financial issues about health insurance, but my family does. I don’t live in an area threatened by a pipeline, but my Native American ancestors call me to care not only now but for the future of a planet they treasured. No one in my family serves in the military at this time, but I have four grandsons and two granddaughters who may someday have to fight in wars started by a president who claims to love war.

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I was raised in an era where we were taught that Communism and the USSR (Russia, for those of you too young to remember) were our ideological enemies, a time when many people gave their lives during the Cold War to stop the spread, but now we have a president who adores their dictator.

I am not handicapped nor do I have children with disabilities, but I have family members who do and have to worry about a president who mocks those people on TV. I don’t have to depend on social programs, but I once had to depend on food stamps to feed my kids because I didn’t make enough money as a teacher in Oklahoma to take care of my family as a single mom, but I’m sure billionaire, white privileged, privateschooled Mr. Trump is going to correct that problem. With any luck at all, Social Security will only supplement our income, if it survives at all now in a totally Republicancontrolled government, but my father counts on it. I could go on and on.

So, I guess, overall, I really shouldn’t be upset, right? The deck seems to be stacked in my favor. I mean, the Lord is in control, right? But the one thing all of us had better remember is that God gave us free will.

When we make choices that run counter to His plan for us, we often suffer the consequences of the bad choices we make and the ones made by others.

I cry because I believe with all my heart that my family is going to suffer a great deal from the free will of white America, which decided that a man like Donald Trump should be the leader of the free world, a man whose every word points to a less free world for everyone different from me.

Julie Anderson, a former Edmond public school teacher New Hampshire

War machine

At 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the War to End War came to an end.

In truth, it was the seed of relentless war that took about 13 years to incubate before the Japanese invaded Manchukuo (Manchuria) in 1931.

Since then, we have had serious warfare going on somewhere, most of it under the pretense of national defense, for one nation or another.

After WWII, the USA decided to rename our Department of War to the Department of Defense. Though WWII was most definitely a war of defense for us, all of our wars since then have had nothing to do with our defense.

After WWI, the nation recognized that that war had much more to do with profits for the bankers and war material providers who drew us into that war on behalf of their own pecuniary interests. These purveyors of war were accurately labeled the Merchants of Death.

Since W WII, the modern-day Merchants of Death have drawn us into war after war that have had nothing to do with defending our homeland. We have suffered over 100,000 dead, 300,000 wounded of our own and have murdered millions of others on the pretense of defense. None of the killing and carnage we have caused in the interim has had anything to do with defending our homeland.

Learning from Vietnam, the merchants have created the perfect scenario for unlimited profits with minimal public protest by ending both the draft and the raising of taxes to pay for war.

Be quiet or you will be labeled unpatriotic.

Frank Silovsky Oklahoma City

We voted

Election Day; what a great day it is for America and humanity.

We often focus on what’s wrong with our country, and this year, there has been concern from many concerned citizens about the candidates. There won’t be tanks in the streets in America tomorrow. The people voted.

But take a step back and look at the bigger picture. America is the land of the free. Millions of people were free to vote in the greatest nation this earth has ever produced. Despite our challenges, we are

Fair reform

I was happy to see “Local leaders call for immigration law changes” (News, Laura Eastes, Sept. 14, Oklahoma Gazette) published. I could not agree more. Our outdated immigration laws harm families, hurt communities and hinder economic growth. Our elected officials must dedicate themselves to working across the aisle to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Most Americans agree that our current immigration system is broken and in need of serious, permanent changes.

Unfortunately, deadlock in Congress has halted any progress on this serious issue.

As a person of faith, it is also important to me that our immigration laws are just.

Our laws need to keep families together, strengthen border communities and allow all people to fully participate in public life.

These goals can only be accomplished through comprehensive immigration reform.

I hope that our national leaders like Rep. Tom Cole, Sen. James Lankford and Sen. Jim Inhofe will add their voices to call for reform.

Tom Cassidy Norman

Moral compass

Reporter Jessica Williams is correct in saying the OKC Ballet “is going to give people what they didn’t necessarily expect.” What are those dudes packin’ (Arts & Culture, Performing Arts, “Worldly steps,” Sept. 14, Gazette)? They might be attractive, but the picture at first scared my wife, then made her a little sick.

Imagine taking the elementary kids to the ballet. I guess it couldn’t be worse than taking them to the Matisse show at Oklahoma City Museum of Art, where they had to spend too much time looking at poor artwork of fourth-grade level nude paintings while listening to a tour guide explain why the pornography is so acceptable and artistic.

Michael Moberly Oklahoma City

EAT & DRINK

A sausage and egg breakfast burrito at The Lobby Cafe & Bar | Photo Garett Fisbeck

F E AT U R E

The Lobby Cafe & Bar breakfast chef Angela Renee Chase prepares sausage and egg breakfast burritos. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

Power up

’Tis the season to feel worn down, but some Oklahoma City restaurants have dishes to help you plow through the winter. By Greg Elwell

As with so many other things, bears have winter figured out.

Look at their track record: They eat salmon, they are somehow simultaneously adorable and ferocious and every tree is basically a spa package is to them.

Perhaps no bear achievement is more impressive than conquering winter by sleeping through it.

As appealing as hibernation is — bears literally sleep off pounds — it’s not as practical for humans.

“Winter is so tricky. Everything about it is telling our bodies to hibernate and eat heavier foods,” said Nourished Food Bar co-owner Lindsey Riddle.

As a certified nutrition counselor, Riddle studied how closely brain function is linked to food. A car won’t run well if it doesn’t have the right fuel. The same is true for the human body.

Filling up on whole, unprocessed foods is easier on the digestive system, Riddle said. It’s also better for the brain.

Both are reasons Nourished, 131 Dean A. McGee Ave., Suite 115, focuses on reducing the amount of processed foods customers eat. The restaurant’s fall menu features a beet salad, hummus sandwich and vegetarian chili.

People often think comfort food is inherently unhealthy, but vegetarian chili ticks off all the boxes for a great winter meal. It’s warm and filling and the blend of tomatoes, chili peppers and beans are great mood lifters.

“A mindset we’ve encountered a lot is people thinking about what they can’t have

or what they have to leave out,” Riddle said.

“We try to think more about how to make the most out of the inherent flavor and goodness in the foods we eat.”

She and co-owner Jamie Conway make Nourished’s baked goods using healthy fats, nuts and seeds for craveable treats that are good for the body and mind.

Fighting downtown traffic is not great for the mind or body, Riddle said. That’s why Nourished now delivers meals daily to a few yoga, cycling and barre locations across the city. Learn more at nourishedfood.co/meal-subscription.

Wake-up call

Scientists are divided on whether breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, but The Lobby Cafe & Bar chef and baker Angela Renee Chase is partial to it.

She joined the restaurant, 4322 N. Western Ave., in August to cook its graband-go and short order breakfast menus.

One of the most popular items is the breakfast burrito, a simple blend of eggs, cheese, meat and a few vegetables wrapped in a tortilla. It’s a potent combo for fighting through a chilly winter morning because it includes fast-burning carbohydrates for a quick burst of energy and slower-burning protein that keeps diners feeling full longer.

Much of the credit goes to the eggs, which are loaded with protein as well as iron, selenium and vitamins A and B, but nobody would eat them if they don’t taste good.

“I use oil and butter together. It gives them more flavor,” Chase said.

She keeps them fluffy by starting them at high heat and slowly turning the temperature down, creating eggs with a solid consistency that don’t leach moisture into the tortilla.

Another way she reduces the moisture is by cooking the meats — ham, bacon or sausage — separately from the eggs. Animal fats mess with the binding proteins in eggs, leaving them watery, so Chase adds them to the pan at the last minute.

Texture is especially important in breakfast burritos because they have to be portable as well as edible.

Go fish

Fish gets a lot of love as a “superfood,” and Riddle said that’s well-earned praise.

When fish is prepared correctly, it is low in calories and high in flavor and gives us heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Healthy fats are mood-lifters, she said.

They’re also vital building blocks in a healthy diet.

Salmon is a particularly popular choice on local menus and with nutritionists. The pink fish has vitamin B6, riboflavin and niacin, which the body uses to convert foods into energy. And it tastes great, too.

E.S. Founder’s, 741 N. Phillips Ave., inside Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center, serves panseared salmon covered in savory herbs over a bed of sauteed spinach and quinoa.

The expertly cooked salmon filet wards off the cold and keeps the palate engaged.

Pan-searing releases deeper herbal flavors that help cut through the fish’s fat and keep it from feeling too rich. The bed of mild quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) soaks up

the juices so diners get more of the enticing taste and keeps the dish from seeming watery.

Quinoa is also available at Coolgreens, with locations in Oklahoma City, Norman and Edmond. It’s a new addition to the menu, but it’s something the restaurant has been planning for a while, said marketing director Ginger Myers. The South American seed has a texture similar to rice or couscous and contains protein and about twice the fiber of other grains.

The new quinoa menu is just now rolling out with options including an island-inspired bowl with mango and black beans and the Cali veggie bowl with red peppers and fresh avocado. The restaurant spent the last year conceptualizing and testing the new items, and Myers said everyone is eager to see how customers respond.

Quinoa is a natural ingredient for the salad-focused restaurant because it works with the eatery’s stable of toppings and provides guests a more filling choice than lettuce and spinach-based dishes. It’s also light enough that it won’t weigh diners down for the rest of the day.

Bears might have time to nap all winter long, but Oklahoma City has work to do.

Herb-crusted salmon over spinach and quinoa at E.S. Founder’s. | Photo Gazette / file

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EAT & DRINK

REVIEW

Chicken tikka sandwich | Photo Garett Fisbeck

Hot Fusion

Fusion Kitchen’s homestyle Indian cuisine and inventive sandwiches make it a welcoming spot for every kind of palate.

By Greg Elwell

they care for customers.

Everyone is treated like an old friend.

The best way to treat old 1100 S. Air Depot Blvd., Midwest City facebook.com/fusionkitchenok friends and make new ones is 405-610-2002 with great food. The concept at WHAT WORKS: Fresh curries created daily Fusion Kitchen is an interestmake every visit a new experience. ing one. A large portion of the menu is homestyle Indian food, WHAT NEEDS WORK: The house special slider needs more spice. but there are also sandwiches, tacos and vegetarian sloppy TIP: First-time customers get free tasters.

Joes, plus whatever specials Just don’t go on Sundays — it’s closed.

Ruhi creates for the day.

But her greatest feat is coming up with four new After the sixth sample Fusion Kitchen curries daily from a variety of ingrediowner Rupal Patel handed us to try, I ents. Generally, there are a couple with meat and a couple of vegetarian options. whispered to my friend that we might not have enough room left for dinner.

Choosing among them would likely be This is how Rupal and his wife Ruhi torture, except Fusion Kitchen gladly Patel welcome every new guest. serves up mixed plates ($5.99 small, $8.99 Fusion Kitchen, 1100 S. Air Depot large) with rice and naan.

Blvd., in Midwest City feels like home, Ruhi takes special pride in the restaueven though my home never had Indian rant’s healthy food. The curries all have food in it when I was growing up. There a vibrant color, but they’re missing a bit are touches of the Patels’ life everywhere of the sheen that comes with using too in the eatery, from Hindu prayer flags on much cooking oil. Not only are they lower the door to a chess set (like the one their in calories, but the curries sit easier in son Advait, Oklahoma Scholastic Chess the stomach. Fusion Kitchen is ideal for Organization’s ninth-grade champion, those who fear Indian food will be too plays on) by the window. spicy or give them indigestion.

The Patels, like parents everywhere, A chicken curry is almost always on have their playful schtick. It’s banter that the menu, which is a great choice for begincomes from years of working, living and ners. The slow-cooked chicken pieces have growing a family together. The way they a lovely texture with just a little chew, and care for each other is reflected in the way the sauce keeps everything moist.

Fusion Kitchen

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ones aren’t terribly adventurous eaters but you still want Indian food, consider Fusion Kitchen’s mac-and-cheese melt.

A ham sandwich with creamy macaroni and cheese inside is just novel and messy enough to intrigue them, but familiar enough that they’ll eat the whole thing.

While it’s generally smart get tacos from Mexican restaurants, make an exception for a very different kind of taco at Fusion Kitchen. Wrapped in naan and paired with a curry-flavored slaw, the fish taco ($7.99) is stuffed with a giant piece of baked tilapia. The crunch of the slaw juxtaposes nicely against the moist fish and the chewy naan. It won’t replace fajitas in your heart, but it’s a tasty dish nonetheless.

Do not leave without trying the lassi ($2.49). The cool yogurt drink is the best antidote if a spicy dish overwhelms the taste buds. Mango is the best, but the roseflavored lassi is a nice change of pace.

The food at Fusion Kitchen is enough to draw anybody back for more, but it’s the welcoming nature of the Patels that really puts the restaurant over the top.

At this time of year, it’s always nice to find another place that feels like home.

GRAND OPENING Just North of Reno on Council Road

405-514-7885

We Rent

Samosas | Photo Garett Fisbeck

4 pack tickets

Every restaurant uses a different blend of spices for its curry, but you can generally count on cumin, coriander, chili powder and turmeric. Because Ruhi is constantly creating new combinations, Fusion Kitchen’s stews are always a welcome surprise.

Another newcomer-friendly dish is a tikka sandwich ($5.99 small, $8.99 large).

Tikka is a Hindi word for spice-marinated pieces of meat or vegetables. The sandwich includes chunks of baked, marinated chicken mixed with spices, cilantro and mayonnaise under melted cheese in a house-made hoagie bread. If you’re looking for heat, look elsewhere. Instead, enjoy how the mellow flavors blend together and the delightfully squishy texture of the sandwich.

Looking for something small? I enjoyed the vegetarian house special slider ($1.75) but wished it had a little more flavor. The little sandwich features a quasi-samosa — a ball of seasoned potato dipped in chickpea flour and fried — in the middle. Perhaps it was just in comparison to the spice-heavy curries, but the special slider seemed a little bland, even with a bit of chutney on top.

If I get it again, the sandwich might be better with some hot sauce.

Speaking of samosas (two for $3.99), Fusion Kitchen makes a lovely version with a nice heat spike that starts poking your nerves a few bites in. The fried puff pastry shell is stuffed with potatoes and peas and comes to the table with a pale golden shell that needs a minute to cool down before it’s ready to be devoured.

Once it hits the right temperature, a samosa is the perfect handheld snack, like a spicy, starchy Fuji apple. It’s wonderful dipped in chutney, an Indian condiment. Fusion Kitchen has two on the menu. One is a green chutney with a lot of fresh, cooling flavors, and the other is sweet and sour, which is more spicy. Both are 99 cents.

As the father of two young children, I am keenly aware of how difficult it is to get them to try new foods. So if your little

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Give at www.kgou.org David Hamilton KGOU Listener & Donor Chicken curry with naan | Photo Garett Fisbeck O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | N OV E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

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EAT & DRINK B R I E F S By Greg Elwell

Edmond’s Right-A-Way Burger recently closed after a series of expensive mechanical issues. | Photo Gazette / file

Join us for daily lunch & dinner menu specials UCO STUdEnT dISCOUnT

1333 N. SaNta Fe | edmoNd 405-471-6587 SALA THAI - 1614 NW 23rd, OKC | 405-528-8424 TASTE OF THAI - 1801 S. Air depOt, MWC | 405-732-1519 ginthaifusion.com

Wrong way An impromptu Facebook notification of an equipment sale alerted fans that Right-A-Way Burger, 2917 E. Waterloo Road, had gone out of business.

