Tulsa World Magazine Summer 2023

TULSA

THINGS WE ARE LOVING ABOUT TULSA THIS YEAR

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TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Summer 2023

TULSA 50 20

See our sta ’s annual picks for the latest and greatest Tulsa has to o er. Find trendy shops, new eateries, cool experiences and more.

14

DISTRICT: Utica Square Insiders put rumors to rest, share exciting future additions to this beloved shopping center.

52 Harwelden at 100 Little-known details about this grand estate.

ALSO INSIDE

12 The Moment: Tulsa World photographer tells the story behind a photo.

71 Casino Guide: Thrilling gaming action at Tulsa-area casinos.

7 Time For Tomatoes: Make recipes showcasing these stars of summer.

57 At Home: Hawley Design makes unique furniture that stands the test of time.

60 Quick Quiz: Do you know Oklahoma’s icons?

78 Independence Day: Americana events and holiday happenings.

80 Let’s Go: Celebrate summer with festivals, arts events, concerts and more.

Cover photo: STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Cover design: TIM CHAMBERLIN, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

64 James Garner’s legacy Daughter of Oklahoma-raised actor tells behind-the-scenes stories about family life.

ANATION OF R E SOLVE

ExperiencetheCherokeestory, throughcenturiesofingenuity, determinationandsovereignty, ininsightfulandmovingexhibits besidetimelessworksofart. Admissionisfreeforallages. OneNation.TenAttractions. EndlessAdventure.

A fond farewell

When something is good — and there’s plenty of it — you share.

That’s the idea behind Tulsa 50. There’s a lot of good in Tulsa. Good things to eat. Good things to do. Good things to experience. And good people.

Tulsa World Magazine is a specialty publication of the Tulsa World, 315 S. Boulder Ave., Tulsa, OK 74103. This magazine is published with the June 25, 2023, edition of the World. All content copyright Tulsa World 2023. The contents may not be reproduced without permission.

NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON Editor

nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com

Nicole Marshall Middleton Tulsa World Magazine Editor

The first Tulsa World Magazine launched Aug. 29, 2015. The cover story was about 100 things that make Tulsa great. We called it “The Insider’s Guide to Experiencing Tulsa.”

The Tulsa 50 was a riff on that theme, with our goal being to share an annual, curated list of trending local things.

Or, in some cases, we gave classic or iconic places and experiences that were celebrating a milestone or undergoing a renewal a shoutout.

Because sometimes we all forget about those good things out there at our disposal. And if we don’t patronize them, they might not be around much longer.

Some of my favorites on the list in this summer’s 2023 edition include the halo-halo Filipino ice cream dessert at the Manila Ice food truck... (yes, ice, ice baby is a theme here), the ever-expanding development at the exciting new Jenks Ten District and Alley Cat Ranch, which promises to be the state’s biggest “adult playground.”

Fun, fun and more fun. But that’s just the tip of the Tulsa 50 iceberg.

Also in this edition, I’m very excited about our story about Utica Square by James D. Watts Jr. Utica Square has and will always be one of my favorite places in Tulsa. James tells us about the Square’s exciting future and why this place endures from insiders who know.

Jimmie Tramel shares a conversation he had with the daughter of Oklahoma-raised celebrity James Garner. There’s a lot you might not know about this war hero, animal lover and celebrated character actor.

I’ve been proud to share these sorts of profiles, trendsetter lists, features and more in the pages of Tulsa World Magazine for the last eight years because they are good. Great, in fact. It’s worth noting that Tulsa World Magazine won Great Plains Magazine of the Year for 2022.

But this edition will be our last. Rising printing costs and other factors have ended our run.

Look for many of the features and the continued awardwinning work of the staff in the pages of the Tulsa World.

STACEY DICKENS Assistant Editor stacey.dickens@tulsaworld.com

JOHN WALBLAY Page Editor

Additional copies of Tulsa World Magazine can be found at the Tulsa World or at local retailers.

This issue packed with local favorites and summer fun will be our last

tomatoes Tasty

Tomatoes are by far the biggest stars of summer backyard garden crops. Here are some recipes to make them shine.

Nicole Marshall Middleton // Tulsa World Magazine

CAPRESE PIZZA ROLLS WITH PROSCIUTTO

Serves 12

1 pound fresh, refrigerated pizza dough

¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1 pint cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups)

½ small lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch red pepper flakes

All-purpose flour, for dusting

3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (about 6 slices)

1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella cheese (not packed in water)

1. If refrigerated, let 1 pound pizza dough sit out at room temperature for about an hour. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 425 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Coarsely chop ¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves. Mince 2 garlic cloves and place in a medium bowl. Quarter 1 pint cherry tomatoes and add to the bowl. Finely grate the zest of ½ small lemon into the bowl (reserve the zested lemon for another use). Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and a pinch red pepper flakes to the bowl and toss to combine.

These are the elevated pizza rolls every kid-at-heart needs.

BRITTANY CONERLY, TNS

3. Dust a work surface lightly with all-purpose flour. Place the pizza dough on the flour and firmly pat it into a rough 6-by-8-inch rectangle. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough as thin as possible, about 10 inches wide and 12 inches long, with a long side closer to you. If the dough starts to spring back as you roll, let it rest for a few minutes, then try again.

4. Arrange 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto evenly on the dough, leaving about a 1-inch border at the top and bottom. Use a slotted spoon to scatter the tomato mixture over the prosciutto, leaving any juices in the bowl behind. Sprinkle half of the basil leaves over the tomatoes. Firmly pat 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese all over with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, then tear into bite-sized pieces and scatter over the tomatoes.

5. Starting at the long end closest to you, roll up the dough tightly into a log. Pinch the seam in the dough closed. Cut the log crosswise with a serrated knife into 12 pieces. Use a pastry scraper or flat spatula to transfer the rolls cut-side up to the baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Tuck any toppings that may have fallen out back between the folds.

6. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the rolls are light golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil before serving.

Recipe notes: Leftover rolls can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days. Reheat for 30 to 60 seconds in the microwave.

— Sheela Prakash, food editor for TheKitchn.com

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

5 large tomatoes, cut into ¾-inch slices

1 onion, cut into ½-inch slices

½ jalapeño, cut in half lengthwise, seeded

2 bell peppers, seeded, cut into 4 pieces

Olive oil

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups vegetable broth

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus additional cheese for garnishing)

A few tablespoons of heavy cream or creme fraiche (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange all vegetables on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil all over. Roast for 20 minutes.

2. Add all ingredients to blender, blend until smooth puree. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour into pot and heat to serve.

3. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and a turn of the pepper mill, and serve with crusty bread.

— adapted from steamykitchen.com

PICO DE GALLO

½ cup diced red onion (or to taste)

7 tomatoes (Romas or an equivalent size)

About ¹/³ cup to ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

1-2 large jalapeños

½ lime

Salt Pepper

1. Dice tomatoes and roughly chop the cilantro.

2. Carefully scrape out jalapeño seeds and dice jalapeños. (If you like things spicy, leave in some of the white membranes.)

3. Add all ingredients to a bowl. Slice the lime in half and squeeze the juice from half a lime into the bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir until combined. Be sure to taste the pico de gallo and adjust the seasonings, adding salt or more diced jalapeño if needed.

FRESH TOMATO TART

1 store-bought or homemade pie crust for tart shell

8 to 10 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus extra for garnish

4 to 6 plum tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch slices

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a loose-bottom tart pan with dough rolled out ¹/8-inch thick. Spread bottom of pastry with shredded cheese and sprinkle with basil. Cover with tomato slices, arranging to cover as evenly as possible.

2. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. Watch carefully. When crust is golden and cheese is bubbly, remove. Garnish with fresh basil. Slice in wedges and serve warm.

— adapted from Food Network.com

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

ROASTED TOMATO CROSTINI WITH HOMEMADE RICOTTA

About 1 pound cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, finely minced Salt and pepper to taste

About 10-12 8-inch bamboo skewers

Sliced crusty bread

1 cup ricotta cheese (recipe for homemade ricotta is at right)

1. Soak and fully immerse bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes.

2. In large bowl, combine oil, Worcestershire and garlic. Allow marinade to sit for about 15 minutes.

3. Wash and dry cherry tomatoes.

4. Add cherry tomatoes to marinade bowl and toss to combine and coat tomatoes.

5. Skewer about 4-5 tomatoes on each bamboo skewer. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on each tomato skewer.

6. Heat grill to medium-high heat.

7. Reserve the leftover marinade and brush it on the sliced crusty bread. If you need more marinade, just add a little more oil to the bowl.

8. Grill tomato skewers on each side for about 3-4 minutes, or until they are cooked. Cooking time will vary depending on the heat of your grill and size of your cherry tomatoes.

9. After tomatoes are cooked, grill both sides of the bread till crispy.

10. Spread ricotta on slices of bread and top with tomatoes. Remove stems if you want before serving.

BUTTERMILK RICOTTA

1 gallon whole milk, preferably pasteurized, not ultra-pasteurized

1 pint heavy cream (optional)

1 quart buttermilk

½ teaspoon salt

1. Line a large sieve with a layer of heavyduty (fine-mesh) cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. In a large saucepan, slowly bring the milk, cream, buttermilk and salt to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until little bubbles form on the surface, about 15 minutes.

2. Let the mixture bubble gently, without stirring, until temperature reaches 185 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes (curds will begin to form).

3. Remove from heat and let sit, without stirring, for 10 minutes. (The pale green whey will begin to separate from white curds.)

4. Gently pour the mixture, including any bits on the bottom, into the lined sieve. Let drain until all of the liquid runs off but the cheese is still moist, about 1 hour. Discard the liquid. Chill the ricotta, covered, until ready to serve or up to 2 days.

— adapted from La Cucina Italiana magazine

Grilled cherry tomatoes and homemade ricotta on crostini.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

THE MOMENT

Built by skaters

MIKE SIMONS // Tulsa World Magazine

Old cinder blocks and Quikrete patches form a skatepark along the train tracks north of downtown Tulsa. Locals call it the “DIY skatepark” because it was obviously built by skaters. It’s not in a city or county park. If it were, the gra ti would be covered. Some of the gra ti is great, some is juvenile. Drone photos from high above revealed someone’s phone number spray-painted on the ground. Other photos showed designs too graphic to put in print. But this spot is (mostly) just family-friendly art that made a compelling photograph

CIRCLING THE SQUARE

Tulsa’s iconic shopping destination

Utica Square evolves, sets high standard

James D. Watts Jr. // Tulsa World Magazine

Robert Merrifield has heard all the rumors.

