May 17 Friday
Multiple Voices is the first public artwork in the United States by Eva Schlegel, the Austria-based artist known for engineering steel and mirrors into spectacular, architectonic sculptures. Working with materials similar to the arts center’s new building, Schlegel created a series of polished and translucent surfaces that catch and reflect light and parts of the surrounding environment, encouraging visitors to gather, play and learn. Poems by Steve Bellin-Oka, Kimberly Blaeser and Joy Harjo appear in blurred form on glass panels, registering each poem as part of the sculpture, but rendered cryptic to the viewer.
For more information: 405-951-0000, okcontemp.org/EvaSchlegel
Image: Rendering of Eva Schlegel's Multiple Voices at Oklahoma Contemporary. Rendering: Damjan Minovski, Architectural team: Valerie Messini.
One of the largest barbecue competitions in Oklahoma, the Bixby BBQ 'n Blues Festival features two days of mouthwatering barbecue and great music. Head to Washington Irving Park to witness over 80 barbecue teams from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas compete for the top prize and enjoy live blues music by local bands.
Visitors to this annual festival will enjoy free cooking demos, delicious barbecue entries and a wide variety of fair food. Make sure to take part in the People's Choice barbecue competition on Saturday, when barbecue entries are judged by festival-goers who purchase a People's Choice Award taster kit.
Bring your kids to the festival's popular Kids Zone, where they can enjoy numerous inflatable jumpers for a small fee per child. Young ones can also stretch their skills during the Kid's-Q, where children ages 6 to 15 will compete to win best barbecue.
Come for the barbecue and stay for the great live blues music. Nashville's John Nemeth takes the festival stage on Friday, while The Dylan Whitney Band closes out the event on Saturday night.
May 18 Saturday
Turn your passion for yoga into YOUR CALLING! Dig deep, discover your strength, and fire up your life!405 YOGA OKC has one of the highest alumni-rated Yoga Teacher Training programs in the nation.Our Spring 2024 Training starts March 9th! Join us for 4 months and graduate by the end of June...With our diverse, passionate and experienced teaching team, you will gain the skills to empower yourself and those around you, explore and deepen your own practice through a powerful athletic ashtanga-based practice and personally grow in a more authentic, sustainable way.TUITION includes full YTT investment AND a 4 month unlimited yoga pass at 405 YOGA for use during the program! Want to learn more? Visit www.405yoga.com/ytt200
Join us on May 18th for a Coffee & Conversation event focusing on water ecology! Local experts will discuss aquatic ecosystems and how plants and animals interact with each other in rivers, streams, and ponds. Mollie Spencer Farm staff will also speak about the improvements made at the farm to benefit the aquatic ecosystem on the property. The event will include time for Q&A and a walk around the Mollie Spencer Farm pond!
https://molliespencerfarm.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/molliespencerfarm/eventRegistration.jsp?event=46
Register today to secure your spot! This event involves walking on potentially uneven terrain, so please prepare accordingly!
OKC Parks invites everyone to the 34th annual “Garden Festival in the Park” at Will Rogers Gardens, 3400 NW 36th St., from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18.
Garden lovers can purchase annuals, perennials and bedding plants, along with garden-related items from over 50 vendors selling everything from begonias to handmade garden art. Festival goers can also interact with fluffy alpacas and adorable therapy goats.
Free children’s activities will be offered by the Oklahoma Council of Garden Clubs.
Food will be available for purchase from the following food trucks:
Big Lenny’s BBQLolli & Pops Funnel CakesMonkey Food TruckTasty SnowTaco PicosoThe 30-acre Will Rogers Gardens includes the Charles E. Sparks Color Garden, the seven-acre Margaret Annis Boys Arboretum, Ed Lycan Conservatory and Will Rogers Garden Exhibition Center. The Gardens offers hands-on gardening and horticulture classes year-round for visitors of all ages.
Explore the galleries with the Museum mascots and the Kids Guide! Select which cowpoke and trail you would like to follow and learn more about all the fun and fascinating things at The Cowboy. Join Chester the Scissortail Flycatcher, Hopalong the Jackrabbit, Ma’ii the Coyote and Cisco the Mustang and solve the Cowboy Code.
Free for members or with Museum admission.
"Magnificent Beauty: Georgia O’Keeffe and the Art of the Flower" examines explorations of flowers in painting and photography by O’Keeffe and Imogen Cunningham, highlighting their unique interpretations of the traditional subject matter.
This exhibition features old photographs taken in Old Beijing, then known as Peking, and San Francisco’s Chinatown. These cities have changed dramatically in the last 100+ years due to human actions and natural disasters. German American Arnold Genthe (1869-1942) and U.S. Marine Howard C. Goodrich (1902-1984) were early camera enthusiasts. Genthe moved to San Francisco before the 1906 earthquake and fire devastated Chinatown and much of the city. Goodrich was stationed in Beijing in the 1920s, during a period of political unrest in China. Although their images are largely positive, both Genthe and Goodrich made photos of the Chinese and their communities to satisfy Western curiosity about “exotic” places and people. Genthe’s photographs were intended to reach a large audience through publication, but Goodrich’s photographs were shared only with family and friends. Rather than focusing on the photographers, this exhibition directs attention to the people and places depicted in these images. The photographs show everyday life and special events in both Beijing and Chinatown, highlighting how people adapted and interacted at troubled moments in American and Chinese history. The individuals in these images often look back at the photographers, and in turn, at us, with curiosity, confidence, and resilience.
STUDENT CURATORS | Kate Battershell, Daniel Bonilla, Molly Johnson, Amanda Weaver
Learn more at https://museum.okstate.edu/art/picturing-resilient-communities.html