The sale was Nov. 13, and owner Jimmy Johnson said it was a heartbreaker. It started with a busted hood fan and just got worse.

“The hood fan that was preexisting when we moved into the building went out and we were closed for two days,” he said.

Closing on his busiest days, Friday and Saturday, drained his capital. When he went to reopen the business on Tuesday, he found that the thermostat had gone out in his cold station, ruining much of his product.

“That was a blow that drained all of what I had left,” he said. “We lost around $6,000$7,500 in repairs, product and loss of business. [It] makes me sick that it has nothing to do with the food or the quality.”

Murphy’s Law was in full effect, Johnson said, and his options were exhausted.

“I have never been one to give up, especially on something I love so much, but I am not rich and I have to get [money] flowing back into my house for my family,” he said.

It’s not the end of his culinary career. Johnson is doing customized meal preparation plans for customers.

“I will try very hard to get something else going because I think it’s my calling,” Johnson said.

Visit facebook.com/chefjimmysweeklymeals.

Republic remix

ferent issue. The new restaurant seats 260 It wasn’t supposed to be such a busy winter, guests — about 100 more than the original said A Good Egg Dining Group co-owner — over three stories, necessitating a staff Keith Paul. In just over a month, the res- of more than 90 people. taurant group will open three new eaterThe new Republic location is part of ies. Barrios Fine Mexican Dishes, 1000 N. the massive Chisholm Creek mixed-use Hudson Ave., opened Oct. 31, and a second business development, which includes location of its popular sports bar Republic Yokozuna, Sidecar Barley & Wine Bar, Gastropub opened at 13230 Pawnee Drive, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, Jerky.com and enterSuite 115 Nov. 16. A fourth location of tainment destinations iFly and Topgolf.

Tucker’s Onion Burgers will open Dec. 4 at 2166 NW 24th Ave. in Norman.

“We didn’t plan on that,” Paul said.

Had the timeline gone according to Keep It Local OK is back for a seventh year schedule, Tucker’s would have opened a selling cards that give shoppers discounts year ago, Republic would have opened in at metro stores, service providers and May and Barrios would have started in restaurants.

August.

The 2017 card was designed by The frenetic pace doesn’t mean that Oklahoma City artist and former profesKeith and co-owner Heather Paul will be sional basketball player Desmond Mason.

“We were thinking who could do it, and slowing down. Keith said there are no new restaurant openings planned, but there’s we just thought it would be fun,” said coa lot of work left to do to get the new stores Keep It Local OK founder Bryce Bandy. “It running smoothly. might also help us reach another demoOne nice thing about opening new loca- graphic that may not know about us yet.”

The cards go on sale Friday. At $15, the tions of existing concepts is the menu is already figured out; Keith said he just has card offers discounts to more than 320 to make sure the new staff is cooking it shops in Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, the same way.

Yukon, Moore, Tulsa and Stillwater.

Visit keepitlocalok.com.

Though the menu crossed over from the original Republic, 5830 N. Classen Blvd., finding cooks and servers was a dif-

Local love

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F E AT U R E

Clear transmission

Podcasts and radio shows about eating and dating gain audiences hungry for casual and intelligent insight. By Lauren Dow

Food and dating are a perfect match, especially for Malory Craft. The creator of independent podcast OKC Over Easy and cohost of The Spy’s new The Dates of Our Lives radio show said the two projects address topics that are both relatable and unavailable anywhere else.

OKC Over Easy focuses on metro eats.

Craft and guests discuss everything from local dining to Trader Joe’s. OKC Over Easy launched in March. She said she has always loved food — she has authored a food blog and loves to develop recipes — and podcasts and loves to talk about local cuisine. Her show, which usually runs anywhere from a half-hour to an hour, highlights the city’s growing food scene, something Craft said no one was covering.

Craft said OKC Over Easy is sort of a millennial’s guide to eating.

“From my love of Braum’s to tasting menus, cocktails and hidden gems around

Oklahoma City, I cover a variety of topics,” she said.

The show even delves into the greatest metro grocers.

Show topics emerge naturally. Craft said each guest brings a new, unique and authentic perspective of the local food scene.

She chose to create a podcast because of the connection each show creates between the host, guests and listeners. “[I have] a great love of food, and a lot of my favorite conversations involve talking about it with my friends,” Craft said. “I like podcasting because it’s a pretty intimate type of media, and I wanted people to be able to listen and feel like they were at my kitchen table, just chilling and talking about food.”

The response has been positive. Craft said it has given her the opportunity to make new friends and experience great food in OKC.

OKC Over Easy is available to stream on iTunes and via Soundcloud, soundcloud.com/ okcovereasy. Follow the show on Twitter, @okcovereasy.

Daring Dates

Ryan Drake, local comedian and host of The Spy program State of the Art on KOSU (91.7 FM in Oklahoma City), was a guest on OKC Over Easy and recently helped develop a new specialty show for the public radio station.

The Dates of Our Lives focuses on dating and relationships.

Drake met Craft on her 10,000th day of living — she keeps track and celebrates — and the pair hit it off.

“Before any dating radio show had ever come up, we talked about dating culture for a long time,” Drake said.

Each appeared on the other’s solo show, and Drake felt like he and Craft’s connection would be perfect for The Dates of Our Lives.

The duo tells listeners more about the dating scene, advice, authors, which restaurants and venues they suggest for dates, call-ins, cringeworthy experiences, dating apps and news. Drake said he researches stories and runs them by Craft before they record each show.

“I enjoy having a reason to dive into these stories and discuss them, because I would not have a reason to otherwise,”

Malory Craft hosts independent food podcast OKC Over Easy and is a co-host on The Dates of Our Lives on The Spy FM. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

Drake said. “It’s like I have a reason to love to discuss selfie protocol, which I would love to discuss every day.”

Like Craft’s podcast, the radio show is talk-heavy, and Drake said he enjoys connecting with guests.

The Dates of Our Lives airs 10 p.m.

Sundays on The Spy and KOSU. Stream past episodes at soundcloud.com/thedatesofourlives. Listeners can email bad date stories and questions to thedatesofourlives@aol.com. Learn more at kosu.org/ programs/dates-our-lives.

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GAZEDIBLES

EAT & DRINK

Happy places

Breathe in. Breathe out. The holidays are on their way, and that means cooking, getting the house ready for company and trying to find the perfect gifts for your perfect and not-so-perfect family and friends. All of that can be a little stressful, so try these eateries when you need a little peace and quiet.

By Greg Elwell Photos Garett Fisbeck and Gazette file

Coffee Slingers Roasters 1015 N. Broadway Ave. coffeeslingers.com | 405-609-1662

Don’t worry; it’s only called Coffee Slingers because Coffee Politely-Served-to-HappyCustomers is a little too long for the sign.

Drinks are served in a timely manner, but nobody is slinging anything. It’s actually pretty sedate for a shop that mainly traffics in caffeinated beverages. The coffee is roasted in-house and tastes wonderful. The baristas are friendly and efficient. And if the drink revives your gift-buying prowess, quirky Urbane Home & Lifestyle is right next door.

Ranch Steakhouse

3000 W. Britton Road ranchsteakhouse.com | 405-755-3501 Find a babysitter for the kids and put on your cocktail attire for an night of fine dining at Ranch Steakhouse. The moodily lit interior envelops diners in calming elegance. Steak is the restaurant’s specialty, but don’t overlook the selection of seafood, including panseared scallops with crabmeat, orzo and a habanero vinaigrette.

6900 N. May Ave. saiiasianbistro.com | 405-702-7244 Saii Asian Bistro isn’t a sleepy little sushi bar — it gets plenty busy. The unique design of the restaurant includes some twists and turns to provide guests with hidden alcoves for a relaxing lunch or dinner. Try Saii’s Tuna Bomb roll (tempura-fried roll filled with crab mix, jalapeño and avocado and topped with fresh spicy tuna) or a ginger garlic shrimp sizzling stone pot.

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BourBon St. Cafe RiveRwalk | bRicktown

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The Drake Seafood and Oysterette

519 NW 23rd St. thedrakeokc.com | 405-605-3399 The pace of The Drake’s bar is a little quicker than the rest of the venue, thanks to $2 oysters at the bar top. This seafood lover’s paradise is where you’ll find one of the most laid-back vibes on NW 23rd Street.

The round booths with raised walls make guests feel like they’re in a happy cocoon that helps deflect noise that might otherwise intrude. If you hear a hum, it’s probably just the sound you’re making as you try the Lemon Cloud Pie.

Okay Yeah Co. Coffee & Eatery 705 W. Sheridan Ave. facebook.com/okayyeahco 405-652-1322

It’s easy to say yes at Okay Yeah Co. Coffee & Eatery in The Plant Shoppe on Film Row. Do you want an apricot hand tart?

Certainly. Would you care for a caprese salad? Affirmative. Can I get you a Breve Bomb, which is a layered drink of halfand-half, your choice of Okay Yeah’s house-made syrups and espresso on top?

Yes, yes, yes.

Queen of Sheba

Cafe Oasis

Get ready for an experience in communal dining. There’s no need to raise your voice at Queen of Sheba, where customers gather around giant plates of Ethiopian watt — stews made with chicken, beef, lamb or vegetables — to pinch up bites with soft, slightly sour injera bread. Ideal for vegetarians and omnivores alike, the heavily spiced menu items are generally pretty mild in terms of heat. Check out the generous sampler platters to give everyone at the table the full Ethiopian experience.

After shopping at the busy Super Cao Nguyen Asian grocery store, sneak next door and up the stairs to find a hidden refuge at Cafe Oasis. This tiny eatery is best known for glasses of sweet bubble tea with chewy balls of tapioca at the bottom and decadent avocado and coconut smoothies, but the cooked menu is fabulous, too. Special attention should be paid to the noodle dishes, especially the curry and chili paste spice combo in the tasty Singapore noodles.

2308 N. MacArthur Blvd.

405-606-8616

1135 NW 25th St. cafeoasisoklahomacity.com 405-528-5700

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ARTS & CULTURE

shopping

Free coffee will be available to Small Business Saturday shoppers at All About Cha, The Lobby Cafe & Bar and Vintage Coffee pictured in Western Avenue district. | Photo Gazette / file

Mighty, small Small Business Saturday brings shoppers back to independent retailers during the holiday season. By George Lang

Grainy security camera footage of shoppers slugging it out over a flat-panel television during Black Friday stampedes is as omnipresent as “Jingle Bells.” The anxiety-inducing lure of big-box sales crowds and overnight campouts for supersaver items long ago has seemingly morphed from a bizarre holiday season curiosity into part of the cultural firmament.

But as small businesses in central Oklahoma have showed their customers for seven years, the holiday shopping season doesn’t have to climax this way.

With the advent of Small Business Saturday, independent storeowners help keep things reasonable, especially regarding prices, crowds, variety and frustrations.

“It’s so much better, because the people who own these small businesses, they are your neighbors and your family members,” said Rachael Taylor, Western Avenue Association executive director. The Western Avenue retail, entertainment and dining district runs along Western Avenue between NW 36th Street and Wilshire Avenue. “It’s their life — they’ve put their whole lives into these businesses. They need your support and your dollars.”

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Local value

Though it feels like a grassroots effort to bring shoppers into traditionally independent, local retail districts, American Express (AMEX) launched the Small Business Saturday program in 2010 to carve out a wedge for independent, local retailers between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. AMEX developed it as a response to a simple request by independent stores: Bring in more customers. According to AMEX, the program has achieved 55 percent awareness among U.S. consumers, with 83 percent of those consumers reporting that the marketing initiative inspires them to “Shop Small” throughout the year.

“It’s always my hope that people will choose to do their shopping at local businesses,” Taylor said. “But you can’t always control it. My mom said to me, ‘Well, I tried to shop local today, but the local Victoria’s Secret didn’t have what I wanted.’ I said, ‘That’s not shopping local, Mom. Let me tell you a little more.’”

Taylor said that it matters where the money goes, not just how much of it is spent.

“The money I spend with a small busi-

ness owner or crafter, for instance, is going directly to feed them and furnish their house,” she said. “The money I give WalMart is not going to the person who checks me out at the counter, and it’s barely going to the store manager. It’s going all the way up to the corporation.”

In this scenario, the money flows over the border into Bentonville, Arkansas — money that could otherwise stay in Oklahoma and benefit members of the community.

“The money I spend with the candy shop in my district [42nd Street Candy Co.], that money is spent locally and stays local,” Taylor said. “The taxes stay local, and it all goes back into supporting things that we, as people living in this area, want to support. We complain that the roads are terrible and the schools are not properly funded, but then we go and spend $800 on a giant TV at Best Buy when there are plenty of local electronics stores that also sell TVs.” Those local stores might not be able to offer that same television for the same price — they don’t have the volume advantage of the big box retailers — but according to numbers provided by AMEX, 80 percent of customers are willing to pay a little more for an item if it’s bought at a local business.

Earning power

Small Business Saturday’s growing popularity and earning power reflects an evolution in consumer shopping habits — or, possibly, a throwback.

According to Forbes, Black Friday, named for the day that retailers could safely say they were “in the black” financially for the year, is not the commercial force it once was. In 2005, Shop.org, National Retail Federation’s online division, coined the term Cyber Monday as a way to drive seasonal retail business to online sellers.

Last year, Cyber Monday pulled more

than $3 billion. Black Friday is still king: Retail analytics firm ShopperTrak reported total 2015 sales for Thanksgiving and Black Friday at more than $12 billion.

As more retailers opened Thanksgiving evening to combat online erosion of seasonal profits, some customers and retail analysts saw the incursion into a family holiday as a bridge too far.

Small Business Saturday also offers consumers a cultural difference, not to mention the mental health benefits.

“It gives people a concrete reminder that we don’t necessarily have to get caught up in the whole Black Friday frenzy,” said Steven Silva, manager at Tree + Leaf Clothing, 1705B NW 16th St. “We can still do something fun before the holidays, plus we can remind customers of why small businesses are so important.”

Money spent at small local businesses like 42nd Street Candy Co. pictured benefits the local community. | Photo Gazette / file

Small Business Saturday puts funds back into tight-knit communities like the one surrounding Casady Square. | Photo Gazette / file

一伀嘀 ㌀ ⴀ 䐀䔀䌀 ㈀㐀

Building community

Walkable districts with strong business associations tend to benefit most from the day since the associations can develop incentives for customers to come to the area and stay. For example, Western Avenue district makes free coffee available at All About Cha, The Lobby Cafe & Bar and Vintage Coffee, which keeps shoppers fueled up and warm during their outings.

“It’s everyone working together for the same common goal,” said Vilona Michael, who provides marketing services for Classen Curve, Casady Square and Norman’s Main Street district.

“Every small business owner can understand the same struggles, challenges and benefits. They’re banding together to make their area more attractive and to give their customers an experience — something you can’t get from sitting at your desk, ordering your gifts.”

U ltimately, Sma ll Business Saturday’s continued success depends on changing habits. The shift from downtown shopping districts to malls and big-box retailers during the 1960s changed how people thought about shopping. As chains came to dominate the shopping landscape, relationships between customers and shop owners eroded, and shopping became less personal, more transactional. Internet shopping further removed personalized customer service aspects from the equation and replaced them with mouse clicks and virtual “shopping carts.”