Such as Utica Square, where Merrifield’s restaurant the Polo Grill has been serving customers fine food and wine for 40 years, has been sold to Ascension St. John, the hospital across the street, and will soon be razed and turned into a hospital annex. Or a physicians’ building. Or a parking lot.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE PHOTOS

Utica Square’s annual summer concert series, Summer’s Fifth Night, which marks its 30th anniversary this summer, was recently named as one of the most outstanding outdoor concert series in the country by USA Today.

Utica Square Through the Years

Over the course of 70 years, “Tulsa’s Fashionable Utica Square” has undergone some major changes. Here’s a timeline of some of most significant events in the center’s history.

Utica Square timeline

1952 – Utica Square opens to the public.

1955 – Renberg’s opens.

1956 – Utica Square Medical Center opens.

1963 – W.L. Kistler Jr., oil producer and investor, buys Utica Square.

“It’s a bunch of hooey,” Merrifield said, laughing. “I’ve been hearing those things for years.

“I think it all started — and this is really my speculation — because, at one time, people from the hospital met with Helmerich & Payne (the Tulsa company that owns, among other things, Utica Square) about rights to a parking garage next to the Helmerich & Payne building,” Merrifield said. “Those conversations didn’t go anywhere, but ever since then, rumors that the hospital has bought the center keep popping up.”

If anything is certain in the world of retail sales and commercial real estate, it’s that nothing is permanent. Tulsa — like cities all around the country — has seen its share of shopping meccas rise and fall. Some are “repurposed” into new and very different kinds of businesses (i.e., Eastland Mall becoming the Eastgate Metroplex office center). Others are leveled in the name of progress. Still others struggle to maintain some semblance of business as usual as tenants shut their doors and empty their storefronts one by one, undone by online retailers, pandemic restrictions and other calamities.

Yet, amid all this change, Utica Square has managed to maintain its vibrancy and its reputation as Tulsa’s premier shopping destination. Over the past 70 years, the nearly 400,000-square-foot complex of buildings, parking lots and landscaping on the southeast corner

of 21st Street and Utica Avenue has become something of an icon.

It is the place, for example, in which thousands of people gather every November since 1966 for the traditional “Lights On” ceremony on Thanksgiving Day, to mark the start of the holiday season.

Utica Square’s annual summer concert series, Summer’s Fifth Night, which marks its 30th anniversary this summer, was recently named as one of the most outstanding outdoor concert series in the country by USA

1964 – Helmerich & Payne purchases Utica Square.

1966 – Howard Post clock installed.

1966 – “Lights On” tradition begins.

1967 – Yorktown Alley is built.

1974 – Tower Clock installed.

1985 – Saks Fifth Avenue opens.

1986 – Heritage Clock installed.

1990 – Addition of landscaped courtyard.

1992 – Summer’s Fifth Night concert series begins.

1995 – Art in the Square begins.

2002 – Medical Center building imploded.

2003 – P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Fleming’s steakhouse open.

2014 – West Elm opens.

2016 – Miss Jackson’s, Petty’s Fine Foods close. The space where these stores once stood remains undeveloped.

2022 – Olive Garden announces construction of a new restaurant space in the southeast section of the center.

2023 – Bar Serra, the center’s first new restaurant concept in nearly a decade, opens.

Visitors to Utica Square can see a number of decorative sculptures amid neatly landscaped flowers, trees and shrubs.

Robert Merrifield is the chef and owner of the Polo Grill, which has been in Tulsa’s Utica Square for 40 years.

Today. Summer’s Fifth Night came in second, bested only by an event in New Jersey, and ahead of concert series in Chicago, New York City, Nashville, Portland, Oregon, Telluride, Colorado, and Oklahoma City.

But most significantly, it is the place where Tulsans go to find the clothing, the gifts, the household items, and — with a couple of notable exceptions — the meals they cannot find anywhere else in town.

One of those exceptions is Olive Garden, one of two national chain restaurants that is not exclusively located in Utica Square (the other being a Starbucks).

When it was announced last year that the restaurant was going to build a new standalone location in a previously unoccupied corner of the property, followed by the announcement that the Boxworks store next door to the current Olive Garden was also closing, it prompted all sorts of speculation about the future of Utica Square.

One such speculation — another one of those rumors that start circulating whenever things change — is that Olive Garden’s other neighbor, Peppers Grill, will be closing, as well.

“Yeah, I hear that all the time,” said Tasha Barley, Peppers’ manager. “But we’ve been here about 30 years, and no one has said anything to me about us shutting down.”

Perhaps it’s because so many of the tenants at Utica Square are so longlived, so much a part of the center’s landscape, that any sort of change seems seismic.

For example, while there have been a few expansions, such as last year’s opening of the

a

Polo Grill Lounge,

ABOVE: One of the dining areas is shown at the Polo Grill Lounge. TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

RIGHT: The entrance to Bar Serra is in Utica Square’s “Art Alley.” DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

TULSA WORLD ARCHIVE

An aerial photo shows Utica Square shopping center’s first four buildings. Seventy-one years ago, Tulsa’s first suburban shopping center opened at 21st Street and Utica Avenue on 30 acres of land that had been allotted to Muscogee Nation member Hellen Woodward before Oklahoma statehood. “Fashionable Utica Square,” later touted in TV commercials, was years in the future, but the center gave shoppers an alternative to downtown, sans traffic and parking meters.

new addition to Merrifield’s Polo Grill has been years in the making, and a relocation or two, such as the popular breakfast and lunch restaurant Queenie’s moving to a larger, and higher-profile, location fronting 21st Street, no new restaurant concept had opened in the center for close to a decade.

That changed with the opening of Bar Serra, a McNellie’s Group concept that opened last October in a

pedestrian alleyway on the southern edge of the center.

The McNellie’s Group had already established a relationship with Utica Square when the company took over ownership of the center’s popular Wild Fork restaurant in 2020 and updated the restaurant with a refurbished interior and a slightly more streamlined menu.

“Scott Frankfurt with Utica Square had the vision to bring new life to this

rather underused stretch of real estate,” said Jim O’Connor, chief operating officer with the McNellie’s Group. “He approached us about creating a concept, and because this was going to be the first new restaurant concept to open in Utica Square in about 10 years, we wanted to do something that would be unique for Utica Square.”

The result is a space that was designed to resemble a greenhouse (which is what “serra” means in Italian),

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

The Mediterranean bowl, paired here with an Aperol spritz, is one of the more popular entrees at Bar Serra. It’s the first new restaurant concept to open in Utica Square in nearly a decade.

DANIEL SHULAR PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

ABOVE: Construction work continues on the new location of the Olive Garden restaurant inside the Utica Square shopping center. TOP: The Olive Garden remains open, while a new standalone restaurant space is being built elsewhere in Utica Square. The manager of Peppers Grill and Cantina next door said Peppers has no plans to close in the foreseeable future.

with a creative bar program and a small, yet eclectic, menu. But what sets Bar Serra apart from most of the tenants in Utica Square is its hours of operation, opening at 11 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends.

“There really aren’t any late-night venues” in Utica Square, O’Connor said.

Another new restaurant set to open later this year is Rise, the first Oklahoma location of a Dallas-based company that specializes in sweet and savory preparations of a quintessential French classic: the soufflé.

Chris Florczak, CEO of Risen Restaurant Group that owns Rise, said the company had sought out Utica Square as a possible location and spent about two years working to bring the project to fruition.

“Because we know we’re not a known entity in Tulsa, we knew (the Utica Square people) would want to do their due diligence and learn all they could about us,” he said.

Rise opened in 2008, the vision of Hedda Gioia Dowd, who wanted to recreate the sort of meals she enjoyed when she spent summers with relatives in France. The menu, created with partner and head chef Cherif Brahmi, features 10 varieties of savory souffles and six dessert flavors, along with other entrees such as salads and sandwiches.

“As far as we were concerned, being in Utica Square was a no-brainer,” Florczak said. “There is such an incredible legacy there, with a beautiful collection of established shops and restaurants, and we know the guests we serve love the options they will find in this center.

“It’s really a place that checks every box we could imagine as the home of Rise Souffle,” he said. “I truly feel blessed that we are allowed to be included in this center.”

That sense of Utica Square’s tenants being more of a curated collection of shops and restaurants rather than a random amalgamation of businesses is a reflection of the philosophy established by the late Walter Helmerich III, who oversaw the center from the time Helmerich & Payne purchased Utica Square in 1964 until his death in 2012.

When Utica Square opened in 1952, it was billed as the city’s first suburban shopping center, as downtown Tulsa was still the place most people went for shopping and entertainment.

It had two grocery stores, a hardware store, a TG&Y outlet, and even a bowling alley. What Helmerich envisioned for the corner of 21st Street and Utica Avenue was something more upscale.

Helmerich said, in a 2008 interview with John Erling for the “Voices of Oklahoma” series, that one of his goals was to “make Utica Square something really special in this city, (so that) it

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

This storefront, located between Saks Fifth Avenue and J. Jill, will become the new home of Q Clothiers/Rye 51.

will reflect favorably on the company. That was my intent.”

It led Helmerich to pursue such nationally known retailers as Saks Fifth Avenue, which opened its Utica Square location in 1985. That success, Helmerich said, “made it pretty easy to get anybody we wanted.”

That included such national retailers as Ann Taylor, Williams Sonoma, Talbots, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.

One of the newer stores to open this year is Q Clothier/Rye 51, a shop specializing in both custom-made and ready-to-wear men’s fashions. The company first opened a location on Cherry Street about five years ago.

“We discovered that the foot traffic we were expecting simply wasn’t there,” said Raja Ratan, the company’s founder and CEO. “We love Cherry Street, the whole ambiance of it. But it’s really more of a destination place — people are there for one specific purpose, whether it’s to have a meal or buy something at a specific shop. So there wasn’t the traffic that we have grown accustomed to at all our other locations.”

Ratan said he approached Utica Square about the move and considered a few potential locations before deciding on the space between Saks Fifth Avenue and J. Jill.

“We thought it was really special, and it seemed like a natural fit,” Ratan said. “Both those businesses have strong female clienteles, and it’s often the women who end up buying the clothes for their men. Or at least pointing out the places where they want their men to buy their clothes.”

Other recent additions to the center include the California-based clothiers Johnny Was and the rebranded New Balance store, now called Big River Footwear.

While national retailers bring a certain cachet, Helmerich said in his 2008 interview that “The biggest decision I made in the Square was to keep 30 percent (of the tenants) local merchants, which I felt gave it a homey (atmosphere), longer continuity of ownership. It’s worked well for us.”