Small Business Saturday is an important step toward making Christmas shopping more personal again, but Taylor said some customers might need to relearn what it means to shop locally.

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倀刀䔀匀䔀一吀䤀一䜀 匀倀伀一匀伀刀

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ARTs & CULTURE from left Deluxe Winter Market founders J.D. McCoy and Sara Cowan are immortalized in a piece by artist Reagan Kloiber. | Photo Deluxe OK, LLC / provided

Deluxe Winter Market 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Leadership Square 211 N. Robinson ave. deluxeok.net 405-235-6060 Free

“We definitely see return shoppers from year to year. Many of them make sure to be in line early at the door to get a goody bag,” she said.

This year, the first 50 shoppers in line when Deluxe opens on Friday and Saturday will receive a bag.

Free stuff is nice, but McCoy said the draw really is finding one-of-a-kind presents.

“Many of them also wait for Deluxe to do their Christmas shopping because they want to get those unique, locally made gifts for the people in their lives,” she said.

“Our shoppers will come to the Deluxe booth and ask about that artist that had such and such last year and whether or not they are here this year.”

shopping

New blood

Bright weekend

After Black Friday passes, Deluxe Winter Market offers holiday shoppers handmade gifts direct from the artists. By Greg Elwell

Deluxe Winter Market is a free, annual two-day event at which shoppers can buy arts, crafts, food items and clothing from the people who made them.

Though it has grown over the years, Deluxe co-founders J.D. McCoy and Sara Cowan said it is still very much the event that started when a few Etsy sellers decided to join forces to host an all-handmade show for the holidays.

“We wanted it to be affordable and family-friendly, and we’ve kept it that way.

It has just become more fun, more of an event that people really get excited about,” Cowan said.

Some even plan Thanksgiving weekend around the event.

“We are very reverent of that. We want to make it worth everyone’s time,” she said.

It takes work to plan a show that fills that many needs. Some shoppers try to find all their holiday gifts at Deluxe, so Cowan and McCoy strive to find a vendor balance that appeals to many demographics.

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“The only thing we have a policy against,” Cowan said, “would be tutus.”

Head start

About 70 makers, artists and crafters will sell at Deluxe this year, which runs 11 a.m.

Saturday and Sunday at Leadership Square, 211 N. Robinson Ave. More than 100 applied.

Cowan and McCoy begin work in late spring, McCoy said. By mid-summer, they go over the list of potential artists and decide who makes the cut.

“J.D. and I are always looking for products that are heirloom-quality, a tiny bit subversive or truly unique,” Cowan said.

Deluxe shoppers are purchasing originals, which has helped earn the market a number of dedicated fans.

McCoy said attendance might have dropped a little last year because of the ice storm, but overall, it has grown every year since it opened. The people who find their way there return annually.

Keeping successful previous vendors and mixing in new ones to keep the market fresh is a balancing act.

While Portland-based zine publisher Microcosm Publishing and Oklahomamade Sweet Prairie Home are returning, 2016 is the first year for artist Gene Smith of IronMan Metal Art to show at Deluxe.

After more than a decade working for Halliburton, Smith was laid off. But rather than dwell on the negative, he chose to seize the opportunity to fulfill his passion for metal art.

His Oklahoma Sioux and Mississippi Choctaw ancestry led him to an appreciation for traditional headdresses.

“Actually, about seven or eight months ago, I was looking to purchase a metal headdress. I found one by an artist in San Antonio, but it was only seven inches tall,” he said.

As a welder, he made his own.

“There’s a lot of power in looking at a headdress,” Smith said. “So right now, I’m very focused on that, but in another seven or eight months, I may be on to the next thing.”

Deluxe is an opportunity to sell some of his work — he also creates metal feathers and medicine wheels — but he’s most interested in showing off his talent and seeing what others can do.

“I think everybody possesses a gift,” Smith said.

“Being able to go to different vendor shows like Deluxe, I feel blessed. I want to show everybody my talent.”

McCoy said showcases like

Deluxe are important for artists and shoppers alike.

“Deluxe has managed to draw the kind of shoppers that know the value of handmade, local and unique gifts,” she said.

“This means that when a shopper has feedback about a product, it’s probably going to be a valuable insight.”

McCoy said people seek out markets like theirs because many other craft shows allow non-handmade items, imported goods and multilevel marketing representatives.

“This is exactly the kind of show you start to look for, where you’re competing with your peers and not cheap prices or gimmicks,” she said.

One big change since they started Deluxe is the founders have taken more of a supporting role for other artists, Cowan said.

“J.D. and I used to try to have personal booths at the show where we sold our own things, but it was just impractical. We focus on supporting our artists, because the most important thing is for them to have a successful show,” she said. “That has always been the top priority.”

Visit deluxeok.net.

As an experienced welder, Gene Smith refocused on his art after being laid off. | Photo Gene Smith / provided

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23

ARTs & CULTURE

shopping

Holiday Pop-Up Shops has operated in Midtown District for four years. | Photo James Harber / provided

Finding purchase Midtown’s Holiday Pop-Up Shops returns with its biggest retailer lineup to date. By Ben Luschen

holiday pop-Up shops 10 a.m.-9 p.m. thursdaySaturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday (Nov.25-Dec.18) 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Dec. 20-22 midtown District Intersection of NW 10th Street and N. Hudson avenue okcpopups.com 405-620-3883 Free

Five years after Allison Barta Bailey launched the annual holiday pop-up shop concept in Oklahoma City, she notices more interest than ever before in buying local.

“I’m hearing from more of our shoppers who are making a conscious effort to buy their gifts from local retailers,” Bailey said.

“I think over the years, our shoppers have realized we’re trying to make it easy on them to do that by bringing all of their favorite shops into one space.”

The holiday pop-up shops launched in 2012 at Myriad Botanical Gardens before moving to Midtown in 2013. This year, more than 40 local retailers, the widest selection of local businesses the event has ever gathered, participate in the five-week shopping event.

Browse and buy

Beginning Friday, seven to 10 businesses rotate weekly in and out of the seasonal retail village at the intersection of NW 10th Street and Hudson Avenue. The location is usually open 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sunday. However, in the week before Christmas weekend, hours will be 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday.

The pop-up shops are free to browse.

Participating retailers include Blue Seven, Bison Shop, A Date with Iris, Mode, Tree + Leaf, BC Clark Jewelers and others.

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Bailey said a panel carefully schedules weekly shop rotations to make sure there is a gift for everyone on a person’s Christmas list.

In addition to local holiday shopping options, visitors also will find food and beverage vendors, musicians, artists and picture opportunities with Santa.

Holiday Pop-Up Shops are possibly as well-recognized for the brightly lit geodesic domes that house the vendors as the retailers themselves. Bailey said the heated domes were introduced primarily because they can endure the sometimes harsh Oklahoma winter weather.

The structures have visual appeal as well.

“They glow at night and really complement the Christmas lights,” she said.

Special access

This year, some shoppers will have a new way to gain exclusive access to the shopping experience. The Top Shopper pass, available on the Holiday Pop-Up Shops website for $50, allows access to slower-paced, private shopping sessions in weeks two through four, access to the VIP tent on Black Friday and Dec. 20, a tote bag with local gifts and a free photo with Santa.

Bailey said the pass was introduced as a way for people to balance holiday shopping with opportunities to be social.

“With the busy holiday season, it’s so easy to kind of miss out on chances to hang out with your friends, and this is a way to do both,” she said.

Shop attendance isn’t counted, but Bailey estimates vendors see around 10,000 visitors each weekend. She said crowds get larger each year.

“We think that’s because the shops put more effort into it every year — their merchandising, their displays, their products,” she said. “They start to understand the event and what people need for gifts.

They’re thinking about it in January for next holiday season.”

Visit okcpopups.com.

Santa makes a special visit to help celebrate the Bricktown Tree Lighting Festival. This year’s event is 5-7 p.m. Friday at 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive. | Photo provided

Oklahoma City Thunder mascot Rumble leads runners during Downtown in December’s Sandridge Santa Run. This year’s event is Dec. 10. | Photo provided

admission is free and open to the public.

Santa will visit to take free photos with kids, Sanger said.

“What is really special [is] the holidays feel different,” Sanger said of Downtown in December. “It’s really exciting to stop at one event, realize you came down for one but you started exploring three others. So you really start to explore your city more. It’s really a special time.”

culture

What’s new

Seasonal flurries

Downtown in December hosts dozens of holiday events across multiple districts through Dec. 31. By Michael Kinney

For more than a decade, Oklahoma City has welcomed winter and the holidays with dozens of Downtown in December events. When people flock into the city, officials make it easy to tell that this is a special time of the year with all of its festivities.

The 15th annual Downtown in December kicks off this month and runs through year’s end. Organizers are eager for community residents and visitors to see just how seriously Oklahoma takes the holiday season.

Downtown in December started in 2001 as a relatively modest event. City officials just wanted to put up a Christmas tree in

a place where everyone could see it.

“It really started with the Bricktown tree lighting festival,” said Staci Sanger, Downtown in December marketing manager.

Oh, how it has grown.

“Really, downtown is a destination during the holiday season and … there is lots to do,” she said. “Every single year, it grows dramatically. This year, we have four or five new events.”

This week, Downtown in December kicks off 5-7 p.m. Friday with the Bricktown Tree Lighting Festival. Mayor Mick Cornett lights the tree at Third Base Plaza, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive. Event

For adults, a new feature this year is the Miracle on the Canal pop-up bar.

“It’s going to be a festival holiday themed pop-up bar that’s only going to be here a month or so,” Sanger said. “That will be really exciting to see.”

For guests who enjoy live music, Legends Night in Deep Deuce, located just north of Bricktown, features live jazz in a district renowned as an influential historic powerhouse of the genre and creative expression. Icons Jimmy Rushing and Charlie Christian honed their chops while playing in this district. African-American author Ralph Ellison penned the poem “Deep Second” in tribute to Deep Deuce.

Legends Night runs 7-11 p.m. Dec. 17.

“Legends Night in Deep Deuce has to be one of the new ones I’m most excited about,” Sanger said. “This [showcase] is special because the entire agenda is holiday music. And some of these artists knew or played with Charlie Christian back in the day, or their parents did. They all have incredible stories.”

The night before, historic Deep Deuce again hosts its Christmas Crawl. It starts 6 p.m. Dec. 16 and includes eight participating venues. At 9 p.m., participants can meet at Deep Deuce Grill, 323 NW Second St., to share holiday stories and make merry. It’s free to participate in the crawl and get-together, and guests are encouraged to bring donations to benefit Infant Crisis Services. Guests can RSVP at okccrawl.com.

‘Boots on the ground’

“This year, we have 32 or 34 events,” Sanger said. “It has really grown; I am surprised with how big it’s gotten. … We start planning in March [and] get boots on the ground mid-August. This August, we started to see all these new events roll in. Our most recent event joined Downtown in December in October, so

it’s still growing.”

Visitors can see light displays in Automobile Alley, Bricktown, Film Row, Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory at Myriad Botanical Gardens and along the Bricktown Canal.

Admission to most Downtown in December events is free, including holiday-themed Bricktown Water Taxi rides along the canal, which last 20-30 minutes, start at the main taxi dock and loop through the district. Rides run 6-9 p.m.

Thursday-Sunday through Dec. 31.

Bricktown Water Taxi is closed Christmas Day. Dec. 9 and 16, taxi riders also can enjoy live music provided by American Banjo Museum.

Events span Bricktown, Deep Deuce, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Myriad Gardens, Leadership Square, Midtown, Devon Ice Rink, Devon Energy Center, Civic Center Music Hall, Film Row, Automobile Alley, 6 Santa Fe Plaza and other locations across downtown Oklahoma City.

Activities feature shopping, dining, ice skating, tours, district crawls, water taxi rides, a 5K race and 1-mile fun run, Santa visits, snow tubing, Red Earth Treefest, pet and dog events, pop-up shops and performing arts productions from Reduxion Theatre Company, Oklahoma City Ballet, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Canterbury Voices and more.

Dec. 3, 10 and 17, swing by Devon’s Saturdays with Santa at Devon Energy Center, 333 W. Sheridan Ave., any time between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for familyfriendly craftmaking, train rides and live music. Bring a camera and register to meet the jolly bearded gift-bearer himself.

Both the Skirvin Hilton Oklahoma City and Sheraton Oklahoma City Downtown Hotel also are hosting events throughout December.

Everything culminates Dec. 31 with Arts Council Oklahoma City’s annual Opening Night blowout event, which has helped visitors ring in the New Year since 1987. Learn more about Opening Night 2017 at artscouncilokc.com/openingnight.

Visit downtownindecember.com for more information and a full lineup of events.

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

25

ARTS & CULTURE RedecoRate ate youR R comfo comfoRt Rt zone Visit

designeRs decoR (look for the GREEN roof)

and see the latest in contemporary furniture, unique upholstery & local art.

V I S UA L A R T S

Guests visit Resonator collective creative space in Norman during a recent “alt shift dance” event. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

Metal makeover An old warehouse finds new life as the Resonator creative collective.

By Kara Stewart

A former metal fabrication warehouse has and trade with friends and other artists.” new life. The warehouse is now Resonator, In 2015, Dope Chapel closed while a 3,600-square-foot art gallery and printmembers sought a space large enough to shop. It’s the brainchild of an ever-evolving house a printshop. They landed in the metal group of artists, including gallery director fabrication shop and Resonator was born.

Eric Piper, who moved to Norman in 2009.

“Because we were beginning a new “The goal of the space is to give passionproject and new work relations with ate, creative intellectuals a platform to many members, we decided to make a make a real, lasting impact on the world,” new name that was fresh from expectahe said. tions,” Piper said. “We all had ideas for The recently opened gallery provides projects and past dreams that would community workspaces, a woodworking bring too much baggage to the new colshop and classes hosted by artists from lective space. Plus, a resonator is a around the globe. Resonator hosts chamber where all the voices are gathered Annavittoria Conner’s solo exhibition Not and reflected off each other to become All Women Do 6 p.m. Dec.3-1 a.m. Dec. 4 one larger voice, so it has a nice poetry.” at the venue, 1010 N. University St., in In addition to Piper, another artist in the Norman. Admission is free. space is University of Oklahoma printmakWhile the Resonator is relatively new, ing professor Curtis Jones. He runs the concept behind it isn’t. Piper began Resonator Zine, a monthly magazine featurworking with Andy Beard, the organizer ing events, artists, street art, musicians and behind Downtown Sound, a collectively poetry. Other members are printmaking run band rehearsal spot. Downtown Sound and performance artist Jenna Bryan, perwould bring in artists, record albums, host formance and video artist Lauren Panichelli, digital artist and internet community discussions and let members organize events there. persona Shae Dickinson, Resonator website “When Andy left for grad school in manager Alli Campbell, “alt shift dance” Turkey, he told me that I should take over,” music curator and creator Laine Bergeron and longtime artist Michael Wilson.

Piper said.

Its name changed to Dope Chapel, but Resonator seeks to grow its collective the collective-run space remained much by networking with artists across the globe. the same. Over the next two years, hundreds It also aspires to bring more hands-on of touring artists and musicians showcased possibilities to the Norman gallery with its community workspacthere, funded primarily through donations and es, which can be rented grants. Some artists, includdaily, weekly or monthly, Not All ing one who live-streamed Piper said.

Women Do his walk from Los Angeles “I think the idea of the by to Norman, became artistsartist working alone in the Annavittoria in-residence. tower is dead,” he said. “We Conner “Last year, we became can achieve so much more more vocal about wanting working together as a group 6 p.m. Dec. 3 to start a printshop in the than we can as individuals.”

Resonator space,” Piper said. “If you Resonator is accepting 1010 N. University St., have a painting, then you applications for workspace Norman only have the piece of art, rentals. Learn more at facefacebook.com/ but if you have prints, you book.com/resonatorart. resonatorart can make enough to share Free

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N OV E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

ARTS & CULTURE Comedian Brian Regan performing at Radio City Music Hall, which was broadcast live last year on Comedy Central | Photo Friedman/Bergman / provided

Brian Regan 8 p.m. Dec. 3 The Criterion 500 E. Sheridan Ave. criterionokc.com 1-800-745-3000

Performing arts

$42.50

Funny first

A lack of profanity doesn’t sully Brian Regan’s ability to deliver caustic and inventive comedy.

By Greg Elwell

Stop calling Brian Regan “clean.”

The Florida-born comedian performs accessible shows that play just as well to 20-something hipsters and 70-somethings with hip replacements, and fans know Regan’s name is synonymous with funny.

“It’s always been a challenging thing for me to deal with, the whole notion of being ‘clean,’” said Regan, whose stand-up routines blend sharp-witted sarcasm with observational and self-depreciating humor. “Even though what I do is clean, when people hear that word, they attach a connotation to it that’s not especially something I’m interested in.”

He recently spoke with Oklahoma Gazette in the lead up to his Oklahoma City show 8 p.m. Dec. 3 at The Criterion, 500 E. Sheridan Ave. Audiences who haven’t seen or heard him perform might confuse his dearth of profanity with that being the point of his

shows, he said.

“Like, ‘Look at this guy riding in on a big white horse, trying to show us a better way to do comedy,’” Regan said. “I like all kinds of comedy. There are comedians who are filthy that I love. It’s not a better way. It’s just a different way.”

Regan’s parents are still alive, and as a father, he knows what it’s like to worry about what his kids are listening to.

“When I do my comedy, I think about what if [my parents] were in the audience or if my kids were in the audience,” he said.

“I want people to be able to bring people to my show and not worry that they’re going to have to walk out of the room, covering someone’s ears.”

Make no mistake, though — he’s hilarious. Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Burr and Jimmy Fallon call him one of their favorite stand-up comics. He also has appeared a record 28 times on Late Show with David Letterman.

Accomplished comedy

Last year, he performed an hourlong show, Brian Regan: Live From Radio City Music Hall, that was broadcast live on Comedy Central.

Even for an experienced performer, it was intense, Regan said.

“Usually, when you do a one-hour special, they tape two shows, so if you flub a line or a joke works better in one show than another, they can edit it,” he said.

“When you’re going out live, there’s no such safety net.”

That challenge was part of the reason he wanted to do it, but that didn’t make it any easier to do.

“It was a lot of fun, but it’s kind of like crossing a high-wire between two tall buildings,” Regan said. “‘That was great!

Are you ready to come back?’ ‘Uh, no; I’m fine over here! I’m just going to enjoy being on this tall building for a while.’”

Even though it was broadcast live, the special still required him to go into the editing booth because Comedy Central wanted to re-air it with more commercial breaks. The live show had only one commercial break.

“I did the special on Saturday night and had to go back in on a Monday and cut out 20 minutes so they could put more commercials in,” he said.

College dropout

Regan has worked in the industry for more than three decades and left college his senior year to perform stand-up.

“I say ‘left.’ I dropped out,” he said.

“When I told my parents I had ‘left’ college, they had some more questions.

Like, ‘Does that mean you’re coming home with a sheepskin?’”

He took a job at a Fort Lauderdale comedy club, where he was sometimes the cook, sometimes a busboy and, for a few minutes each night, a comic.

“I would do five or 10 minutes a night.

After the show, the people would all talk to the professional comedians,” Regan said.

When asked what he did, Regan told people he was a busboy until another performer pulled him aside and told him nobody else is going to decide when he’s a stand-up comic.

“He said, ‘Why not just tell people you’re a comedian? That might help you

on your path,’” Regan said. “I wish I could remember his name, because it was a pivotal moment.”

Another big moment came when Uproar Entertainment CEO David Drozen approached him to record a comedy album.

When Drozen, who produced comedy albums with Richard Pryor, reached out to him, it was a big deal.

“I’ve always appreciate him for that.

Sometimes, I check the iTunes comedy chart and that album [1997’s Brian Regan Live] is in the top 10 or top 20,” he said.

“That really helped move things along for me. The only way to hear my comedy prior to that was by coming and seeing my show.

Suddenly, I had people come out to my shows with that CD in their hands. That’s one powerful little disc.”

His comedy translates well in recordings, but to really experience the show, audiences should see Regan perform.

Onstage, he delivers a physicality that sometimes even surprises himself.

“I don’t even think about the physical part of it. When I come up with a bit, it’s about the words, and then, when I’m doing it onstage, a lot of my bits are vignettes.

They’re me and another character, like me and an eye doctor or me and a microwave,” he said. “The only way for the joke to work is to act it out. It’s just something I kind of do, and then I’ll see it; I’ll do [The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy] Fallon and that’s the first time I’m ever seeing it. I’m like, ‘Wow. I put a lot of effort into that.’”

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Performing Arts

ARTS & CULTURE

Tuna time

In its 15th year, CityRep takes theatregoers on a laugh-filled, twoman trip to Texas.

By Ian Jayne

If art imitates life, then Tuna, Texas, truly exists. The fictional community and its quirky citizens serve as the guiding star for a four-play series created by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard.

Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre (CityRep) celebrates its 15th anniversary season with A Tuna Christmas, the second play in the saga, Dec. 1-18 in Civic Center Music Hall’s Freede Little Theater, 201 N. Walker Ave. Oklahoma Gazette spoke with cast members Donald Jordan and Jonathan Beck Reed as well as director Steve Emerson. The trio’s rapport and respect for one another is evident, as they frequently finish each other’s sentences and build on one another’s ideas. Jordan and Reed have been friends since their time together at Oklahoma City University. The two have completed nearly 50 projects, domestic and international, together.

“Between us, we have done, together and separately, 15 different productions of the Tuna plays,” Jordan said. “I would say, next to Joe and Jason, we’re about the most Tuna guys there are.”

A Tuna Christmas features a cast of two

A Tuna Christmas 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1-3, 8-10 and 15-17; 1:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 11 and 18 Freede Little Theatre Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. cityrep.com 405-848-3761 $35-$40

people (with multiple dressers at the ready backstage), but many more characters. The play follows the events that take place in Tuna, Texas, as the residents prepare for the holiday season.

“The script is about a hundred pages long,” Jordan said. “So more or less, we have 50 pages each that are memorized. ... That’s three or four normal roles.”

Jordan and Reed each have 24 costume changes during the show.

“I walk off as one character at about the same pace I walk on as a different character, but between there and there, I change 28

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complete costume, put on a mustache and change gender,” Reed said. “Finding the stillness is really important.”

Jordan added, “Every moment that you’re backstage is a harried, quick change.”

Reed and Jordan both said they find inspiration for the citizens of Tuna from people and experiences in real life.

“Every one of my characters that I’m playing — I have a role model for that,” Reed said.

Again, Jordan finished the thought as he added, “All these people come to my house for Thanksgiving.”

The play’s complex structure necessarily influences its actors and their methods.

“You only have so wide a vocal range and so wide a physical range,” Jordan said.

“There are a lot of subtle choices that you make.”

Despite the play’s physical and mental demands, Jordan and Reed’s familiarity with the Tuna cycle has made the process less challenging.

“When you get older, you relax into it,” Reed said.

Jordan said one of his favorite career moments came when people asked when the rest of the cast would come offstage after a Tuna performance.

“I’ve watched these two guys play these characters literally hundreds of times,” Emerson explained. “Even when they’re both onstage at once, there are still moments when I find myself expecting one of the characters to walk onstage.”

Funny truths

When it comes down to it, most people love Tuna.

“Greater Tuna is currently the biggest single-show hit that we’ve ever had,” Jordan said of CityRep’s history.

CityRep last performed A Tuna Christmas in 2010.

“We do a lot of work that’s fresh. I really think we could do [Tuna plays] every year and people would come,” Jordan said. “It is laugh-out-loud funny.”

Jonathan Beck Reed and Donald Jordan have dozens of costume changes in the frenetic and funny CityRep production A Tuna Christmas. | Photo Mutz Photography / provided

We all share in the illusion together, and that spectacle is evergreen and eternal.

Donald Jordan Emerson agreed: “The play has something to say to [audiences]. It says something important to them, something that they feel deeply.”

Although set in Texas, the Tuna plays resonate with people north and south of the Red River. Perhaps because of the play’s regional specificity, A Tuna Christmas reaches a demographic that other shows might not.

“If you’re in Oklahoma, you can feel a safe distance from those characters, and you can laugh with them and at them. A lot of this is character-driven; it’s like a day in the life of these people,” Reed said.

“It really does have a universal appeal.

People who don’t go to theater go to see Tuna. … It’s unpretentious.”

Because of the play’s focus on people, both Reed and Jordan agreed a powerful poignancy lies beneath the play’s humorous top layer.

“The truth of it is funny, and the laughs will come from that,” Jordan said.

Jordan highlighted the theater’s unique capacity for imagination and depicting human life. He said the production is a “high-wire act” that involves the cast, director and audience.

“We all share in the illusion together, and that spectacle is evergreen and eternal,” he said.

Visit cityrep.com.

Performing Arts

Turtle Island Quartet | Photo Jati Lindsay / provided

Love again

Turtle Island Quartet proves its stringed tribute to John Coltrane is no shell game. By Ben Luschen

It is ironic that art and beauty are often fashioned as a response to struggle and adversity.

Legendary jazz composer John Coltrane recorded one of his genre’s exemplary masterworks, 1965’s A Love Supreme, in one session in December 1964.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated just one year earlier. The United States was engaged in an increasingly unpopular war overseas in Vietnam.

Domestically, Martin Luther King Jr. had finished his March on Washington and was preparing a fight for voting rights in the South.

Coltrane sought his own form of liberation. The saxophonist made his name playing with Miles Davis in the 1950s, but a dependence on alcohol and heroin earned him a reputation as a wildcard. Davis fired Coltrane after a 1957 show, an event that helped motivate the musician to seek sobriety and religious revitalization.

A Love Supreme is a 33-minute, foursuite spiritual ascension of a jazz album.

David Balakrishnan, violinist and founder of the two-time Grammy-winning string ensemble Turtle Island Quartet, said in a recent interview with Oklahoma Gazette the album was among the first to bring the idea of modal improvisation to the

A Love Supreme — The Legacy of John Coltrane 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 Armstrong Auditorium 14400 S. Bryant Road, Edmond armstrongauditorium.org 405-285-1010 $23-$48

forefront of Western jazz.

“The music is operating on a level of brilliance that is undeniable,” he said.

Balakrishnan and Turtle Island perform A Love Supreme — The Legacy of John Coltrane Dec. 1 at Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S. Bryant Road. The acclaimed violinist and jazz musician said when listening to A Love Supreme, famous in part for its inclusion of Coltrane’s entrancing chants, there is a sense that the composer is rising above music and into another realm. The piece explores what it means to be human.

“I know that sounds dramatic, but that’s really how a jazz audience feels about that recording,” Balakrishnan said.

Fresh act

Balakrishnan founded San Franciscobased Turtle Island jazz quartet in 1985.

The group was one of the first string quartets to find a large-scale market using improvisational jazz techniques. It has earned two Grammy awards for Best Classical Crossover Album, once with 2006’s 4 + Four and then again in 2008 for A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane.

Balakrishnan is the only remaining performer from the quartet’s ’08 album.

“That recording was very important for us, and the music is very important to us because it actually allows us a framework for the members to really push their skill level as improvisers,” he said.

Though it has been more than eight years since that release, Turtle Island is anything but stagnant. A younger lineup still tours the world performing tributes to Coltrane and other jazz greats.

Turtle Island’s other players include violist Benjamin von Gutzeit, violinist Alex Hargreaves and cellist Malcolm Parson. What separates Turtle Island from other string quartets that might occasionally play jazz is that these perform-

ers are, first and foremost, jazz musicians and talented improvisers. The other members, two of which are in their 20s and one in his 30s, are also much younger than 62-year-old Balakrishnan, who said he feels paternal in his role.

“They keep me up at night,” he said.

“There’s so much energy, and it’s awesome; I have a great life.”

The Love Supreme program keeps fresh, too. The show is far from a note-fornote rehash of the recording. Balakrishnan said the first half of the program is reserved for general, sometimes entirely original, material from the quartet. The group also offers nods to other jazz greats like Davis and Charlie Parker. The night’s second half is a full tribute to Coltrane.

All the while, the quartet’s players will be doing their own improvisation, meaning no two nights are alike. Turtle Island plays the material from its Love Supreme release, but it’s always flavored in a new way.

“Part of the jazz tradition is what feels right in the night, which makes it a little hard to talk about in advance,” Balakrishnan said.

No trick

Turtle Island prides itself as a quartet that gives credence to the masters of American music in a classical world that spends a

The music is operating on a level of brilliance that is undeniable.

lot of its time celebrating Europe’s historic greats. That means more than listening to American composers like Aaron Copland or George Gershwin or even jazz greats like Coltrane.

Balakrishnan said musical genius is present in all genres and is worth representing in the classical realm.

“One of the cool things about Turtle Island is not only are we playing jazz in a string quartet, but it also opens up other doors,” he said. “We covered the music of Jimi Hendrix at one point.”

While the quartet’s members are all jazz musicians, Turtle Island usually finds its best audience away from loud jazz clubs and inside classical music halls, where they deliver relatable versions of jazz greats to crowds that might be unfamiliar with that sound.

Balakrishnan said one of the things he strives to do is fuel a crossover between classical music and other American music.

“It’s like you’re trying to light a fire and you’re trying to ignite that connection that people can hear,” he said.

Turtle Island prides itself in being more than a string quartet performing a one-off parlor trick. Jazz music is Balakrishnan’s life and livelihood.

“What makes it work on a deeper level is we are of the tradition,” he said. “We’re not playing outside of it; we’re playing from inside of it. That’s what makes it worth doing and why Turtle Island can deliver on that on a deeper level.”

Visit armstrongauditorium.org.

David Balakrishnan

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arts & CULtUre

Performing arts

Canterbury Voices’ annual holiday show, Canterbury Christmas, is 7 p.m. Dec. 4. | Photo Canterbury Choral Society / provided

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Choral Christmas Canterbury Voices’ annual holiday show promises longtime favorites and international variety.

By Jessica Williams

This holiday season, take a break from the creates anticipated, interactive concerts frenetic pace of shopping to celebrate the each holiday season. Artistic director Randi season with Canterbury Voices’ annual Von Ellefson’s work is evident in the group’s holiday concert, Canterbury Christmas. range of performances and events.

Canterbury Voices has bestowed the “We plan Christmas concerts three gift of music upon the community since years in advance,” Von Ellefson said. “We 1969. This year’s event is 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at always keep the fan favorites but also create Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker a completely new experience each year.”