That continues today with the addition of local businesses including Amber Marie & Co., which originally opened a holiday-themed pop-up store. It is currently being refurbished to become a permanent location, which is scheduled to open in July.

Merrifield was one of those locals whom Helmerich encouraged to take up residence in Utica Square.

“I had a restaurant in the London Square center called La Cuisine, which was successful,” he said. “And Walt

Helmerich reached out to me and offered me the place that is now Polo Grill in the part of the center that’s known as Yorktown Alley. It had been a restaurant called Newberry St., which John Phillips, who had started the Chalkboard, owned.”

Today, the Polo Grill is the center’s restaurant with the longest tenure. Its food has routinely earned five-star ratings from Tulsa food critics, and its exceptional wine cellar and beverage program earned national attention when it was named a James Beard Award semi-finalist in 2022.

In spite of repeated requests for any sort of comment on the center’s past, present and future — such as, what may happen to the large, fenced-in greenspace that once was the site of Tulsa’s iconic showplace of high fashion, Miss Jackson’s, and the city’s original gourmet grocer, Petty’s Fine Foods — officials with Helmerich & Payne and Utica Square management declined, politely, to participate.

But, as someone who has four decades of experience with the people running Utica Square, Merrifield has few doubts about the stability of Utica Square in today’s economic environment.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years,” Merrifield said. “The saying goes that ‘Change is inevitable, but growth is optional.’ Under Hans Helmerich (CEO of Helmerich & Payne), the team here is really focused on getting the Square into great shape now and into the future.”

The violet souffle is one of the “secret menu” items at Rise, a restaurant that is coming to Utica Square this year.

COURTESY, COURTNEY PERRY

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Amber Marie & Co. originally was a holiday-themed pop-up shop, but a permanent location of the locally owned lifestyle boutique is set to open in Utica Square this summer.

TULSA

Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate mini bundt cakes are displayed at the bakery at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile.

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

The hardest part is narrowing our list down to only 50 things we are loving and looking forward to this year. But here you go. Keep this list close when you are looking for something awesome to see, eat and experience in the Tulsa area.

Mercury Lounge Bluegrass Brunch

1747 S. Boston Ave.

On Sundays at the Mercury Lounge, don’t be surprised when 200 people show up for some bluegrass with their brunch.

The Mercury Lounge likes to call itself a “neighborhood dive bar by day and a regional, benchmark music venue by night.” There’s a reason why we named it one of the best music venues in Tulsa World Magazine’s local music issue earlier this year.

What makes this place special is not many like it are hopping when the church crowd is looking for some grub. A lot of that is thanks to the Johnny Mullenax Band.

A Tulsa native, Mullenax likes to say his sound is a “funky country bluegrass good time for working folks.” He’s had this standing brunch gig since January 2021, and as is the style at many shows in Tulsa, you never know who will jump on stage and join the show.

Alley Cat Ranch

732 E. Second St.

1It might not look too impressive right now, but the open space near where Second Street downtown segues into the Inner Dispersal Loop is in the process of becoming “the largest multi-purpose adult playground in the state.”

That’s the plan Watershed Hospitality — the company behind The Hemingway, Kilkenny’s and Nola’s — has for this stretch of real estate. A 4,000-square-foot facility will be the hub of an acre’s worth of outdoor space for everything from pickleball courts to a Ferris wheel. Three bars and two kitchen spaces will be able to serve 800 to 1,000 guests a day.

All that’s in place right now is a food trailer, but that’s more than enough for people hungry for creative barbecue. That is what chef and pitmaster Nick Corcoran has been serving at Alley Cat Ranch food trailer since March, and he plans to continue to do so as the ambitious plans are built up around him.

Ribs, pulled pork brisket and burnt ends are among the best in town, with Corcoran adding such grace notes as a roasted poblano sauce for his pulled pork and a chipotle sauce that gives his burnt ends a caramel-like sweetness with just a hint of heat.

BRETT ROJO, FOR THE TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

A Tulsa native, Johnny Mullenax likes to say his sound is a “funky country bluegrass good time for working folks.”

An order of Nick’s nachos with chile adovada sits on a patio table at Alley Cat Ranch.

Picnic tables sit in the sunlight outside the patio at Alley Cat Ranch.

DANIEL SHULAR PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Rooftops with the best views of downtown

On the right summer night in Oklahoma, when an evening breeze makes you forget about the heat of the day, there might not be a better place than a rooftop with the lights of downtown around you.

Luckily, a lot of developers have thought about this as downtown keeps getting more decorated at night.

You can get boutique wines, local beers and signature cocktails at The Penthouse Rooftop Bar on top of the Mayo Hotel, 115 W. Fifth St. It offers the only unobstructed 360-degree view in downtown Tulsa at that height, 18 floors from the street. Hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 4 p.m.-close. (Just be sure to check first they aren’t closed for a private event).

You will also be surprised at the view at the Boxyard, when you look toward the sunset. On Cherry Street, you get a good look five floors up at Sidecar Barley & Wine Bar, 1515 E. 15th St. If you want sushi with your downtown views, check out another Tulsa 50 honoree, In the Raw Vu. Find indoor and outdoor seating at Roof Sixty-Six, on top of the Hotel Indigo in the Blue Dome District, 121 S. Elgin Ave.

And we are looking forward to Soma, a “tropical Americana” bar and kitchen, that will open in the summer of 2023 on the rooftop of the new Brut Hotel at 1840 S. Boulder Ave.

New trails

New and improved hiking and mountain bike trails are being professionally designed in the woods of west Tulsa and are sure to attract outdoors enthusiasts from all over. One such trail is Boomtown, the largest downhill mountain bike trail in Oklahoma. Located at Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness, it features a boardwalk, jumps, a 200-foot drop in elevation and a metal “flyover” bridge. Trails west of U.S. 75 at Bales and Lubell parks were recently connected thanks to a donation of land to River Parks by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. Mooser Creek Greenway has 8.5 miles of multi-use trails that are rated for beginner and intermediate riders. The trails are also suitable for adaptive mountain bikes.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Get boutique wines, local beers and signature cocktails at The Penthouse Rooftop Bar on top of the Mayo Hotel.

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

The bike trail cuts through the woods on Mooser Creek Greenway that connects Bales and Lubell Park.

Gambill’s mashups

1921 S. Harvard Ave.

Isn’t it nice when everyone just gets along?

We are loving the mash-ups that Gambill’s Pastaria is doing with other restaurants. One of their regular collabs is with the owners of the former Lassalle’s New Orleans Deli. They call it LaGambill’s, and the marriage results in offspring such as crawfish ravioli with cream sauce, muffuletta pizza and LaGambill’s Shrimp & Grits, made with Italian polenta. Other collabs have included Flo’s Burger Diner, Mac’s Barbecue, Palace Cafe, Lambrusco’z To Go Deli and Calavera’s (they call it Gambavera’s). There’s nothing wrong with that, especially when some of these collaborations grow into brick-and-mortar restaurants. In May, Gambill’s Tex-Mex Barbecue opened in the house just next door to the Pastaria, a result of collaborations with Mac’s Barbecue. And earlier this month, the Gambill outpost in the Shops at Mother Road Market, 1102 S. Lewis Ave., became Gambill’s Jewish Deli. Keep ‘em coming, Gambill’s. We feel the love.

Grassroots Larder

1325 E. 15th St.

Is that pizza with giardiniera and deli meat like a muffuletta? Why, yes it is, thanks to the LaGambill’s mashup.

Fixins Soul Kitchen

222 N. Detroit Ave.

A California-based soul food restaurant founded by former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson has come to downtown Tulsa.

Fixins Soul Kitchen is in a first-floor space at 222 N. Detroit Ave., an 11-story building owned by Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy. Johnson played 12 years in the National Basketball Association and is a three-time All-Star. After his playing career, he became the first Black mayor of Sacramento, California, elected in 2008 and 2012. Co-founded by Johnson’s wife, Michelle Rhee,

Grassroots Larder is a “treat yourself” kind of place. More specifically, it is a combination of neighborhood market, coffee bar and grab-and-go eatery offering goods that are sustainably produced. The space on Tulsa’s Cherry Street now occupied by Grassroots Larder has been many different businesses in the past. Longtime Tulsans will remember it as The 15th Street Wok, a high-end Chinese restaurant. More recently, it has been the home to several watering holes, such as The Pint on Cherry Street, the White Owl and Main Street Tavern on Cherry Street.

Now, the interior of Grassroots Larder evokes the coziness of an early-20th-century store — with tiled floors, antique light fixtures and ceiling panels that resemble the tin tile ceilings of that period — with all the high-tech conveniences of a 21st-century establishment.

Fixins has other locations in Sacramento and Los Angeles.

As a professional basketball player, Johnson traveled each year to more than two dozen NBA cities. He said during those trips, he sought out soul food restaurants because they reminded him of the great cooks within his family.

“BBQs and reunions always featured Grandma Gladys’ famous peach cobbler and competitions around who made the best collard greens or potato salad,” the Fixins website says. “This restaurant is an homage to this amazing African

American family and Johnson’s broader network of friends and associates by featuring all of their best recipes and family favorites.”

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Customers Priscilla Sanstead and her husband, Pete Sanstead, walk through Grassroots Larder. “We are wanting to continue the same values that people came to expect from the Tulsa Farmers Market,” the store’s general manager, Pamela Weigle, said.

STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

COURTESY, FIXINS SOUL KITCHEN

Silhouette Sneakers & Art

10 N. Greenwood Ave.

Silhouette Sneakers & Art in Tulsa’s historic Greenwood District is a place where high-end footwear, art and community converge.

The store was the location of a feel-good story earlier this year when anonymous donors paired up with the store to surprise the Hale High School boys basketball team.

The team’s 15 players and three coaches all received a new pair of shoes to celebrate their season, which included a 13-game win streak. The Rangers had won a regional championship for the first time since 1998.

Marshall Brewing turns 15

1742 E. Sixth St.

Marshall Brewing Co. celebrated its 15th anniversary this year and launched a new partnership with the local charity Food on the Move.

Marshall Brewing is Tulsa’s original craft brewery, founded by brewmaster Eric Marshall in 2008. With inspiration from Marshall’s time studying and apprenticing in Germany, the brewery splits emphasis between traditional German-style lagers and more flavorforward American-style craft beers.

Proceeds from Marshall’s new “The Giving Train” fundraiser will go toward Food On The Move’s initiatives, including its monthly events that offer fresh produce, community resources and hot meals from local restaurants.