Ave., and showcases an eclectic variety of The 2016 concert features its largest seasonal music. repertoire to date. Preserving the well“Our Christmas concert known classics, Canterbury has been a tradition for so Voices’ adult choir and Canterbury Youth Voices many people,” said Pam Canterbury Mowry, Canterbury Voices choir (directed by Stephen Christmas e xe c ut iv e d i r e c t or.

Ziegler) perform favorites “Whether it’s church like “Carol of the Bells” and 7 p.m. Dec. 4 hymns, holiday songs or “Silent Night.” Von Ellefson Civic Center Music Hall children’s music, people assaid audiences with a pen201 N. Walker Ave. sociate Christmas music chant for classical music will canterburyokc.com with choral performances. be satisfied with an extended 405-232-7464 We’re excited to continue orchestral ensemble. $15-$60 that this year.”

“Along with performing music everyone knows and Special holiday loves, we also try to include a longer, clasMowry said this year’s concert practisical piece each year,”he said. “This year, cally has its own holiday. we’ll perform a three-movement work “We’re sandwiched in between the called ‘Christmas Cantata,’ which highOklahoma City Philharmonic show lights organ and brass.” closing, and [Oklahoma City Ballet’s] The Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Nutcracker opening,” Mowry told Oklahoma City University’s brass band Oklahoma Gazette. “Canterbury Voices accompany multiple pieces, and the gets its own day among all the Christmas Canticle Ringers from St. Paul’s Lutheran events in town.”

Church contribute a mystical tone. Von Featuring award-winning vocals and Ellefson’s repertoire also adds global flare. inspired orchestrations, Canterbury Voices “We’re performing a Venezuelan

Christmas song that features a marimba, which I think will be new to most people,” Von Ellefson said. “Our audience will also get to hear an Appalachian folk tune accompanied by a vibraphone.”

To perform the broad variety of Christmas fare, Von Ellefson said the concert brings together a high volume of musical talent.

“While there are a few solo performances, I really try to have every performance group contribute to each piece in the show,” Von Ellefson said.

“Incorporating everyone onstage creates a really positive, unique concert.”

Holiday tradition

As a long-standing tradition, toward the concert’s end, Von Ellefson turns around on his conductor’s stand and faces the audience. Inviting concert guests to sing with the choir has been a customary interactive opportunity for Canterbury Voices’ audiences for decades.

“This year, we will invite the audience to sing ‘Joy to the World’ with us,” Von Ellefson said. “A lot of people enjoy this part ... the most because they get to sing familiar songs on a large scale with everyone in the audience and onstage.”

Canterbury Voices generates Christmas cheer outside the main event. Oklahoma City University Flute Choir welcomes Civic Center Music Hall audiences before the event, and Santa and Mrs. Claus will be available for photos. Canterbury Voices singers have also ensured audiences will receive a treat following the performance.

“All of our singers bake homemade cookies for guests each year,” Mowry said.

“You can expect tables and tables full of cookies at the reception after the show.”

Canterbury Voices’ Christmas concert will spread joy to all those who hear it.

“It’s touching to know we create a happy experience for more and more people every year,” Mowry said.

yo ut h

ARTS & CULTURE

Library literacy OKCPS and Metropolitan Library System team up to give students more access to learning. By Adam Holt

yo ut h

Metropolitan Library System (MLS) has connected Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) students to its in-house and online resources for free through the new ONEcard program.

The privileges begin when a student is enrolled in OKCPS. “They [students] won’t have to have a parent or guardian sign for them for a library card. They will automatically have it,” said Kim Terry, MLS marketing and communications director.

ONEcard allows OKCPS students to utilize all the library’s resources without worrying about fines or obtaining a library card.

“It’s a partnership we currently have with Oklahoma City Public Schools,” Terry said. “Any student enrolled in Oklahoma City Public Schools can use their student ID to check out up to 10 items within the library. They won’t incur any fines. They can also use their student ID to access all of our online resources.”

Items to check out include books, mag-

azines, audiobooks and more. However, students are still responsible for reimbursing MLS for missing or damaged items.

DVDs and CDs cannot be checked out.

The library’s online resources can be used from a student’s internet-connected personal computer or device, and programs are available for students of any grade level.

“We have a ton of online learning tools that can help with study skills like math, geography, social studies, all the way up to high school level like algebra and trig,” Terry said.

High school students also have access to ACT and SAT practice tests and study guides.

Terry said procrastinators particularly will enjoy ONEcard.

“Sometimes students — I know I did — wait till the last minute to do a book report or some kind of a report,” she said.

“Now, they don’t have to worry. Let’s say it 10 o’clock at night, they can just go online to our website and start researching.”

Terry said library resources are helpful

Students enrolled in Oklahoma City Public Schools are eligible to participate in OKCPS and Metropolitan Library System’s ONEcard program. | Photo bigstock.com

for general learning and also offer cited information, a must for education in middle school and above.

“Let’s just say somebody has to do a book report on Benjamin Franklin. We have so many online articles and books that they can read, they don’t even have to come into the library,” Terry said. “They can do them all at home.”

Learning Express Library, one of the multiple online programs accessible with ONEcard, offers practice tests and homework help on an array of subjects. Other databases are National Geographic Kids and CultureGrams.

ONEcard is influenced by programs around the country.

“We’ve seen this happen in other cities,” Terry said. “Charlotte, North Carolina, just did this about a year ago. I believe Nashville and Indianapolis Public Libraries have done this in the past. We just thought this is something that could really help the students.”

ONEcard goes beyond reference.

Students may also access the library’s entertainment offerings.

“They have access to all of our online resources, which are e-books, audiobooks.

There are magazines. You can even download streaming music,” Terry said.

The popularity of the service has grown weekly since its implementation in September. Terry said there are plans to expand access to ONEcard.

“We’re intending to work partnerships with other school districts in the future,” she said.

Visit metrolibrary.org.

Immersive history Sam Noble Museum’s new exhibit takes guests deep into the Mayan jungle. By Adam Holt

Sam Noble Museum needs help tracking down missing archeologists last seen researching a medallion of Mayan origin. If you have a keen eye and enjoy contemplating clues, you might be able to solve the Mystery of the Mayan Medallion.

The interactive exhibit at the museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., in Norman transports visitors to the jungles of Mexico and the site of the aforementioned dig. Children and young adults are the primary educational focus.

“The exhibit is basically providing an immersive experience for primarily kids, elementary school, middle school, maybe high school as well,” said Marc Levine, museum curator of archeology. “The premise of the exhibit is you walk onto an archeological site and the excavations there have been interrupted for some reason and you don’t really know what those are.”

The Mayan civilization began approximately 2000 B.C. and eventually stretched across southern Mexico and the Central

American countries of Guatemala and Belize as well as portions of Honduras and El Salvador. The civilization crumbled when the Spanish Empire colonized the region in the 16th and 17th centuries. The exhibition illuminates the Maya at their peak.

“The exhibit highlights Mayan civilization of the classic period, which is from the year 200 to about 900 of the Common Era,” Levine said. “That’s often thought of as the fluorescence or the height of Mayan civilization. The Maya are really well known for their architectural prowess, like their pyramids, temples, ball courts and large plazas. They’re also known for their striking artistic style.”

Mystery of the Mayan Medallion incorporates aspects of this time period into the exhibit. The culture’s sophisticated hieroglyphic writing system plays an integral part in the clues.

“In addition, the Mayan are also famous for coming up with the most sophisticated written script in the new world,” Levine said.

Sam Noble Museum’s new exhibit encourages youths to think critically to solve a mystery. | Photo Arkansas Discovery Network / provided

Other aspects of the exhibit include an observatory with constellations and a jungle with sounds of birds and wild animals. Many clues will be hands-on, asking visitors to use creativity and judgment to understand the circumstances of the mystery.

“There’s another area where you come upon a tomb that is in the process of being excavated and you can see the bones,” Levine said. “You’re prompted to examine the replicas to see if it’s male or female or if there is evidence of trauma or violence.”

The organization of the exhibit allows visitors to experience the mystery at their own leisure, giving them the freedom to learn by the lure of curiosity.

“I’m hoping that they walk away with a realization that there’s more than one way

to think about and categorize the world around us,” Levine said. “Also, a greater understanding of how cultures think about the world around them.”

He said that the Maya continue to exist, as there are 3 to 4 million speakers of the Mayan language in the world. The connection touches closer to home more than many realize.

“The Mayan people continued to thrive,” Levine said. “There are Mayan speakers in Oklahoma today who live here, speak Mayan languages and continue that connection to this past.”

Mystery of the Mayan Medallion runs through Jan. 16. Museum admission is free$8. Visit samnoblemuseum.ou.edu.

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ARTS & CULTURE

co m m u n i t y

Luggage with Love operates out of a warehouse in Norman. | Photo Luggage with Love / provided

Delivering comfort

Oklahoma nonprofit Luggage with Love provides foster children with clothing and comfort as they settle in with their new families. By Kara Stewart

With nearly 10,000 Oklahoma children in foster care, the need for clothing is pressing. A local faith-based nonprofit organization helps fill that need.

Founded on the concept of compassion one year ago, Luggage with Love provides clothing and basic necessities to children when they arrive at a foster home.

Typically, when a child enters Department of Human Services (DHS) custody, their possessions often only include the clothes they’re wearing.

Previously, DHS provided a clothing voucher worth about $100 to families.

Last summer, DHS announced it could no longer provide vouchers, leaving a need that Luggage with Love tries to help fill.

Growing hope

Marcie Carrico and a small group from her church launched Luggage with Love to help foster children and foster families on their first night together.

Working out of her garage, Carrico originally could only serve Cleveland County.

These days, Luggage with Love volunteers work out of a warehouse and serve Cleveland, McClain, Pottawatomie, Garvin, Seminole and Lincoln counties.

Carrico said she plans to expand statewide.

“While we currently don’t officially serve outside of those counties, we try to make it happen if there’s a foster child in need anywhere in Oklahoma,” Carrico said.

“We’ve helped as far as Woodward and Lawton.”

Luggage with Love recently celebrated its first anniversary with a silent auction, and proceeds will help fulfill basic needs for foster children.

Sharing comfort

Like most charities, Luggage with Love depends upon its volunteers. The non32

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profit’s reach has changed but its mission hasn’t.

Once a child is placed, either the family or DHS shares the child’s age and gender with Luggage with Love before a piece of luggage is filled to meet the child’s needs.

Each suitcase contains two outfits, pajamas, socks and shoes, underwear, toiletry and hygiene items, a blanket, appropriate seasonal items and a Bible.

If the child is in school, he or she also receives a supply-filled backpack.

Volunteers fill the luggage in the warehouse.

A volunteer then delivers the items to the home. The idea of easing the child’s and family’s stress of that first night is central to Luggage with Love’s mission.

Deliveries are made the same day requests are received, if the order is made by 4 p.m.

Stepping up

Before leaving, the volunteer also typically prays with the foster family.

“We’re not just providing basic items,” Carrico said. “We’re providing hope.”

In addition to helping foster families across six counties, Luggage with Love also hosted three clothing drives — a shoe drive, a coat drive for the winter and a swimsuit drive for the summer — in the last year. The shoe drive brought in more than 600 pairs of new shoes and a $2,000 grant.

“We’ve had a 15-year-old boy come in who had never had new shoes before,” Carrico said. “It really puts it all in perspective.”

By providing children with items to call their own, their first night at home is made a little easier.

Visit luggagewithlove-ok.org, call 405613-9518 or info@lwlok.org for more information.

®

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CALENDAR Meet Me in St. Louis, adapted from the 1944 film starring Judy Garland, presented by University of Central Oklahoma’s school of Music, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 29-30. UCO Mitchell Hall Theater, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 405-974-2000, uco.edu. TUE

are events recommended

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

Heaven Can Wait, stageplay presented by the award-winning Southmoore Theatre program, Nov. 29-Dec. 3. Southmoore High School, 2901 S. Santa Fe Ave., Moore, mooreschools.org. TUE

BOOKS

White Christmas, The Musical, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas tells the story of a song-and-dance team putting on a show in a magical Vermont inn and falling for a stunning sister act in the process, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 29-Dec. 2, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3.

UCO Mitchell Hall Theater, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 405-974-2000, uco.edu. TUE-WED

Best of Books Small Business Saturday, celebrating Small Business/Indies First Saturday with author events, music and specials, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov.26. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. SAT Last Sunday Poetry Reading, November’s featured poet is Janice Francis Smith followed by an open mic session, 2 p.m. Nov. 27. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SUN Let’s Talk About It Series, discussion of Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, with the discussion led by Harbour Winn, 6 p.m. Nov. 30. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. WED

FILM Creepy, (JP, 2016, dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) film centers on Takakura, a criminal psychologist and former police detective, who seeks a change after a traumatic workplace event, 8 p.m. Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. Nov. 27. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT-SUN Breakfast at Tiffany’s, (US, 1961, dir. Blake Edwards) the beloved masterpiece graces the big screen once again, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Nov. 27 and 30. AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial Road, 405-755-2406, amctheatres.com. SUN

HAPPENINGS Holiday Lights Spectacular, free family event and also the largest animated light display in the five state region boasting over 100 displays; over one million lights are sprinkled along the 1.5 mile long drive that features Illumination Celebration, a dancing forest of lights choreographed to all-time favorite classic Christmas tunes, through Dec. 30.

Joe B. Barnes Regional Park, 8700 E. Reno Ave., Midwest City, 405-739-1293, midwestcityok.org.

PAMBE Ghana’s Global Market, seasonal fair trade shop that provides destination shopping for unusual and unique gifts, including a wide selection of folk art from around the world; all proceedes benefit PAMBE Ghana’s La’Angum Learning Center in norther Ghana, noon-6 p.m. Nov. 22-26, 29-Dec. 3, 6-10, 13-17, 20-24. PAMBE Ghana’s Global Market, 6516 N. Olie Ave., pambeghana.org/global-market.

WED

Christmas in the Park, over 4 million twinkling lights and 400 displays covering 100 acres of Freedom Trail Playground, City and Chisholm Trail Parks, Nov. 23-Dec. 31. Chisholm Trail Park, 500 W. Vandament Ave., Yukon, 405-350-8937.

Christine The morbidly entrancing story of troubled newscaster Christine Chubbuck is retold on film. The Florida newscaster committed suicide during a live news broadcast.

Rebecca Hall stars in the title role. Screenings are 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive. Tickets are $5-$9. Visit okcmoa.com or call 405-236-3100. FRIDAY-SUNDAY Photo Sundance / provided Bricktown Tree Lighting, official kickoff to the holiday season, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 25.

Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, 405-218-1000. FRI

Reading Wednesdays, storytime followed by a small craft, 10-11 a.m. Nov. 30. Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-2973995, myriadgardens.com. WED

Sorghum Mill Christmas Tree Farm, choose and cut your perfect tree for the holidays, Nov. 25-Dec. 23.

Sorghum Mill Christmas Tree Farm, 7121 Midwest Lane, Edmond, 405-340-5488, christmas-tree.com/ real/ok/sorghum.

Red Dirt Dinos, following a journey around the state and across the world, the dinosaurs that once roamed over Oklahoma’s red dirt landscape return to Science Museum Oklahoma; three interactive, lifelike robotic dinosaurs and a variety of hands-on components help visitors explore Oklahoma’s dinosaurs. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

Merry & Bright Sunday, holiday light displays and plant exhibits designed for the holiday season, 6-9 p.m. Nov. 27.

Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-297-3995, myriadgardens.com. SUN

FOOD Art After 5, enjoy the skyline along with live music, friends and cocktails on top of OKCMOA, 5-9 p.m.

Nov. 24. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU Eats on 8th, food truck festival and night market, 6-11 p.m. Nov. 25. Midtown OKC, NW Eighth St. FRI Weekly Farmers Market, shop goods from local producers, bakers and artisans, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. every Saturday. OKC Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SAT Succulents + Sips, enjoy craft coffee and cocktails while crafting your own succulent arrangement with a DIY succulent bar, 4-6 p.m. Nov. 26. The Plant Shoppe, 705 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-748-0718, plantshoppe.com. SAT

Edmond Community Thanksgiving Dinner It started small, with a dinner for about 20 people in 1981. Today, Edmond Community Thanksgiving Dinner feeds thousands. The free community dinner is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday in the University of Central Oklahoma’s Nigh University Center, 100 N. University Drive, in Edmond. Visit facebook.com/edmondthanksgiving or call 405-478-4244.

THURSDAY Photo Edmond Community Thanksgiving Dinner Committee / provided

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PERFORMING ARTS Leading Ladies, Leo Clark and Jack Gable, two down-on-their luck Shakespearean actors, find a newspaper article about an ailing woman who wants to share her multimillion-dollar inheritance with her sister’s children, Max and Steve and when the men find out the aunt can’t find her nephews, there’s a minor problem: Max and Steve are actually Maxine and Stephanie, 8 p.m. Nov. 24-26, Dec. 1-3, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 27 and Dec. 4. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave., 405-521-1786, jewelboxtheatre.org. THU

Adult Edible Harvest, learn uses of native plants, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 27. Martin Park Nature Center, 5000 W. Memorial Road, 405-297-1429, okc.gov/ parks/martin_park/martin_programs.html. SUN November Cocktail Class: Holiday Punches, learn tips and tricks to make classic holiday punches including a Tom & Jerry and spiked egg nog, 4-7 p.m. Nov. 27. Ludivine, 805 N. Hudson Ave., 405-778-6800, ludivineokc.com. SUN

The Golden Girls Christmas Live!, a funny and loving parody tribute to your favorite sitcom senior citizens, 8 p.m. Nov. 25-26, Dec. 2-3, 9-10, 16-18, 22-23. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-601-7200, theboomokc.com. FRI

Beer Mug Painting Party, paint a beer barrel beer mug while enjoying beer samples, 6:30-9 p.m. Nov. 29. Anthem Brewing Company, 908 SW Fourth St., 405-604-0446, anthembrewing.com. TUE

A Nice Family Christmas, the family gathers with secrets and dysfunctions, and the fruitcake hits the fan, 8 p.m. Nov. 25-26, Dec. 2-3, 9-10, 16-17, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 and 15, 2 p.m. Dec. 2. Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 405-232-6500, carpentersquare.com. FRI

YOUTH Robot Club, learn to design, build and program and real working robot, 4 p.m.

Nov. 23 and 30. Norman Public Library, 225 N. Webster Ave., Norman, 405-701-2600, pioneerlibrarysystem.org. WED Young Company Production Series, second session of Young Company brings a modern adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol to the main stage; young performers work alongside directors and technical staff to great a special production, every Saturday through Dec. 17; performances 7 p.m. Dec. 22-23. Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405606-7003, oklahomachildrenstheatre.org. SAT Junie B in Jingle Bells Batman Smells, in Junie B Jones’ world Christmas means you get presents, elf costumes are awesome, and May is a blabbermouth tattletale; things are going well until she pulls May as her Secret Santa and with Santa watching her, what will Junie B do?, Nov. 28-Dec. 18. Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405606-7003, oklahomachildrenstheatre.org.

Big Game, live team game show with Alex Sanchez presented by OKC Comedy and Black Mesa Brewing Company, 8 p.m. Nov. 30 Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman, opolis.org. WED

When the Earth Shakes, learn all about the science of earthquakes, tsunamis and tectonic plates; an immersive interactive exhibit exploring the world below our feet, through Jan. 2. Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 405-325-4712, snomnh.ou.edu.

Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, enchant the whole family with larger than life magical props, a 60-foot growing Christmas tree and spectacular Russian-made costumes and sets, 7 p.m. Nov. 25. Rose State College Hudiburg Chevrolet Center, 6420 SE 15th St., Midwest City, 405-799-7960, rose.edu. FRI

FOP Pub Crawl, 6th annual Friends of the Plaza Pub Crawl, 6:30-9:30p.m. Nov.29. Plaza District, 1618 N. Gatewood Ave., plazadistrict.org. TUE

Oklahoma City University Guitar Ensemble, awardwinning Oklahoma City University Guitar Studio under leadership of Matt Denman, Kyle Patterson, Lynn McGrath and Brian Belanus, 8 p.m. Nov. 30.

Petree Recital Hall, Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., okcu.edu. WED

Hypnotist Doug T, comedy hypnosis heads to the next level with show that adds quick wit and spot on impressions, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Nov. 25-26. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 405-2394242, loonybincomedy.com. FRI -SAT The Dinner Detective, this improvised show is just another ordinary dinner with one exception someone in the midst is guilty of murder, and that person just might be sitting right across from you, 6-9:30 p.m. Nov.26. Sheraton Hotel, 1 N. Broadway Ave., 405-235-2780, sheratonokc.com. SAT Cameron Buchholtz, live album recording of stand-up comedy, hosted by BradChad Porter, 8 and 11 p.m. Nov. 26. Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman, opolis.org. SAT Trans-Siberian Orchestra, holiday performance by progressive rock band, 3 and 7 p.m. Nov. 27.

Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. SUN ACM@UCO Alive!, students perform cover music showcasing their talents, 7-10 p.m. Nov. 28. ACM@ UCO Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave., 405974-4700, acm.uco.edu. MON

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

Shrek, The Musical Your friends might feel like donkeys if they miss Shrek, The Musical 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 4 at Poteet Theatre inside St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 222 NW 15th St. See the musical journey of Shrek, a reluctant hero and love interest who just wants to return to the peaceful solitude of his swamp. Tickets are $25. Visit poteettheatre.com or call 405-609-1023.THURSDAYSUNDAY, ONGOING Image provided

Mike Baldwin, considered by many to be one of the smartest, funniest and most likable comics working the road today, Baldwin has a one-of-akind delivery that will have audiences rolling with laughter, 8 p.m. Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 8 and 10:30 p.m.

Dec. 2-3. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 405-239-4242, loonybincomedy.com. WED Lyric’s A Christmas Carol, go on a magical journey with Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30.

Lyric Theatre, 1727 NW 16th St., 405-524-9312, lyrictheatreokc.com. WED

ACTIVE Devon Ice Rink, ice skating rink, Nov. 11-Jan. 29.

Devon Ice Rink, 100 N. Robinson Ave. Edmond Ice Skating Rink, enjoy ice skating under the open skies and starlight nights, through Dec. 31. Mitch Park, 1501 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 405-359-4630, edmondok.com/parks.

Deep Deuce Dash and Draft, 3-mile fun run around downtown Oklahoma City followed by a cold one for your hard work, 6 p.m. Nov. 23. Anchor Down, 30 NE Second St., 405-605-8070, anchordownokc. com. WED

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CALENDAR C A L E N DA R

continued from page 34 OU Women’s Basketball, Oklahoma University vs South Dakota State, 7p.m.

Nov. 23. Lloyd Noble Center, 2900 S. Jenkins Ave., Norman, 405-325-4666, lloydnoblecenter.com. WED Turkey Day 5K, 5K run held on Thanksgiving Day to benefit longterm tornado recovery, 8:30 a.m. Nov. 24.

Norman High School, 911 W. Main St, Norman, 405-366-5812, norman.k12.ok.us.

THU

Drop-In Yoga, yoga class in the museum’s galleries, 5:45-6:45 p.m. Nov. 24. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa. com. THU OU Men’s Basketball, University of Oklahoma vs Abilene Christian, 2 p.m. Nov. 25. Lloyd Noble Center, 2900 S. Jenkins Ave., Norman, 405-3254666, lloydnoblecenter.com. FRI

Ashlyn Metcalf Solo Art Exhibition, paintings on discarded library books, paper and panels, through Dec. 4. DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16th St., 405-5253499, dnagalleries.com.

Ceramics Sale, shop one-of-a-kind handmade pieces, by area artists, Nov. 18-Dec. 23. Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

Child Labor in Oklahoma: Photographs by Lewis Hine, 1916-1917, exhibit highlighting a collection of 25 powerful photographs taken by Lewis Hine while he was in Oklahoma 100 years ago.

Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org/historycenter.

Christie Owen: Surroundings, a diverse collection of abstract 2-D and 3-D works inspired by everyday environments; materials and compositions in Owen’s body of work perpetually change in relation to time and her life experiences.

Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 405-235-4458, oklahomaheritage. com.

Color, Connections, Constellations, Caroline Cohenour’s debut collection of original watercolor works, through Nov. 26. In Your Eye Gallery, 3005 Paseo St. #A, 405-525-2161, inyoureyegallery.com.

Conversation, new artwork by Jan Jeffrey inspired by conversations; loud voices result in stronger bold colors while soft create layers of mild tints, through Nov. 26. Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo St., 405-525-2688, thepaseo.com.

Cowboys & Caboodles, art show and sale featuring the art of Shel Wagner, through Dec. 23. UMB Bank Stockyards City, 1217 S. Agnew Ave., 405-2395825.

Crossroads of Commerce, Oklahoma history buffs won’t want to miss this exhibit showcasing the growth and development of Oklahoma’s economy from 1716 to statehood, the Dust Bowl, the Depression, all the way to present day. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-5212491, okhistory.org/historycenter.

Deck the Halls Oklahoma History Center presents some jolly (and not-so-jolly) elves, including Italy’s La Befana from the 1600s, Pennsylvania’s Belsnickel from the 1700s and Slavic Ded Moroz from the 1930s, during the Deck the Halls program 10 a.m.-noon Dec. 3 at the center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive. Admission is free with museum admission. Visit okhistory.org/ historycenter or call 405-522-0765. DEC. 3 Photo Oklahoma History Center / provided Extreme Midget Wrestling, world’s smallest wrestlers compete for the title, 7:30p.m. Nov. 25. OKC Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. FRI Gardens Walking Tour, enjoy a guided tour highlighting plants around the garden, 10-11 a.m. Nov. 26. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. SAT OKC Thunder vs Detroit Pistons, NBA basketball game, 7 p.m. Nov. 26. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. SAT OU Women’s Basketball, OU Sooners vs Colorado State, 7p.m. Nov. 27. Lloyd Noble Center, 2900 S. Jenkins Ave., Norman, 405-325-4666, lloydnoblecenter.com. SUN OKC Blue VS Los Angeles D-Fenders, OKC Thunder’s NBA D-League affiliate basketball game, 7 p.m. Nov. 29. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 405-602-8500, coxconventioncenter. com. TUE OU Men’s Basketball, University of Oklahoma vs Northern Colorado, 7 p.m. Nov. 29. Lloyd Noble Center, 2900 S. Jenkins Ave., Norman, 405-3254666, lloydnoblecenter.com. TUE

VISUAL ARTS A Sense of His Soul, exhibit featuring only on the eyes, stripping away any additional identifiers, the mouth, hair, facial structure anything that would clearly identify who the person is, thereby making all subjects in this work equal in the eyes of the viewer, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Drop-in Art, join guest artists each Saturday as they interact with families to create extraordinary works of art inspired by the museum’s collection, exhibitions and special occasions, 1-4 p.m. every Saturday. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT Fleeting Light, an interactive exhibit featuring the photographic images of artist Zach Burns and participants in NewView’s Creative Visions art program, 4-7 p.m. Nov. 30. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org. WED

Olympic Experience Tours Oklahoma City residents can share the exhilaration of going for the gold during Olympic Experience Tours 1 p.m. Saturday at SandRidge Youth Pavilion, 744 Riversport Drive. Meet USRowing National High Performance Center head coach Reilly Dampeer for a tour of facilities inside Devon Boathouse and a practice rowing session in the indoor rowing tank. Tickets are $19 or included with Riversport pass. Visit riversportokc.org or call 405-552-4040. SATURDAY Photo Georgia Read / provided Rebecca Mannschreck, acrylic painting, through Dec. 31. 50 Penn Place Gallery, 1900 Northwest Expressway, Suite 113-R , 405-848-5567, 50pennplacegallery.com.

Small Works VI, original artworks by many artists making great gifts for the holiday season, Nov. 11-Dec. 23. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org.

Remembering When, showcase of Linda Guenther’s presentation of nature in a nostalgic way, through Nov. 27. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Thanksgiving Painting Workshop, three-hour event includes paint supplies, 10-1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. Nov. 26. Evolve Fitness Studio, 9233 N. Pennsylvania Pl., 405-608-8044. SAT

Sacred Words: The Saint John’s Bible and the Art of Illumination, includes 70 selected folios from The Saint John’s Bible as well as other historical illuminated manuscripts, such as a Book of Hours, Quran pages and Torah scrolls, Oct. 15-Jan. 8.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com.

Sky Lines and Sea Scales, Vikki McGuire captures how the elements of nature play upon each other, showing their gift, through Nov. 27. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Making a Manuscript in the 21st Century: Reviving a Lost Art, lecture presented by Fr. Eric Hollas examining the challenges scribes and artists confronted as they fashioned a masterpiece of the book arts, 6-7 p.m. Nov. 30. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. WED Melvin Edwards: In Oklahoma, a pioneer in the history of contemporary African-American art and sculpture, returns for his first solo exhibition in Oklahoma in the last 25 years; Edwards creates new, site-specific complex welded sculptures from chains, tools and steel found in Oklahoma scrap yards along with works from his noted Lynch Fragments series, through Dec. 27. Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

When Less Becomes More, two solo exhibitions featuring pop realism portrait artist Robert Peterson and impressionistic artist Karam, through Nov. 27. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com.

Women at War, works of three renowned artists: Ebony Iman Dallas, Gay Pasley and Edward Grady.

Owen’s Arts Place Museum, 1202 E. Harrison Ave., Guthrie, 405-260-0204, owensmuseum.com.

Nicki Albright, showcase of contemporary fused glass; a kaleidoscope of kiln fused glass with subtle nuances ultimately defining the final design, through Nov. 30. The Purple Loft Art Gallery, 514 NW 28th St., Suite 400, 405-412-7066.

Off the Beaten Path, a photo documented joint art exhibit by Scott and Katie Henderson; tour many of the state’s unusual, intriguing and lesser-known areas, though May 4. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Pl., 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok. org.

Picturing Indian Territory, surveys how the people, land and history of Oklahoma were constructed visually by artists, illustrators and journalists from the early decades of the 19th century before and after the creation of Indian Territory in 1834 to the unification of Indian and Oklahoma Territories to create the state of Oklahoma in 1907, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Power and Prestige: Headdresses of the American Plains, original exhibition includes nine headdresses from Northern and Southern American Great Plains along with historical photographs and other supporting artifacts including ledger art depicting Indian warriors and bonnets from the museum’s permanent collection. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St, 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.