Food on the Move, founded by Taylor Hanson of the band Hanson, is a mobile food initiative designed to

create a collaboration of food, health experts and community partners to mobilize quality food into local food deserts to combat hunger and food insecurity through access, innovation and education.

We raise a glass to Marshall’s charitable way of celebrating their big milestone. Cheers!

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

Nathan Hale High School basketball players Deon Franklin, Kabron Lewis, Nate Morehead, Jearmiah Cogan and Nathaniel Grace are overjoyed after being surprised with the news they would get a free pair of sneakers of their choice at Silhouette Sneakers & Art.

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Marshall Brewing Co. held its 15th anniversary celebration in April.

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ at Cannes

A filmedin-Oklahoma movie received a nine-minute standing ovation at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Martin Scorsese brought “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Cannes for the film’s May 20 world premiere. Shot in Pawhuska, Tulsa and other Oklahoma towns in 2021, “Killers of the Flower Moon” stars Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in an adaptation of David Grann’s book about the serial murders of the Osage in 1920s Oklahoma.

If you weren’t at Cannes, you’ll have to wait a few more months to see “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters in October.

VIANNEY LE CAER PHOTOS, INVISION, AP Lily Gladstone (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film “Killers of the Flower Moon” at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, in southern France, on May 20.

William Belleau (from left) Leonardo DiCaprio, Tantoo Cardinal, director Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Cara Jade Myers, Lily Gladstone and Jillian Dion pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film “Killers of the Flower Moon” at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 20.

Drillers’ Tulsa Sound tribute

The Tulsa Drillers partnered with Church Studio and OKPOP Museum to become the “TulsaSound” for four games, wearing special uniforms as part of its annual 918 weekend.

The TulsaSound merch includes navy, red or gray T-shirts with the TulsaSound logo, as well as the official jersey with piano keys and a guitar with the TulsaSound script.

This is hardly the Drillers’ first connection to music. Longtime Tulsa resident, multiinstrumentalist and three-time country music entertainer of the year Roy Clark was an original co-owner of the baseball team with businessman Bill Rollings. Clark would have turned 90 this year.

Estate sales

There is nothing better than the thrill of the hunt, and the growing estate sale trend in Tulsa proves that.

The sales are fueled by several estate sale-related Facebook groups with thousands of members. Group members share information about upcoming sales and discuss the value of their finds.

According to many regular estate sale attendees, Tulsa is poised perfectly to have amazing estate sales. The city has attracted a lot of wealth over the years — namely with the oil boom of the early 20th century — that’s been passed down through generations.

Several Tulsans who own estate sale businesses or are frequent visitors of them have stories of their most noteworthy finds — the wacky, wonderful, unbelievable and everything in between.

A shopper looks at items during an estate sale done by Prairie Homes Estate Sales in Tulsa. Avid estate sale shoppers find sales in Facebook groups, many of which have thousands of members.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Lego store

This summer, a Lego store is expected to open in Woodland Hills Mall. The 2,153-square-foot outlet will be the second Lego shop in the state, joining one in Oklahoma City.

The Tulsa store, which will be on the mall’s lower level across from the Apple store, will feature a pick-and-build wall, brick specialists and hands-on play opportunities. It will also offer a wide range of new products available only from Lego stores and lego.com.

The Lego Group patented the Lego brick with the familiar tubes inside and studs on top on Jan. 28, 1958, and the blocks made then still fit perfectly with the ones made today, according to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

COURTESY, TULSA DRILLERS

The Tulsa Drillers baseball team paid tribute to the Tulsa Sound.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

The Lego name is an abbreviation of two Danish words — leg godt — which means “play well.” Kids and adults will soon have access to a Lego store in Tulsa’s Woodland Hills Mall.

Salt and Lime Social

1121 S. Elgin Ave.

Longtime friends Shelby Remy and Spencer Snow may have started at Mother Road Market, but they always knew Tulsa’s first food court was just a launching pad for what they really wanted to do.

The two opened their first stand-alone restaurant, Salt and Lime Social, in what is known as the Gunboat District, serving up intriguingly tasty variations on tacos, wings, burgers and other street foods, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic margarita creations, in a space designed for outdoor dining. And you have to try the crispy fried Brussels sprouts.

The restaurant is primarily a patio with two converted shipping containers — one has additional seating, the other houses the kitchen. For those who want to bring along their four-footed friends, a dog park area is adjacent to the patio.

Stutt’s House of Barbecue marks 30 years

2021 E. Apache St.

When Almead Stutts first opened her barbecue restaurant in 1993, she was told that running a barbecue pit was too strenuous a job for a woman.

Stutts has been proving naysayers wrong for 30 years, by serving up authentic pitcooking barbecue, homemade buttermilk pie and Southern hospitality to appreciative diners who make the trip to Stutts House of Barbecue.

While Ms. Stutts still puts in a full day’s work at her restaurant, she knows her success is the result of a whole community coming together, not simply to enjoy her food, but to help out in times both good and bad, to make sure Stutts’ House of Barbecue continues. It’s just a reflection of her own attitude toward what she does with her life.

“I know we sell people food, but we really try to give them a little something extra — a little bit of joy,” she said. “If someone leaves here, and they have a smile on their face, then we’ve done the best thing we can do.”

All the Dips and Chips with the Strawberry Basil Fan Favorite Margarita are seen at Salt and Lime Social.

MIKE SIMONS PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Salt and Lime Social occupies two shipping containers in Tulsa’s Gunboat District. The patio and adjacent open space are dog-friendly.

STEPHEN PINGRY PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Stutts House of Barbecue celebrated its 30th anniversary March 5.

Almead Stutts shows off a plate of her barbecue at Stutts House of Barbecue.

Rock concerts at TU

New Kids on the Block performed for a soldout crowd of 42,000 at the University of Tulsa’s football stadium in 1990.

Chapman Stadium hasn’t hosted a major concert event since.

It’s high time to fix that.

Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Alice Cooper announced a 2023 stadium tour that will include an Aug. 16 performance at Chapman Stadium.

More stadium shows on the way? The announcement that Def Leppard and Motley Crue would bring a tour stop to Chapman Stadium was followed by this tweet from TU President Brad Carson: “This is the first of several concerts we hope to host over the next year. $$$$ for the university, and fun for all.” For tickets, go to motley.com or defleppard.com.

Cherokee Nation’s Owasso soundstage

The Cherokee Film Studios in Owasso is bringing the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to Oklahoma.

The 4-acre site, located off of Oklahoma 20 just east of Owasso, is the first of its kind in Oklahoma and Indian Country, and serves as a state-of-the-art extended reality studio crafted with industry-leading software and hardware technologies.

Encompassing approximately 14,000 square feet, the facility features a large LED wall, accompanying edit suites, a control room, a pro-grade audio booth and crew and client lounges, as well as hair and makeup facilities.

The Cherokee Nation celebrated the grand opening of the facility with a dedication ceremony in June 2022.

Six months prior, the Cherokee Nation Film Office became the first tribal film commission to offer an annual $1 million film incentive for productions filmed within tribal boundaries.

More than 28 productions have already been created at the Owasso site, including five external projects such as “Land of Gold,” which debuted at the Tribeca Festival in New York last year and is now streaming on HBO Max.

For more information about the Cherokee Nation Film Office, visit cherokee.film.

Isla’s Southern Kitchen

420 E. Archer St.

Justin Thompson and his team have an enviable track record with restaurants, including Freya Nordic Kitchen, Prhyme Downtown Steakhouse and Juniper, which makes the opening of his latest concept, Isla’s Southern Kitchen, something we await with great eagerness.

The restaurant is named for Thompson’s daughter, and the food takes traditional and new Southern, low-country, Cajun and Creole traditions and gives them an elevated spin.

Along with such staples as fried green tomatoes, gumbo and po’ boys, planned menu items include Justin’s Shrimp & Grits; Isla’s Favorite Brussels Sprouts with boiled peanuts, spiced honey and chili flake; Southern biscuits and gravy; crawfish beignets; ribeye steak with red-eye gravy; a Nashville-style fried chicken sandwich; and what Thompson modestly calls “the best Southern Sweet Potato Pie in the state.”

The beverage program will feature classic and reinvented cocktails such as the Mint Julep, Sazerac, Gin Fizz and the Mississippi Bourbon Punch, along with a full array of locally brewed beers on tap.

The menu for Isla’s Southern Kitchen draws much of its inspiration from the cuisine of New Orleans. COURTESY, VALERIE WEI-HAAS

ART HADDAWAY, OWASSO REPORTER Owasso Mayor Kelly Lewis and her husband, Kevin, visit the Cherokee Film Studios during a ribbon-cutting ceremony last summer.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

Joe Elliott and Def Leppard will be joined by Motley Crue and Alice Cooper for a concert event at TU’s Chapman Stadium.

Zillow Gone Wild

Hats off to Samir Mezrahi, the former Tulsan who started Zillow Gone Wild.

This popular page, known for posting the most interesting and outrageous homes the real estate website has to offer, has become a social media sensation, with each post garnering tens of thousands of “likes” from users.

Mezrahi started Zillow Gone Wild in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, December 2020. Since getting its start a few years ago, Mezrahi’s account has gained millions of followers — whom he calls “Zillionaires” — across multiple social media platforms.

“It just keeps growing, and I’m having a lot of fun with what I’m doing,” Mezrahi said. “I can see people really enjoy it.”

Magic City book fair

Magic City Books’ first adult book fair pop-up shop was a hit.

Crowds packed the patio of cohost NEFF Brewing as they shopped for all the items to satisfy their inner child, such as glitter pens, posters and stickers — not to mention books — amid grown-up libations.

Jeff Martin, the store’s co-founder and president, said they are having another adult book fair this fall, then having two a year — spring and fall — annually.

Blake Shelton partners with OKPOP

The fundraising branch of OKPOP — the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture — has a face, and it’s the face of a homegrown country music superstar.

Blake Shelton is teaming with the OKPOP Foundation to be an honorary chairperson for a campaign to raise funds for the completion of OKPOP, expected to open in late 2024.

“Music is my livelihood, and Oklahoma is my home — my heart,” Shelton said when the partnership was announced. “So, when I heard more about OKPOP’s mission to inspire and empower young Oklahoma musicians or artists like me, I knew I had to get involved.”

Jeff Moore, OKPOP’s executive director, said Shelton is a great fit for what the museum represents, indicating that Shelton was a kid from Ada who made his dream come true by way of talent and passion.

“Those are the stories we are telling, and those are the kids we want to help pursue their own dreams of making music or films or writing the next big novel,” Moore said. “We want them to visit the museum and leave knowing the sky’s the limit.”

COURTESY, SAMIR MEZRAHI

Samir Mezrahi is a Tulsa native who started the social media account Zillow Gone Wild.

COURTESY, MAGIC CITY BOOKS Magic City Books and NEFF Brewing hosted an adult book fair pop-up shop in February.

COURTESY, AJ STEGALL/OKPOP

Country music star Blake Shelton, an Ada native, is OKPOP Foundation’s honorary campaign chair. From left are OKPOP Foundation Chair D. Scott Petty; OKPOP Executive Director Jeff Moore; Charlene Ripley, musician Steve Ripley’s widow; Shelton; OKPOP Foundation Managing Director Abby Kurin; and Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Director Trait Thompson.

The Ten District in Jenks

Keep your eyes on Jenks. There is a lot popping up in the Tulsa suburb to be excited about.

Much of the development is in the Ten District.

Situated 10 miles from downtown Tulsa, Bixby, Sapulpa and Broken Arrow, the Ten District is the heartbeat of Jenks. It starts exactly 10 blocks west of the Arkansas River and runs until you hit the old Midland Valley railroad tracks.

Saffron Mediterranean Cuisine

3313 E. 32nd Place

You don’t usually hear “if you want some great Mediterranean, turn off Harvard and it’s in that strip mall.”

But that’s the case with Saffron Mediterranean Cuisine, named one of the best new restaurants in Tulsa when it opened in 2021. Our restaurant critic James D. Watts Jr. wrote the Afshari family earned that spot thanks to the talent that drove people to eat at their last restaurant, Shish Kabobs in east Tulsa, for more than a decade.

With Saffron in the space once occupied by Bangkok Thai Buffet, the family was able to fulfill some personal dreams to have a bigger restaurant. Unlike some restaurants that opened at that time, Saffron survived the pandemic thanks to customers who kept coming back. It really is the kind of place where you want to try everything.

The Saffron Combo Platter, Salmon Sabzipolo and Mediterranean Mazzeh are offerings at Saffron Mediterranean Cuisine.

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Above: A portion of Main Street in downtown Jenks has been branded as part of the Ten District. Top: A rendering shows a food hall under development.

Tulsa Mayfest turns 50

The popular arts festival Mayfest marked 50 years this year. It began as Jubilee ‘73 and ran annually for decades, until event operator ahha Tulsa suddenly shut down in November 2022. Fortunately, the University of Tulsa stepped in and took over.

“We definitely had to hustle,” said Brad Carson, president of the University of Tulsa said. “Fortunately, we’ve had incredible support from the volunteer community that Mayfest has always had, and we were able to put all the assets of the University of Tulsa to work, as well.”

Art and food vendors are set up in the Tulsa Arts District with the city’s skyline on the horizon as Mayfest celebrates its 50th anniversary.

‘The Outsiders’ musical

Some 55 years after it was first published, S.E. Hinton’s landmark novel “The Outsiders” reached the stage in a new musical adaptation that opened in March at the La Jolla Playhouse in California.

The musical is co-produced by Tanninger Entertainment, the Tulsa company that has earned Tony Awards for its work in bringing the revivals of “Pippin” and “Oklahoma!” to Broadway.

Adam Rapp, who wrote the musical’s book, drew inspiration both from Hinton’s novel and from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film version, which has become almost as iconic as the original book. The music was composed by the band Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine.

The show’s run, which ended in mid-April, earned praise from critics around the country, with one saying it “successfully blends the best of the book and the movie in a richly detailed story for teen and adult audiences. It reveals its characters’ thoughts through song lyrics that feel authentic to the book, while still delivering a cinematic-style visual punch, with muscular choreography and, yes, a dazzling rumble in the rain.”

Demand for tickets was such that the La Jolla Playhouse run was extended an additional week. Here’s hoping that success means “The Outsiders” will soon be on its way to Broadway.

Cricket & Fig

5800 S. Lewis Ave., in the London Square Shopping Center

Cricket & Fig Chocolate gets around. When the LIV Golf Tournament was in Broken Arrow earlier this year, Cricket & Fig provided the custom-made chocolates that were handed out to the VIPs attending the Pro-Am portion of the tournament. And those scones people enjoy during the monthly afternoon teas at the historic Harwelden Mansion? They’re made by Cricket & Fig as well.

Chef and owner Randy Page has earned a devoted following for his unique flavor blends for his handcrafted truffles, such as Caramel Marshmallow, Black Sesame, Peanut Sparkle, Lemongrass & Ginger and French Toast.

And while the sweet stuff is a primary draw, Page and his staff also do a fine job with savory dishes, from burritos for breakfast to sandwiches, salads and pastas for lunch. Or enjoy a latte made with Illy Caffe to go along with your selection of chocolates.

COURTESY, RICH SOUBLET II

The cast of the world premiere production of the musical “The Outsiders,” now playing at the La Jolla Playhouse.

STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Peanut butter and jelly truffles are one of the creations at Cricket and Fig.

Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum and city councilor Jayme Fowler stand with Mr. Monopoly during the announcement of the Tulsa Monopoly game on Feb. 9.

Maggie’s Music Box

201 E. Main St., Jenks

Tulsa Monopoly board

A new edition of Monopoly will replace the board game’s famous streets — including Boardwalk, Atlantic Avenue and Park Place — with some of Tulsa’s most recognizable cultural sites, historic landmarks and timehonored businesses.

The game’s “Community Chest” and “Chance” playing cards will have Tulsa themes, as well.

Public input on the local landmarks was sought earlier this year. Tulsa is the only city in the state with its own official version of the board game.

The game is expected to be on sale in time for Christmas.

Maggie’s Music Box has one of the most consistent schedules of local acts throughout the week.

The owners describe the venue at in downtown Jenks as a House of Blues on a beach.

Over the past 12 years, Kevin and Amy Smith have pioneered new venues for local music, from Studio 818 to Soul City Gastropub & Music House and now Maggie’s.

The phone rings now more than ever with local talent trying to find a stage.

That demand is one of the reasons why Maggie’s Music Box keeps tearing down walls to expand space for the crowds.

Lunch at In the Raw Vu

Pro tip: Try lunch at In the Raw Vu. Demand for a dinner table with a view and the delicious sushi, cocktails and more at the popular eatery in the Vast Bank building remains high.

But if you are craving a Restless Ribbon Roll, like, right now, try going midday. We’ve had some luck, and you will, too.

Yellowtail sashimi is topped with slices of chili and served with a chili ponzu sauce at In the Raw Vu.

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Bad Decisions performs at Maggie’s Music Box in Jenks.

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Tee Pee Drive-In resurrected

13166 W. Ozark Trail, Sapulpa

More than a dozen drive-in movie theaters once lit up night skies in and around Tulsa. Then the golden age of drive-ins faded, and the Admiral Twin was left as a sole reminder.

Good news for drive-in fans: One of those abandoned drive-in theaters is back in operation.

Tee Pee Drive-In, which operated in Sapulpa from 1950 through 1999, has been revived with a retro playground and new amenities, including trailers that have been transformed into Airbnbs.

For information and showtimes, go to teepeedrivein.com.

Fancy Fish Fingers at The Hemingway

1515

This year, Tiffany Taylor made the jump from executive chef of Freya Nordic Kitchen — named Best New Restaurant of 2022 by the Tulsa World — to the close runner-up that year, The Hemingway. With that jump comes 10 new items on The Hemingway’s menu, along with changes to five other dishes.

Fancy Fish Fingers comes from the playbook of juxtaposing “high brow” and “low brow.” The dish is a twist on crab cakes, served with a remoulade sauce.

WeStreet Ice Center

WeStreet Ice Center is the new practice facility under construction for the Tulsa Oilers professional hockey team, and it will offer space for skating and youth sporting events. It is scheduled to open later this year inside Promenade Mall.

The center will offer room for figure skating, youth ice hockey, broomball, curling and other sports that would be new to the area.

The WeStreet Ice Center, which is expected to be a regional draw, is a 140,000-square-foot facility that will include an in-house pro shop, concessions, a full-service bar and restaurant, virtual gaming and meeting areas for events and celebrations.

“There is a little whimsy to just about everything we do,” Taylor told Tulsa World restaurant critic James D. Watts Jr. earlier this year. “We like to take things that are super familiar, then turn them on a 45-degree angle.”

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Drivers park cars as “Back to the Future” plays on the big screen at Tee Pee Drive-In in Sapulpa.

COURTESY RENDERING

The main rink at WeStreet Ice Center, shown in a rendering, will have 600-plus seats, with room for about 500 more along an elevated railing. A secondary rink will be able to accommodate a few hundred fans.

Manila Ice food truck

facebook.com/manilaicetulsa

Instagram: manila_ice_tulsa

Halo-halo makes you happy just looking at it.

But get this: It’s a combination of assorted jellies, fruits, candied beans, purple ube yam jam, shaved ice, milk blend, coconut leche flan, ube and pandan ice cream and coconut wafer cookies topped with condensed milk drizzle and fruity pebbles.

And Missy and Anthony Santos of Manila Ice, a Filipino food truck, are happy to hook you up with some halohalo, as well as many other delicious Filipino foods.

Chef Anthony Santos, is a proud Filipino American, born and raised in Tulsa. Growing up, his Lola and Nana visited frequently from the Philippines and bonded with him through cooking. That bond grew into his desire to become a chef, and that passion took him to culinary school in the Philippines. As a ‘90s kid with a love of hip-hop, basketball, sneakers and Filipino food, the name of the truck — Manila Ice — is Anthony’s tribute to his childhood.

Other mainstay dishes include signature blackberry adobo wings, sinangag (garlic rice), turon and halo-halo. The menu changes with the seasons and available produce, along with their rotating specials.

Check out Manila Ice, ice baby.

DANIEL SHULAR PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

The halo-halo is a colorful treat from the Manila Ice food truck served at Food Truck Wednesday at Guthrie Green.

Customers line up to order food from the Manila Ice food truck, which specializes in Filipino dishes.

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Oklahoma Aquarium carousel

300 Aquarium Drive, Jenks

One of the Oklahoma Aquarium’s newer attractions doesn’t swim, but it does spin.

A custom carousel, located inside the Great Hall near the main entrance, has marinethemed animals one can ride and is accessible for all. Cost is $3 for the first rider and $2 for each additional rider.