What Happens When Bankers Get Creative It’s worth the trip to Tulsa to hear the fascinating story of Citizens Bank of Edmond president and CEO Jill Castilla, an Army veteran who used the power of social media to grow a large audience for her community bank. A networking reception is 5:15-5:30 p.m. Tuesday at 36 Degrees North, 36 E. Cameron St., in Tulsa. Castilla’s 5:30 p.m. talk is followed by a short question-and-answer session.

Admission is $12.50-$35. Visit stateofcreativity.com or call 405-232-5570. TUESDAY Edmond / provided

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Utopia, exhibition that illustrates the various definitions and dreams for a utopian future; through this exhibition, visitors will consider many possible futures and how our actions today contribute to the reality of tomorrow, Nov. 10-Dec. 31. Current Studio, 1218 N. Pennsylvania Ave., 405673-1218, currentstudio.org.

Visage: Photography from the Permanent Collection, explore how photographers have examined individuality through portraiture and shaped the presentation of identity through pose, props, and lighting and compositional choices, through Dec. 4. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Jill Castilla | Photo Citizens Bank of

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The Modernist Spectrum: Color and Abstraction, explore the invigorating ways in which postwar American artists, especially those associated with the Washington Color School, made it new, producing novel work that sought to reinvent abstract art through an alternatively rigorous and playful manipulation of color, line and shape.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com.

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

Submissions must be received

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

Late submissions will not be included in the listings.

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

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

For OKG live music

see page 41

MUSIC Brian Setzer performs during last year’s Christmas Rocks! tour | Photo Mitch Schneider Organization / provided

the Christmas tour. It’s Christmasthemed, but I kind of play whatever I want.

I do Stray Cats songs; I do songs like “Jump Jive an’ Wail.” This year, we’re going to do a little rockabilly breakdown in the middle. We’re going to do just a three- or four-piece with the piano. I like to change it up and do whatever I want in the set.

event

OKG: Do you think these Christmas shows are something you will continue doing?

BS: I really like to do this, and I think I will until I can’t do it anymore. I really enjoy this tour. It’s become a staple, you know? The other things I like to do are, of course, the Rockabilly Riot, and maybe the year after next, I’m just going to go out with a guitar.

OKG: Does the audience react differently when it’s just you on stage compared to you with a 19-piece band?

BS: Not really. It’s pretty much the same whether I’m by myself or with the Rockabilly Riot or the big band; it’s pretty much the same reaction. Maybe that tells me something: Maybe they’re coming to see me.

’Homa for the holidays

The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Rocks!

Tour briansetzer.com

The Brian Setzer Orchestra returns to the Sooner State for three shows in three cities over three days. By Ben Luschen

8 p.m. Dec. 9 Firelake Arena 18145 Old Rangeline Road, Shawnee

’Tis the season for legendary rockabilly and Swing revivalist Brian Setzer to take his 19-piece orchestra on its national Christmas tour.

Unlike Santa Claus, Setzer can’t hit all of his stops in one night. Instead, the artist behind hits like “Rock This Town” and “Rumble in Brighton” takes more than six weeks to play 32 cities on his 13th annual Christmas Rocks! Tour, including three nights at Oklahoma venues.

The Stray Cats guitarist and frontman started his Swing and blues ensemble The Brian Setzer Orchestra in 1990 as a way to experiment with a guitar-led big band.

The orchestra has produced a number of Christmas albums over the years, including 2015’s Rockin’ Rudolph.

In addition to performing with his big band, Setzer has spent the last few years promoting and touring his most recent solo studio album Rockabilly Riot!: All Original, released in 2014. On Nov. 4, he released a live DVD version of the album recorded in Osaka, Japan.

405-273-1637

Setzer recently spoke with Oklahoma Gazette about the new release and his trio of Oklahoma shows.

Oklahoma Gazette: On your new concert DVD Rockabilly Riot: Osaka Rocka — Live in Japan 2016, it was interesting to see how big you are in Japan.

Brian Setzer: Yeah, I’ve always done well in Japan and in Europe. It was fun to record that show in particular. Osaka is a town that differs from the other cities in Japan. You feel like you have a whole army behind you there because they’re so loyal.

They sing all the songs, which is really something to think about because English isn’t their language.

OKG: How did you decide which city to record in?

BS: We didn’t have Rockabilly Riot on DVD. We were headed to Japan when the idea came up. Normally, you’d pick New York, Los Angeles or Tokyo — one of the

When I play with the big band, man, and I hear those horn sections, it brings out the musician in me.

Brian Setzer

$25-$45 8 p.m. Dec. 10 The Joint Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 777 West Cherokee St., Catoosa 918-384-7625 $45-$65

6 p.m. Dec. 11 Global Event Center WinStar World Casino and Resort 777 Casino Ave., Thackerville 580-276-4229 $45-$65

big cities. I said, “Why don’t we choose Osaka?” for that reason. Tokyo is kind of like New York. It’s a great crowd and it’s always a good show, but I remember Osaka being kind of like Chicago — a very loyal following, very energetic.

OKG: Do you look forward to doing these Christmas shows all across the country every year?

BS: I love doing the Christmas tour. First of all, I get to play with the big band. I mean, how many of those are on the planet where you can actually bring it to a town?

It’s pretty special to be able to play with that thing. And then, this is year 13 with

OKG: Is it more fun for you to play on stage with all those people in the big band?

BS: It’s all a little different. I think I was put here just to hear those different things. When I play with the big band, man, and I hear those horn sections, it brings out the musician in me. I love just pointing to the saxophone and saying, ‘Go; take a solo.” I can hear all of this different music — it’s really musical. When I’m out there with the Rockabilly Riot, it’s pretty much all about me. It’s flat-out rock ’n’ roll. It’s a lot more physical. Believe it or not, that’s a lot harder set for me. An hour and 40 minutes of the four-piece and, whew, it kicks my ass.

OKG: In December, you perform three nights at three venues across Oklahoma. What comes to your mind when you think of Oklahoma?

BS: When I hit Oklahoma, it breaks away from the rest of the country. We’re usually coming in from Nashville, let’s say, and Oklahoma has a different feel. I’ve spoken about this with other people. When I’m in Oklahoma, I feel like I’m out West as opposed to a place like Nashville. When I get there, I’m like, “OK; we’re out West now and we’re starting the western part of our tour.” It has a distinct feel, and it definitely feels different from the rest of the country.

OKG: There is somewhat of an ongoing debate here about what region the state belongs to — south, southwest, midwest.

BS: I never knew that. I definitely think West, and I think Western swing, you know? I get that wide-open feeling.

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3127 S. 4th St. Chickasha, OK | 405.825.3529

BRIAN REGAN THE CRITERION DECEMBER 3RD

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT TICKETMASTER.COM OR CALL 1.800.745.3000 38

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f e at ur e

MUSIC

Song for us

Leon Russell | Photo provided

Oklahoma songwriter, producer and musician Leon Russell was an architect of modern rock ’n’ roll. By Ben Luschen

For a white-hot period from the late ’60s into the early ’80s, Tulsa was the rock ’n’ roll universe’s big bang. At its center was Lawton-born Claude Russell Bridges, who became famous as Leon Russell.

The longtime songwriter, producer and musician died in his sleep Nov. 13 at age 74, his wife Jan confirmed in a post to Russell’s official Facebook page.

Russell made his early career in Tulsa, where he was the progenitor of a style of music that blended rock ’n’ roll, blues rock, R&B, country and rockabilly and became known as the Tulsa Sound. Today, it is often associated with Southern rock. He worked alongside Oklahoma contemporaries like J.J. Cale, David Gates and Elvin Bishop. His most well-known songs include “This Masquerade,” “Tight Rope,” “Delta Lady,” “Superstar”(co-written with Bonnie Bramlett), “Blues Power” (cowritten with Eric Clapton) and widely covered “A Song for You.” “He was the lynchpin of a whole sound,” said John Wooley, a Tulsa-based writer, musician and Oklahoma music historian who has spent decades studying the Tulsa Sound to which Russell was integral.

In July, Russell had a heart attack but was reportedly on the path to recovery and was planning a return to touring in early 2017. In a 2013 interview for the Tulsa World, Russell told current Oklahoma Gazette editor-in-chief Jennifer Chancellor that he had no plan to retire.

“I’ve actually heard about the concept of retirement but hadn’t considered it for myself,” Russell said. “As my friend Willie

Nelson once said, ‘People like us don’t retire.’

I guess he would know.”

Jeff Moore, director of the upcoming Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture (OKPOP), which will celebrate the state’s historic contributions to music and popular culture and be headquartered in Tulsa, said he, like many others, was shocked to hear about Russell’s death.

“You look at his career, and it spans 60 years,” Moore said. “He’s worked with the who’s who in the music industry. He’s played with everyone from Willie Nelson and George Jones to Eric Clapton and George Harrison.”

Part of Russell’s legacy is the breadth of musicians and genres he performed with and influenced. Elton John teamed with Russell to record the acclaimed 2010 album The Union. John tweeted his condolences the morning of Russell’s death.

“My darling Leon Russell passed away last night,” John wrote. “He was a mentor, inspiration and so kind to me. I loved him and always will.”

In 2011, Russell was inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

As a studio musician in the ’60s, Russell played on many of the decade’s most popular songs, including those by The Byrds and Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

He also was a member of iconic and controversial producer Phil Spector’s studio band the Wrecking Crew and played on The Ronettes’ “wall of sound” classic “Be My Baby” and on Jan & Dean’s hit “Little

He was the lynchpin of a whole sound.

John Wooley Old Lady (from Pasadena).”

He later produced and played in recording sessions with Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra and The Beach Boys.

The height of Russell’s solo popularity came in the ’70s with the release of his self-titled 1970 debut and 1973’s Leon Live, recorded during a performance in Long Beach, California. He released One for the Road in 1979, an eclectic duet collaboration with Willie Nelson.

In 2014, Russell released Life Journey, his last studio album. In its liner notes, the musician noted that he was nearing “the final exit of [his] journey.”

“A Song for You,” written by Russell in 1970, has been covered by The Carpenters, The Temptations, Willie Nelson, Herbie Hancock (in a collaboration with Christina Aguilera) and, perhaps most famously, Ray Charles. Charles won a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance with the song.

Moore mentioned that Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen died just six days before Russell and said music lost two of its greatest songwriters.

Russell’s career will be prominently featured in the OKPOP museum, which will be built and managed by Oklahoma

Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, or OKPOP, has numerous Leon Russell photos and memorabilia items in its collections, including this late-’60s-to-mid’70s Shelter Records-era publicity still from MCA Records. | Photo Oklahoma Historical Society / MCA Records / provided

Historical Society. The state approved OKPOP funding last year. The museum received a large, private donation of Russell memorabilia in 2013.

“There’s some key, pillar stories for OKPOP, and Leon Russell is one of those key pillars,” Moore said.

Fellow famous Oklahoma musician, producer and Tulsa Sound contributor Steve Ripley, known in part for his work with country band The Tractors, sent an email statement to the Gazette following Russell’s death. Ripley once owned Tulsa’s The Church Studio, originally founded by Russell.

“Leon has been a part of our lives for over 40 years,” Ripley wrote. “He has been an inspiration, mentor and friend — and, at times, my boss. We have always considered him part of our family and will continue to do so.

“Leon sent me a text message not too long ago, saying, ‘The reason for connection is food, music, friendship and tape machines. The strong stuff is just the ‘facts of life’ (and death). You either laugh or cry,’ to which I replied, ‘Or some of both.’”

Wooley said some Tulsa musicians of the era have said the Tulsa Sound was less of a tangible scene and more of a collection of friends and companions whose legend and influence have grown with time. He once asked Russell whether the scene really existed.

Wooley recalled Russell’s answer: “‘Well, I think there is, but I’m the wrong person to ask about it. It’s like asking a fish about the properties of water.’”

Wooley said if there is a Tulsa Sound, it exists through the tight bond the musicians form with each other.

“If that’s true,” Wooley said, “then it was a brotherhood that revolved around Leon.”

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SHOPPIng

MUSIC

Spin cycle

Guestroom Records debuts more than 1,000 used records to celebrate Black Friday at its Oklahoma City location. | Photo Gazette / file

Jabee joins Guestroom Records for a Black Friday Black Future vinyl release party. By Ben Luschen

Jabee doesn’t consider himself the hardestthe limited edition release. In October, core of hardcore record collectors, but his Jabee held a weeklong scavenger hunt for stockpile is unarguably impressive. free copies of the record featuring daily He said most of what he buys are hip-hop winners.

“It turned out better than I thought,” he albums and pressings that contain some of said. “People kept checking back to find out his favorite hard-to-find samples. Among his most beloved are the 1977 self-titled more. They kept contacting me, asking, sophomore release by Atlanta soul band ‘When’s the next clue? When’s the next clue?’”

Brick and The Jackson 5’s Lookin’ Through Collectors who visit Guestroom on Black the Windows, which he received at age 7.

Friday can also buy a Black Future Friday, the local rapper’s latest project Christmas sweater for $40. The rapper deBlack Future will make its way into the veloped the sweater in partnership with hands of local vinyl collectors. Jabee first Group Fly Clothing. released the album in August. It features Black Friday is usually not quite the vinyl local talent Cooki Turner, Miillie Mesh and frenzy that the official Record Store Day Bowlsey’s Cidward St. Cler in addition to (RSD) is in mid-April, but national and local rap icon Chuck D and producer Statik retailers still see a lot of business the day Selektah. after Thanksgiving. Guestroom will be carVinyl pressings were not ready in rying most of the official Record Store Day: August. However, Jabee later decided Black Black Friday releases in store that day. The Friday would be the perfect time to celeofficial RSD list includes a 12” picture disc brate Black Future’s vinyl release. of “Sexy M.F.” by Prince and The New Power The rapper joins Guestroom Records, Generation, Erykah Badu’s clear vinyl But You Caint Use My Phone, South Park com3701 N. Western Ave., for a free, in-store release party on Black Friday. Jabee is pilation Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics bringing in several DJs, including DJ D.L., and many more.

DJ Diverse and DJ Reaper, who will be spin“If you’re running around, stressed out, ning throughout the day. Music begins when shopping at the big-box retail stores on the shop opens at 10 a.m., and Jabee is exBlack Friday, come out here and have a good pected to perform after noon. COOP Ale time and a beer,” said Guestroom co-owner Justin Sowers. “I guarantee it will be a Works will provide free beer. lot less stressful.”

“It’s just something to keep the momentum going,” Jabee said. “I wanted to do Sowers said Guestroom is planning a something for free since the album release storewide sale for the day and has been show couldn’t be free. It’s just a party where stockpiling a large selection of more than people can come hang out 1,000 high-quality, unpicked and have a good time.” used records that will be reBlack friday The white vinyl record vealed to customers for the & Black Future first time Friday. features a slightly reduced vinyl Day tracklist. The rapper had to Local store Trolley Stop Party cut part of the poem that Record Shop, 1807 N. Classen intertwines the album along Blvd., is still working on its 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday several tracks, and none of Black Friday plans but Guestroom Records the bonus tracks made it on expects large crowds. The 3701 N. Western Ave. wax. shop celebrated its five-year guestroomrecords.com However, fans are no less anniversary last weekend.