Also, be sure to check out some of the new “Marvels and Mysteries,” such as the hands-on moon jelly touch exhibit.

The museum in Jenks, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in May, also is home to the only exhibit of bull sharks in the Western Hemisphere.

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

BOK Center turns 15

Can you believe BOK Center is 15 years old?

The downtown arena has attracted some of the world’s biggest touring artists over those 15 years, a trend that is continuing in this anniversary year.

Bruce Springsteen returned to BOK Center in early 2023. On deck are shows featuring The Chicks, Madonna, Luke Bryan, the Jonas Brothers, Chris Stapleton and Aerosmith. Fast-rising country music artist Zach Bryan of Oologah will play two sold-out shows in August.

In May, General Manager Bryan Crowe said BOK Center is on track for a record-breaking year and should surpass the highest number of ticketed shows in the venue’s history.

For tickets to BOK Center events, go to bokcenter.com.

Music artists visit Church Studio

304 S. Trenton Ave.

Church Studio attracted music artists from all over the world when Leon Russell transformed a Tulsa church into a recording studio in the 1970s.

Same song, new verse: Gloriously refurbished Church Studio is again attracting music artists and celebrities from all over.

Music artists pop in to (A) record music, (B) perform shows in a Church Studio concert series or (C) check out Leon’s old place while in town to play gigs at other venues.

Current owner Teresa Knox restored Church Studio, and it has joined Woody Guthrie Center, Bob Dylan Center and Cain’s Ballroom as must-see Tulsa music attractions.

A sampling of recent visitors: actor Wes Studi, Foghat, Journey’s Jonathan Cain, Elle King (she has a song called “Tulsa”), Lainey Wilson, members of the Oak Ridge Boys and “Reservation Dogs” actor Zahn McClarnon. Follow the Church Studio on social media to keep track of future sightings.

Austin Allsup is among music artists who have recorded at Church Studio so far in 2023. TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

Bill Hader wraps up ‘Barry’

If you were around in the 1970s, you know that nobody was cooler than Fonzie. Here’s who Fonzie thinks is cool: Tulsa’s Bill Hader. Henry Winkler, the actor who played Arthur Fonzarelli, continues to heap praise upon Hader, his co-star in HBO’s “Barry.” Hader co-created “Barry” and also is a writer and director on the series.

Winkler and Hader have earned Emmys for their work in “Barry.” Each of the first three seasons were nominated for outstanding comedy series. The fourth and final season arrived in 2023. Here’s to a job well done.

Bill Hader poses in the press room with the award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for “Barry” at a past Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony. JORDAN STRAUSS, INVISION/AP

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed Feb. 21 at BOK Center.

A fan waits outside the main entrance before the grand opening of Reba McEntire’s new restaurant, Reba’s Place, in Atoka.

Reba McEntire poses for photos after speaking at a news conference for the grand opening of her new restaurant, Reba’s Place.

Pioneer Woman Merc road trip

The Pioneer Woman Mercantile — the epicenter of Ree Drummond’s multi-media empire in downtown Pawhuska — recently underwent an extensive renovation and is open once again to receive people from all over the country wishing to have a true “Pioneer Woman Experience.”

Much of the renovations focused on the restaurant and bakery in the Mercantile. The restaurant was completely made over, from the plates on the table to the light fixtures hanging from the roof.

The menu also has been gussied up with some new creations, such as the Crunchy French Toast, breaded with a mixture of corn flakes and Cap’n Crunch cereal; a pulled pork sandwich topped with a spicy raw apple slaw and crispy fried apple shreds; a chopped Greek salad; and a corn casserole

38 Reba’s Place road trip

301 E. Court St., Atoka

Reba’s Place is a new restaurant, live music venue and retail space in downtown Atoka. The building is a 100-year-old former Masonic Temple and contains memorabilia of Reba’s career. The celebrity-branded venue came about through a partnership between McEntire, the city and the Choctaw Nation. The venture was announced in late 2021 and had a grand opening in January 2023.

made with brown butter, cream and two kinds of cheese.

But the Mercantile is just the start of the “Pioneer Woman Experience.”

Across the street is Charlie’s Sweet Shop and P-Town Pizza, and just a few doors

down is the Boarding House boutique hotel, for those wanting to make a day and a night of it. And, if it’s not in use to film new episodes of her Food Network TV series, the Lodge on the Drummond Ranch is open for tours.

DANIEL SHULAR PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

One couple finishes breakfast while other customers take in the newly remodeled restaurant at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska. The original tin ceiling and Nabisco mural were kept intact.

Old World Pizza

732 W. New Orleans St., Broken Arrow

40

It’s an unassuming place, tucked away in the corner of a shopping center at one of Broken Arrow’s major intersections. But what comes out of the bright red, Italian-made brick oven of Old World Pizza is some of the region’s best pizzas.

Owner Lily Neal and husband, Robert, developed their recipes and techniques through a long process of trial and error to achieve the bright, flavorful sauce and the crust that strikes the perfect balance between crispy and chewy.

Start with the classic margarita pie, topped only with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves, or dive into a pepperoni pizza sporting a generous spread of cup-and-curl pepperoni slices. And leave some room for the house-made tiramisu.

Sans Murs

4629 W. 41st St., in the Silo Event Center

Long-time Tulsa chef and James Beard Award semifinalist Paul Wilson calls his latest endeavor “Sans Murs,” which is French for “without walls.” On one level, it refers to the fact that Wilson conceived this to be a pop-up concept, without a definite brick-and-mortar location. That meaning has lessened in import, as Sans Murs has taken up more or less permanent residence in the Silo Event Center.

But the name also is a reference to Wilson’s own approach to the food he makes and serves at Sans Murs. The regularly changing menus allow Wilson to draw from his extensive background in various culinary styles, from classical French cuisine to Cajun and Creole dishes to gourmet reinterpretations of the tastes of childhood.

It also can refer to the dining experience itself, which encourages diners to think outside the traditional walls of appetizer-entree-dessert and craft their own meals their own way.

Tulsa Parks improvements

Whiteside Park and Community Center, 4009

S. Pittsburg Ave., is undergoing renovations that will make it one of the most inclusive playgrounds in the state, according to city officials. The park was still under construction at press time but was expected to open in July.

Among the new features are a thoughtfully planned playground

that anyone can enjoy, regardless of visual ability, sensory processing or mobility limitations.

Celebration Park, 946 W. 21st St., is a five-acre park that opened in April. It features two gardenthemed playgrounds, a splash pad and a multi-use sports court.

In February, the newly renovated McCullough Park at 11534 E. 25th St. reopened. It features a pump track, which is a loop that when ridden correctly requires no pedaling or pushing.

“From visual impairment to sensory processing disorders and mobility limitations, (Whiteside Park) will be a park where everybody matters and is included,” said Lauren Pool, whose 5-year-old daughter, Lincoln, has cerebral palsy.

STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Cup-and-curl pepperoni tops a pizza at Old World Pizza.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

Regularly changing menus allow chef Paul Wilson to draw from his extensive background in various culinary styles.

COURTESY, CITY OF TULSA

Noche & Super Fly Golf Lounge

110 N. Elgin Ave., in the Vast.Bank building

Acclaimed chef Sheamus Feeley is readying two new concepts as his first foray into the Tulsa scene: a Mexican restaurant and a unique twist on the concept of the “sports lounge.”

Noche, which will be opening soon in the Vast.Bank building downtown, is described as a “center-of-the-plate, tacofocused restaurant, with wood-fired meats, fish and vegetables,” inspired by the diverse cuisines of Mexico City.

Appetizers include ahi and avocado tostada tartare, loaded elotes and wood-roasted Brussels sprouts and mushrooms, and a selection of soups, salads and fajitas.

Entrees include beef tenderloin tampiqueña with cheese enchilada and golden rice; grilled trout with avocadotomatillo salsa; smoked chile-rubbed ribeye; and Veracruz-styled shrimp with slow-cooked hominy grits with lime and cilantro.

“I want to give our guests something that they are going to want; this isn’t

Airtopia

12932 E. 86th St. North, Owasso

too ‘chef-y’ or so esoteric that no one can understand it,” Feeley said. “I want to cook food that everyone can come in and enjoy.”

Feeley’s second concept, the Super Fly Golf Lounge, will be more of a bar concept but one that will feature the Trackman Golf Simulators, so patrons can work on their games while enjoying craft cocktails.

Owasso is now home to a new $4.4 million indoor amusement center.

Sitting at 40,000 square feet, Airtopia features multiple trampoline zones, a high-ropes course, several climbing walls, a twoway glider rail, a multilevel warrior course with warped walls, a massive play structure for kids and adults, and a three-level toddler play area.

Guests can also try their hands at a variety of arcade games, including virtual reality experiences, as well as host large parties for special events in the building’s café that includes open-table seating and multiple private party rooms. The giant play park, which opened in November, serves as the first Airtopia location in Oklahoma and the second in the nation outside its original site in San Antonio, Texas.

The facility is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.10 p.m. Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday.

More information can be found at airtopiapark.com/owasso.

Chef Sheamus Feeley opened Noche, offering Mexico City-influenced cuisine, in the Vast. Bank Building this spring. Feeley’s second concept is the Super Fly Golf Lounge.

COURTESY PHOTOS, NOCHE

Grilled salmon with avocado-tomatillo salsa, guajillo-arbol salsa, golden rice and cilantro are seen at Noche.

Airtopia in Owasso features multiple trampoline zones, a high-ropes course, several climbing walls and more.

ART HADDAWAY, OWASSO REPORTER

Aaru VR Cafe

7 N. Cheyenne Ave.

Aaru Entertainment is a unique virtual reality gaming center in Tulsa that contains a VR arcade, café-bar and game development studio.

Its main attraction is the Omnideck, a 16-sided, motorized, omnidirectional treadmill created in Sweden. It is the first such device in the world to be made available for commercial use.

Shai Kaiser, a 26-year-old grandson of Tulsa philanthropist George Kaiser, is the owner of Aaru Entertainment. He envisions future programming to include eSports tournaments, cosplay events and game jams.

The Top Drawer

3303 E. 32nd Place

CrossFit

You might have a preconceived notion that CrossFit is for the young, elite athletes or people with major muscles.

Although there was a time when that stereotype might have been justified, it’s not now, at least not in Tulsa, where there are a number of CrossFit gyms. At these local gyms, you’ll find all ages and skill levels. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to enjoy and benefit from CrossFit.

CrossFit combines strength and conditioning workouts at a high-intensity level. It features everything from Olympic weightlifting to jumping on boxes, just to name a few.

Go check out a local CrossFit gym. The environment will likely be more welcoming than you think.

Put The Top Drawer on your list of places to pop in and shop.

It is an upscale designer ladies consignment shop with a regular rotation of affordable clothing.

If you have items to sell, you can consult with their friendly staff about the process. Pieces frequently found include Kate Spade, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and more.

Check out their fun Instagram page @thetopdrawertulsa to get a taste of what we are talking about.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Top Drawer is an upscale designer ladies consignment shop with a regular rotation of affordable clothing.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

Aura Entertainment owner Shai Kaiser plays a game on the Omnideck, a motorized, omni-directional treadmill.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE

CrossFit combines strength and conditioning workouts at a high-intensity level.

Zuri, Tulsa Zoo’s new chimp

Tulsa Zoo, 6421 E. 36th St. North

In January, the Tulsa Zoo welcomed a new addition to its troop: Zuri, a 10-yearold female chimpanzee from Los Angeles Zoo.

She came to Tulsa Zoo through participation in the AZA Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan.

“We have successfully introduced Zuri to the full troop and have seen many positive behaviors toward her from the other chimps,” said Tulsa zookeeper Mo O’Leary. “These behaviors include grooming, excited vocalizations, embraces and kissing, as well as other reassurances. It has been amazing to watch her transformation from hesitant to open and engaging as a member of the troop.”

Go visit Zuri and her friends this summer at the Tulsa Zoo.

Freya Nordic Kitchen

3410 S. Peoria Ave.

Not that we’re picky (OK, maybe we are picky), but it takes a lot for a restaurant to earn five stars from the Tulsa World. And last year, the only restaurant to do that was Freya Nordic Kitchen, the Scandinavian concept from Justin Thompson Restaurants on Brookside.

With chef du cuisine Kelsey Ihm now overseeing the kitchen, Freya is still worthy of all its stars, for its clean yet cozy atmosphere, its excellent service, and most especially its food,

Breakfast at Neighborhood JA.M.

4830 E. 61st St., Shops at Warren Place

This is for all you morning people.

We are loving the breakfast at Neighborhood JA.M. The potatoes are next level, and you’ve gotta experience the monkey bread. Be sure to get there early on weekends, or you’re in for a big wait.

Neighborhood JA.M. was on our top 10 list of new restaurants in 2019, and we still think this is a sure bet.

So get out of bed and try it already.

which draws inspiration from Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish culinary traditions.

Yes, you can enjoy perhaps the best Swedish meatballs you’ve ever had, or an excellent filet of beef tenderloin. But Freya is a place where one can explore and discover more unusual dishes and ingredients.

Sample a diverse array of flavors and textures with a smorgasbord to start, then move on to the smoked duck or short rib goulash as an entree and finish off with a honey-baked pear or Swedish cheesecake. Try one of Freya’s signature cocktails or mocktails.

Whatever you choose, you’re sure to enjoy that special feeling of comfort and satisfaction that the Danish people call “hygge.”

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Freya Nordic Kitchen bartender Abi Parette mixes an Odin Sour.

ASKTHEEXPERT LOCALPROSANSWERYOURQUESTIONS

Whyaretherebackorderdelaysonsometypes ofluxuryvinylplank?

PennyCarnino: TheanswerisUyghurForcedLabor PreventionAct.TheareaknowninChinaastheUyghurregion hasbeenknowntohaveforcedlabor,lastsummerCongresspassedthisact banningproductsfromthatarea.WhereasalotofthemanufacturingofLVP hasbeenmovedtoVietnamandCambodiatherawmaterialsstillcome fromChina.

So,immediatelythisdidn’taffectthesupplyanddemandofLVP.Therewas previouslyabacklogofalotofproductsthattheyhadtroublegettingunloaded attheports,thatproductfinallymadeitthroughtodistributionandwehadan abundanceoftheproductavailable.TheissuenowisthePVCrawmaterialstill comesfromChinaandthatisintheLVP,consequentlytheproductregardlessof whereitismanufacturedstillmustclearUScustoms.Thepaperworkismostly inMandarin,thusmakingthatprocesstakealotlonger.Severalmonthsago theyestimatedabout$40millionwasheldup,nowtheythinkit’scloserto $60-$70millionworthofproduct.Unfortunatelythatmakesitverydifficultto giveanytypeofanaccuratetimeframeastowhenaspecificLVPproductmight beavailable.

It’snotjustflooringthatthisaffects.Therearetextiles,electronicsand cottonthatcomefromthatregion.Sojustbeawareifyouarelookingat replacingyourflooringwithaLVPproducttherecouldbedelays.Grigsby’shas preparedforthisbykeepingsomeofthemostpopularstylesinstock.

Whataresomeproductsmorereadilyavailable?

PennyCarnino: We’vegotsomegreatvaluesrightnowonLuxuryVinyl PlankandCarpetthatwebroughtinforinventory.Wehaveagreatsalegoing onrightnowonDal-Tileproductsifyouareinterestedinceramicorporcelain tileandwealsohaveasaleonDixieHomecarpets.Thenwehaveagood varietyofdifferentcarpetsinstockfromabasictexturetouniquepatterns,

somethingforeveryone.Mostofthespecial orderitemslikecarpet,tileandengineered woodarereadilyavailable.

Issummerapopularseasonforworkingon flooringprojects?

PennyCarnino: Thisistheseasonwhen peoplearestillworkingonprojects!People tendtostarttheseprojectsinthespringand theycarryintothefallaspeoplearealsogetting readyfortheholidays.Summercanbeabitof alull,peopleareonvacationandthengetting readytogobacktoschoolbutwetendtostay busy.Ifyouarethinkingaboutchangingoutyour flooringthere’snobettertimetostartlookingat what’souttherenow.Wewouldlovetohelpyou atGrigsby’s!

ASKTHEEXPERT

LOCALPROSANSWERYOURQUESTIONS

Whataresomesuccessstoriesoflocalclientswhere youwereabletohelptheminthistoughlabor market?

JacquiMcFarland: WorkingwithsomeofTulsa’slargest employers,wehavelearnedthatnotjustactivesolutionswork,butalsopassive ones.Socialmediaplaysabigpartinattractingpassivejobseekers.Whenyou workwithustodoasponsoredsocialmediapostitisdifferentthanwhenyou justdoitinternally.YouhavethereachandcredibilityoftheTulsaWorldand wegobrandthatwiththereachandcreditabilityofyourlocalcompany.This seemstoattractandsparktheinterestofpassivejobseekers.

Wehavesomanydifferentwaystoconnectjobseekersandemployers.The TulsaWorldisnolongeraprint-onlysolution.Wehaveexpandedourproducts andservices.Ifcanthinkofamarketingtacticthereisagoodchanceweoffer it.Forexample,weofferactivejobsolutionssuchasmajorjobboards,social media,targeteddisplay,streamingaudio,billboardsandsomuchmore.

Iworkwithalocalmanufacturingproductioncompanythatfillsrecruitment classesforoneoftheirproductionclasses.Theyhirethemindividuallybutall startatthesametimesotheyaren’tondifferenttrainingschedules.Before theyworkedwiththeTulsaWorldtheywerestrugglingtogettheseclassed filled.Butsinceworkingwithus,theyhavebeenabletogetclassesfullerthan theyhaveinrecentyears.Ithasbeenworkingsowellforthemnowtheyare usingusforsomeoftheirhigherlevelpositions.

HowdoestheTulsaWorldstandoutwhenitcomestohelping companieshirefortheiropeningjobs?

JacquiMcFarland: We’reaone-stopshop.Gonearethedayswhereyouhave togotoalloftheseindividualjobboardsormarketingcompanies.Wepostto allthemajorjobboardsandnichenetworks.Youhaveoneloginforallthejob boardsandadigitalreportingdashboard.Sowhenwedomultipletactics,like socialmediaorvideo,you’renotdealingwithmultiplepeople.Youaretalkingto melocally.

Alsoweputonin-personjobfairstwiceayear:Oneinthespringandtheother inthefall.Wearen’tjustdoingmarketingforbusinesses.Wearealsohelping theseemployersconnectwithjobseekersfacetofaceinthistoughhiringmarket. Thisupcomingfallcareerfairwillbemy15theventwithTulsaWorld.

JACQUIMCFARLAND,

LEARNMORE

ContactJacquiat: 918-833-0330

jacqui.mcfarland@tulsaworld.com

Notonlydotheemployersleavetheeventhappy butsodojobseekersasmanyofthemtendtoget hiredonthespot.

We’relocal.SoI’mabletogoanywhereinthe surroundingareas,andcomeoutandtalkwith youaswellwalkyouthroughhowitworks.Most placeshelpingwithrecruitmentmarketingdon’t havesomeonelocalwhocanmeetyouinperson.

Howisthislabormarketdifferent thanbefore?

JacquiMcFarland: Beforeitwasuptothe employeronwhotopickforajob.Nowitseemsto beajobseeker’schoicebecausetherearesomany optionsoutthere.Itusedtobethatanemployer couldpostjobdescription,ajobseekerwouldjust readitandapply.Nowyouhavetogooutthere andsellyourcompanyonwhysomeoneshould workforyou.

Whatdoyoubringtothisjobthat separatesyoufromotherpeople?

JacquiMcFarland: I’vebeenarecruiter.So Iknowbothsides,notjusttherecruitment marketingside,butwhatisinvolvedintheactual recruiting/HRprocess.Iknowwhatallgoesinto itandhowharditistomanage.Also,I’veowned myownsmallbusinessonthesidesince2009. Sothatmakesabigdifferenceknowingwhat businessownersandHRgothrough.

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HARWELDEN AT 100

Secrets & surprises in Tulsa’s landmark mansion

James D. Watts Jr. // Tulsa World Magazine

The story goes that as Earl Harwell was observing the construction of what would become his family’s home on South Main Street, a passerby took in the sight of what would become a four-story, 15,000-square-foot, English Tudor-style mansion and wondered aloud what sort of person would build such an enormous place.

“Oh,” Earl Harwell is said to have replied, “some old fool with more

money than sense.”

This incident took place about 100 years ago, and in the century that followed, the house at 2210 S. Main St. has become one of Tulsa’s icons of art, architecture and history.

When Earl’s wife, Mary, died in 1967, she bequeathed the house to the Tulsa Arts Council, later known as the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa, for the nascent nonprofit organization to use as its headquarters. The council renamed the house Harwelden, after

the Welsh town to which the Harwell family had traced its origins.