405-601-3859 eager to get their hands on Free

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n ov e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 | O kg a z e t t e . c O m

These are events recommended

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

MeanStreak, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK

Merchandise, 89th Street Collective. ROCK

Metal Headz/Chasing Jenny, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

Midas 13, JoJo’s Bar, Yukon. ROCK

Midas 13, Remington Park. ROCK Nathan Burris/Jeff Douglas, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COUNTRY

WEDNESDAY, 11.23

Slow Speed Breaker, Belle Isle Brewery. ROCK

Carrie Underwood/Swon Brothers, Chesapeake Energy Arena. COUNTRY

Stoney LaRue, Cherokee Casino, West Siloam Springs. COUNTRY The White Lighters, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

Tyrese, Riverwind Casino, Norman. HIP-HOP

Out of Sane, Vik-Timz. ROCK Saves The Saturday Emo/Throwback Night, 89th Street Collective. ROCK Scott Keeton, Remington Park. BLUES SquadLive, Riverwind Casino. VARIOUS Sweet Brenda and Sourmash, Bourbon Street Bar. BLUES

The Bellamy Brothers, Sugar Creek Casino, Hinton.

COUNTRY

Stars, Baker Street Pub & Grill. COVER

Vylan, Dust Bowl Lanes and Lounge. ELECTRONIC

The Remedy, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

THURSDAY, 11.24

SATURDAY, 11.26

Wade Bowen/Kaitlin Butts, Wormy Dog Saloon.

737, Lumpy’s Sports Grill. ROCK

SUNDAY, 11.27

FRIDAY, 11.25

Master class with The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst Fans of late ’80s and early ’90s post-punk and alternative music should attend Academy of Contemporary Music at University of Central Oklahoma’s master class led by The Cure’s founding drummer and keyboardist Lol Tolhurst. The event is 2 p.m. Tuesday at the school, 25 S. Oklahoma Ave. Admission is free. Visit acm-uco.com or call 405-974-4700.

2AM, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK

Tuesday Photo Scott Witter Photography / provided

David Morris, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Garage Band Jam, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK Hosty Holiday Show, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar., Nov. 24. ROCK The Smooth Soulful Sax and Axe, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe. JAZZ Steve Crossley Solo, Margarita Island. VARIOUS

Brandon Jackson, Fuze Buffet & Bar. COUNTRY Chief Peace Album Release, Kamps 1310 Lounge. HIP-HOP Groove Merchants, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. COVER Jamie Bramble, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC Jared Deck, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. COUNTRY

Aaron Newman, TapWerks Ale House. ROCK An Evening With David Ramirez, The Blue Door.

ACOUSTIC

Cody Canada and the Departed, Legend’s Pub House, Chickasha. COUNTRY Deuces Wild, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK Electric Avenue, Newcastle Casino, Newcastle.

VARIOUS

Eric Dunkin, Fuze Buffet & Bar. ROCK Grant Stevens, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

Joel Melton, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Hotstop, Red Brick Bar, Norman. ROCK

Kerry Wayne’s Rockstar Band, Bistro 46. R&B

Jackson Tillman Band, Legend’s Pub House.

Longriver/Travis Champ, The Deli, Norman.

COUNTRY

Johnny Polygon, Fassler Hall.

singer/songwriter

Martha Stallings, Lottinvilles Restaurant, Edmond.

VARIOUS

HIP-HOP

COUNTRY

Blues Jam with the Exclusives, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK Gill Landry, The Blue Door. SINGER-SONGWRITER

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

Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible. Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

Kestral and Kite, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

free will astrology Homework: What famous historical personage were you in your past life? If you don’t know or weren’t really, make something up.

Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) “Creative people are at

greater risk,” said psychiatrist R. D. Laing, “just as one who climbs a mountain is more at risk than one who walks along a village lane.” I bring this to your attention, Aries, because in the coming weeks you will have the potential to be abundantly creative, as well as extra imaginative, ingenious, and innovative. But I should also let you know that if you want to fulfill this potential, you must be willing to work with the extra tests and challenges that life throws your way. For example, you could be asked to drop a pose, renounce lame excuses, or reclaim powers that you gave away once upon a time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Taurus musician Brian Eno has been successful as a composer, producer, singer, and visual artist. Among his many collaborators have been David Byrne, David Bowie, U2, Coldplay, Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones, and James Blake. Eno’s biographer David Sheppard testified that capturing his essence in a book was “like packing a skyscraper into a suitcase.” I suspect that description may fit you during the next four weeks, Taurus. You’re gearing up for some high-intensity living. But please don’t be nervous about it. Although you may be led into intimate contact with unfamiliar themes and mysterious passions, the story you actualize should feel quite natural.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You are free! Or almost

free! Or let me put it this way: You could become significantly freer if you choose to be -- if you exert your willpower to snatch the liberating experiences that are available. For example, you could be free from a slippery obligation that has driven you to say things you don’t mean. You could be free from the temptation to distort your soul in service to your ego. You might even be free to go after what you really want rather than indulging in lazy lust for a gaggle of mediocre thrills. Be brave, Gemini. Define your top three emancipating possibilities, and pursue them with vigor and rigor.

By Rob Brezsny

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Have you been feeling

twinges of perplexity? Do you find yourself immersed in meandering meditations that make you doubt your commitments? Are you entertaining weird fantasies that give you odd little shivers and quivers? I hope so!

As an analyzer of cycles, I suspect that now is an excellent time to question everything. You could have a lot of fun playing with riddles and wrestling with enigmas. Please note, however, that I’m not advising you to abandon what you’ve been working on and run away. Now is a time for fertile inquiry, not for rash actions. It’s healthy to contemplate adjustments, but not to initiate massive overhauls.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) “Everybody is dealing with

how much of their own aliveness they can bear and how much they need to anesthetize themselves,” writes psychoanalytic writer Adam Phillips. Where do you fit on this scale, Leo? Whatever your usual place might be, I’m guessing that in the coming weeks you will approach record-breaking levels in your ability to handle your own aliveness. You may even summon and celebrate massive amounts of aliveness that you had previously suppressed. In fact, I’ll recklessly speculate that your need to numb yourself will be closer to zero than it has been since you were five years old. (I could be exaggerating a bit; but maybe not!)

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Do you periodically turn

the volume down on your mind’s endless chatter and tune into the still, small voice within you? Have you developed reliable techniques for escaping the daily frenzy so as to make yourself available for the Wild Silence that restores and revitalizes? If so, now would be a good time to make aggressive use of those capacities. And if you haven’t attended well to these rituals of self-care, please remedy the situation. Claim more power to commune with your depths. In the coming weeks, most of your best information will flow from the sweet darkness.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) One of your vices could at least temporarily act as a virtue. In an odd twist, one of your virtues may also briefly function like a vice. And

there’s more to this mysterious turn of events. A socalled liability could be useful in your efforts to solve a dilemma, while a reliable asset might cloud your discernment or cause a miscalculation. I’m riffing here, Libra, in the hopes of stimulating your imagination as you work your way through the paradoxical days ahead.

Consider this intriguing possibility: An influence that you like and value may hold you back, even as something or someone you’ve previously been almost allergic to could be quite helpful.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Between now and the

solstice on December 21, you will have extraordinary power to transform into a more practical, wellgrounded version of yourself. You may surprise yourself with how naturally you can shed beliefs and habits that no longer serve you. Now try saying the following affirmations and see how they feel coming out of your mouth: “I am an earthy realist. I am a fact-lover and an illusion-buster. I love actions that actually work more than I like theories that I wish would work. I’d rather create constructive change than be renowned for my clever dreams.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Despite your

sign’s reputation, you Sagittarians don’t always require vast expanses to roam in. You aren’t ceaselessly restless, on an inexhaustible quest for unexpected experiences and fresh teachings. And no, you are not forever consumed with the primal roar of raw life, obsessed with the naked truth, and fiercely devoted to exploration for its own sake. But having said that, I suspect that you may at least be flirting with these extreme states in the coming weeks. Your keynote, lifted from Virginia Woolf’s diary: “I need space. I need air. I need the empty fields round me; and my legs pounding along roads; and sleep; and animal existence.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) “If you can’t get rid

a way to play with it -- maybe even have some dark fun with it. And who knows? Your willingness to loosen up might at least alleviate the angst your skeleton causes you -- and may ultimately transform it in some unpredictably helpful way.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) “No pain, no gain” is

a modern expression of an old idea. In a second-century Jewish book of ethics, Rabbi Ben Hei Hei wrote, “According to the pain is the gain.” Eighteenth-century English poet Robert Herrick said, “If little labor, little are our gains: Man’s fate is according to his pains.” But I’m here to tell you, Aquarius, that I don’t think this prescription will apply to you in the coming weeks.

From what I can surmise, your greatest gains will emerge from the absence of pain. You will learn and improve through release, relaxation, generosity, expansiveness, and pleasure.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) The less egotistical you

are, the more likely it is that you will attract what you really need. If you do nice things for people without expecting favors in return, your mental and physical health will improve. As you increase your mastery of the art of empathy, your creativity will also thrive.

Everything I just said is always true, of course, but it will be intensely, emphatically true for you during the next four weeks. So I suggest you make it a top priority to explore the following cosmic riddle: Practicing unselfishness will serve your selfish goals.

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.

of the skeleton in your closet,” said George Bernard Shaw, “you had best teach it to dance.” This advice is worthy of your consideration, Capricorn. You may still be unable to expunge a certain karmic debt, and it may be harder than ever to hide, so I suggest you dream up

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puzzles

VOL. XXXVIII No. 47 1

New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle Clothes that fit

By Joel Fagliano | Edited by Will Shortz | 1120 ACROSS 1 Upbeat 8 Follows the party line?

14 Senator Vinick’s portrayer on

The West Wing 18 The rest of China, to

Hong Kong and Macau 19 Interstate highway feature 20 Chemically treated hairstyle 21 The aerobics instructor wore …

23 “Then again … ,” to a texter 24 British poet laureate Carol ____ Duffy 25 Get even 26 Obamacare option, for short 27 Interstate highway feature 29 The lawyer wore a …

34 Horn blower 35 Wooden-soled shoes 36 Curb, with “in” 37 Floor 40 Airer of 89-Down 41 Open space in a forest 42 Affliction in Philadelphia 43 A Fish Called Wanda co-star Kevin 44 Borscht vegetable 45 Destination of some SAS flights 46 The gardener wore …

49 “Whatever satisfies the ____ is

truth”: Whitman 51 Gallows item 52 Bank fig.

53 Everyone’s bets 56 Naval jail 58 Fifty Shades of Grey topic,

for short 59 Nickname for basketball’s George Gervin 62 The reptile expert wore a …

66 Recipe direction 67 Quarter back?

68 Star Trek role 69 “Isn’t ____ shame?”

70 Important 71 “Death be not proud” poet 72 Gilbert Grape portrayer 74 The plumber wore a …

79 What fans do 83 Word repeated before show 84 Partner of each 85 Logical flaw 86 Russian pancakes 87 Friend of Tarzan 88 Revise 89 Get exactly right 90 Much Etsy merchandise 91 Google Docs, e.g.

93 The boxer wore …

96 Away from work temporarily 99 Put on 100 Hosp. areas 101 22nd out of 26 102 See 9-Down 103 The happily unemployed

person wore …

108 Puts on 109 Means of escaping prison, maybe 110 Smooth and continuous 111 It’s a loch 112 Yellow-brown 113 Sex-ed topic

DOWN 1 One looking to serve mankind?

2 Successful turn in the game Battleship 3 Kind of tuition 4 Where the buffalo roam 5 Like a French door 6 Maze word 7 Nutritional amt.

8 Ranchers 9 With 102-Across, not the only 10 Major D.C. lobby 11 Arena income 12 Capital One competitor, for short 13 Applied, as cologne 14 Speed skater ____ Anton Ohno 15 Famed claim from Louis XIV 16 Queen’s mate 17 Home to Hampshire College 18 Guides 21 Turn a corner in Monopoly 22 Religious branch sometimes spelled with an apostrophe

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capers and anchovies 75 Violent storms 76 Energy point in yoga 77 Wife on TV’s Family Guy 78 Cantina vessel 80 It helps you stay above water

I N F L A A S T N T E N A I K E E I R H N O A G S L M L E W F O I O U O R K W E E V A Y E C A R E

R T E R F O U I N E X E L H O I V S T E R S S S S T H U R I D O F U T S X Y O I S A R L U E A R E G A S

E N U R A I S E T T H E R E D O R I G S N E S G N C H T R E A L E E P E W D A B S R E S T N A H R I P U K N O N A S P I N O S I P A R E S E N

Advertising Director Christy Duane, cduane@okgazette.com Account Executive / Advertising assistant Leah Roberts Account EXECUTIVES Stephanie Van Horn, Saundra Rinearson Godwin, Elizabeth Riddle, Nathan Ward Walter Agnitsch

81 Two for a buck 82 Downhill ski runs 83 The Doors album with the hit “Riders on the Storm”

86 Victoria’s Secret event 88 Patriots’ Day mo.

89 Spinoff drama featuring LL Cool J 90 Some data-storage media 92 Deep gulf 94 Like some wine casks 95 Jonathan who co-created HBO’s

Westworld 97 His: Fr. 98 Classic Orson Welles role 104 Fareed Zakaria’s employer 105 Defense advisory grp.

106 In excelsis ____ 107 Swamp

Puzzle No. 1113, which appeared in the November 16 issue.

A L T O

Accounting/HR Manager Marian Harrison Accounts receivable Karen Holmes

New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers

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47 Facilitated 48 Minor setback 50 Accommodate 53 NBA stat: Abbr.

54 Excuse 55 Dread Zeppelin and the Wholigans

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Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers.

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

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

Sudoku Puzzle Medium

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E S U P R E D G A O W M A A Y D I M N A F Y L S O W W O T N O T O O L N E

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P H O N E (4 0 5 ) 5 2 8 - 6 0 0 0 | E - M A I L A DV E R T I S I N G @T I E R R A M E D I AG R O U P. C O M

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING MGR

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Analyze, develop, implement web applications to support internal units; network installation and management.

Will work with various operation systems: Win Server, Debian Ubuntu, Mac, and other programs as Linux,Dreamweaver, Fireworks; Will manage web site; Perform project planning and scheduling analysis projects. This includes the coordination with outside services resource.Design and management of software to control payroll and sales of the Company; Installation and management of network among the users of the Company; Technical support, using internal network and virtual; Programming using different languages and software: PHP, HTML, CSS, SQL, XML, Visual Basic, ASP, Jquey,Mysql, MsSpl 2000. MS and Linux Certified Pro.Mail Resume: 2716 SW 29th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73119.

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24 years experience $25 service calls

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, preference or discrimination.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings in . our newspaper are available on an equal housing opportunity basis

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Imports 2016 X3 xDrive28i, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $41,945, Standard Terms 2016 320i Sedan, 36-month lease, $2750 down, MSRP $34,145, Standard Terms 2016 740i, 36-month lease, $5500 down, MSRP $82,295, Standard Terms

BmW

2016 Z4 sDrive28i, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $50,695, Standard Terms 2016 528i Sedan, 36-month lease, $3500 down, MSRP $51,195, Standard Terms 2016 X1 xDrive28i, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $35,795, Standard Terms

Web: www.cooperbmw.com Email: rkeitz@cooperautogroup.com Standard terms & Tag, Tax. 1st Payment, Aquisition fee, processing fee WAC *See dealership for details — offers subject to change without prior notice. *November prices subject to change.