For many years, Harwelden was home not just to the Arts and Humanities Council; many of the city’s arts groups, including Tulsa Ballet, the Tulsa Philharmonic, Chamber Music Tulsa, Light Opera Oklahoma and more, had offices at Harwelden.

And the house and its grounds were, and remain, a popular location for events ranging from concerts and lectures to weddings and receptions.

STEPHEN PINGRY PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Tulsa native Teresa Knox and her husband, Ivan Acosta, purchased Harwelden in 2018, with the goal of restoring the house to its original glory — converting office spaces back into the bedrooms to create a unique boutique hotel — while continuing to make the property available for public and private events.

This year, Harwelden turns 100, and Knox said a public open house to celebrate the anniversary is being planned for later this summer.

But Harwelden is such a large place and filled with so much history, it’s easy to miss some of the house’s subtle, yet intriguing, features.

We asked Knox to share some of the lesser known aspects of Harwelden she likes to share with those who come to visit.

WHAT’S THAT BY THE CHIMNEY?

Posted a bit like sentries next to the south end chimney are a pair of gargoyle-like creatures, grasping shields in their claws.

“We haven’t been able to find a quote from Mr. Harwell, or anyone else, as to why they included these,” Knox said. “But they’re not like the usual gargoyles you might see, that look rather fierce and frightening. These are more friendly gargoyles. They’re still there to protect the house, but they are a little more welcoming.”

They are also, Knox added, a little more visible. A magnolia tree that had been planted around the time the house was built had grown to the point that its branches obscured the gargoyles from view.

“We had someone come in to trim the tree, and now the gargoyles are easier to spot,” Knox said.

GOING UNDERGROUND

It was during the renovations after purchasing the house that Knox discovered something unusual in one of the basement rooms.

“It had been a place that was used for storage, and it had these large soffits from the old heating and airconditioning system that we replaced,” she said. “It was kind of hidden away in a corner of the room.”

It was the entrance to a tunnel that snakes under the Harwelden property and comes out in the basement of the carriage house, the one-time garage that has also been converted into

guest rooms.

The existence of a tunnel was something that had long been a part of the house’s lore, but Knox said exactly why it was constructed and how — if ever — it was used is still a bit of a mystery.

“When we’re showing people around the house, we talk about the times when the house was built,” she said. “Prohibition was still in force, but also this was the time of the Lindbergh kidnapping, and I know a number of the early Tulsa oil barons had received

threats of kidnapping and worse.

“There are also a couple of hidden safes in the house,” she added. “One is in the dining room, and we discovered the second under drywall when we were renovating the second floor.”

The entrance to the tunnel, now marked by a brass handle, is in what is now the house’s bridal suite, where brides can ready themselves for their weddings.

“We joke that, if the bride changes her mind, there’s always a way to sneak out,” Knox said.

Harwelden mansion’s gargoyles on the roof are the friendly sort.

Harwelden’s tunnels to the carriage house are a bit of a mystery.

SPLISH, SPLASH

Behind the main house is a small pond, surrounded by large, flat rocks over which water flows in a miniature waterfall. The pond may look as if it’s been there since before the house was built, but in fact it’s a more recent addition to the landscape.

“I actually thought it was part of the original landscaping,” Knox said. “But when I spoke with Caroline Crain, who is the Harwells’ granddaughter and still lives in Tulsa, she told me the pond actually was created in the 1940s. It was used as a wading pool by the children.

“One reason I really like the pond is, now that we have converted the carriage house into bedroom suites, it gives that part of the property this kind of ‘cottage in the woodlands’ feel,” Knox said.

FOREVER DANCING

The statue of the medieval minstrel that stands on the front lawn has been a part of Harwelden since 2000. Former Tulsa artist Rosalind Cook created the image, titled “Celebrating the Arts,” as a way of capturing in a single image the house’s purpose as a home for the arts.

It was also a symbol of Harwelden Knox herself wanted to preserve, although when she first approached the arts council about purchasing the house, she was told the sculpture could not remain.

“That was a deal-breaker for me,” Knox said. “But after a while, we were able to reach an agreement, that the

sculpture would remain in place.”

One reason why Knox was intent on keeping “Celebrating the Arts” in its original place is a tiny detail on the sculpture that few people notice.

Once Cook had completed her full-scale clay maquette for the piece,

she invited Katie Westby, the Tulsa arts patron and philanthropist who helped found the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa, and who was instrumental in securing the house for the organization, to view the finished product.

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE The garden room inside the Harwelden Mansion sits empty before guests arrive for afternoon tea.

STEPHEN PINGRY PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

ABOVE: The pond was created in the 1940s. It was used as a wading pool by the children.

RIGHT: The statue of the medieval minstrel that stands on the front lawn has been a part of Harwelden since 2000.

Cook had Westby press her thumbprint into the toe of the minstrel’s upraised foot. The clay maquette was then sent to the foundry, and Westby’s print is now preserved in bronze.

“It just seemed appropriate,” Cook said at the time, “since Katie has been a guiding hand to the arts for so long.”

A SPOT OF TEA

One of the most popular events held at Harwelden since its rebirth have been the English afternoon teas held on the premises.

“People would love us to offer them every day, but we’re not a restaurant,” Knox said. “Sometimes we’ve done two a month, but we’re probably going to keep it to one Tuesday a month.

“It’s an opportunity to show off the mansion, to talk about the Harwell family and their history, and to celebrate this uniquely English tradition in a place that’s designed in the English Tudor style,” she said.

Equally popular are the Princess Teas, designed for younger audiences, which feature actresses dressed up as Disney princesses to interact with the visitors.

LEFT: The bar is set up in the sun room of the Harwelden mansion before guests arrive for Harwelden’s afternoon tea.

ABOVE: Guests take their seats in the dining area of the Harwelden mansion for tea.

DANIEL SHULAR, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Server Annabel Arosta speaks with Elizabeth Erbrick (left) and Courtney McCorkle during Harwelden’s afternoon tea in May.

CREST-FALLEN

In the Club Room, on the basement level, is a fireplace above which is affixed the Harwell family crest. Sort of.

“There was a place above that fireplace that looked as if it were for some kind of crest to be displayed,” Knox said. “I got the chance to talk with (longtime AHCT executive director) John Everitt, and he said there had been a crest, but someone had stolen it years ago. He tried to describe it to me, but there were no pictures or descriptions of it I could find.”

Knox found someone who specialized in the history of family crests — in, of all places, Bulgaria — who worked with her to create the crest now on display.

“He asked me to go around the house and take pictures of all the imagery in the house, from the more than 200 Tudor roses that have been carved into the woodwork and the stone, the thistles, the oak leaves, the pomegranates, everything,” she said.

“And he worked all that into the final product. So the Harwell family crest was made in Bulgaria.”

For more information about

Harwelden, including room rates, event rentals and schedules for afternoon and Princess tea services: harweldenmansion.com.

Teresa Knox found someone who specialized in the history of family crests in Bulgaria to work with her to create the crest now on display.

STEPHEN PINGRY PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Harwelden Mansion was named one of “17 Cozy Inns Around the U.S. Perfect for Your Next Getaway” by Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Built

to last

The longevity of Hawley Design speaks to the unique quality and creativity of the furniture sold there.

Hawley has been “keeping Tulsa modern since 1979,” as its website states. That’s just an incredible amount of time for any business, much less a furniture store that has to compete with the likes of big-box chains and online sources such as Wayfair and Amazon.

But here’s the secret... Well, actually, several secrets, owner and founder Mark Hawley explained.

You don’t have to assemble Hawley furniture yourself like things you purchase online. Also, it won’t fall apart once it has reached its final form. But what really makes their furniture stand out is that Hawley furniture is whimsical, handmade, unique and artistic. It can be literally anything that the consumer dreams up in his or her head.

Hawley Design has been making quality furniture for over 40 years

STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Mark Hawley has been dreaming up creative furniture designs since he was young.

Nicole Marshall Middleton // Tulsa World Magazine

Hawley’s father was a mechanical engineer with a penchant for woodworking, so Hawley grew up with access to a better-than-average woodshop.

“Since I was a little kid, I was always in the garage making stuff: furniture, wood pieces, you name it,” Hawley said.

After attending Barnard Elementary and Edison High School, he went to the University of Oklahoma to get a degree in product design.

“In Oklahoma, it was a new idea. There were not a lot of kids in those classes. I would go home on the weekend and make a table, or chair, whatever for class and come back to school. There was a shop there, but I had a much better shop at home,” Hawley said.

His first job was at a design shop in OKC at 10th Street and Klein. He did woodworking at night, honing his skills “making whatever.” He took the first chance to move back to Tulsa and work with a friend, eventually opening his own store.

“It is weird how time flies. It is still challenging trying to make custom furniture,” Hawley said. “People know that they can buy a coffee table on Wayfair for $400, where a custom table might be $1,500 to $1,800.

“Clients that understand that appreciate quality, usually,” he said.

Hawley Design sells some preferred lines that they do not make themselves. To create the custom pieces, the talented master woodworkers consult with customers to bring their dreams to life.

“People come in with a picture and say they want it like this but different wood, or it is something they can’t find or another configuration... And we build them to last,” he said.

You can find Hawley Design at the new 4,000-square-foot store at 710 S. Lewis Ave. They also have a little showroom at the location where the woodshop is at 1416 E. Fifth Court.

Now that they have wall space in the new store, they have decided to start featuring fine art for sale, he said. So if

you have not stopped by the new shop in a while, you’ll find more there to buy than before.

Hawley said he has had some national exposure, including pieces on “Star Trek” and others featured in wedding magazines. Signature pieces include the Ripple line, the matchbox wall art and the Sitting Image Chairs, which feature images of pop culture icons.

“We have done work in Tulsa

STEPHEN PINGRY PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Hawley Design has a new 4,000-square-foot store at 710 S. Lewis Ave.

that is not just furniture pieces; we do commercial jobs,” Hawley said, including designs at the Mayo Hotel, University of Tulsa and the new Mondo’s restaurant in Brookside.

Many Tulsans have seen that Frank Lloyd Wright’s historic Westhope home, 3700 S. Birmingham Ave., recently went on the market. But you may not know that Hawley has some pieces featured in the home.

A dining table and chairs in the home were designed and built by Ross Felice and Mark Hawley. Their design was inspired by the famous Frank Lloyd Wright high-backed chair to fit the home’s design.

Just last year, the team in Hawley’s woodshop rebuilt the dining room table top. Photos of the table and chairs were published by Architectural Digest and Vogue in articles highlighting actress Sophia Bush’s Tulsa wedding, as she and husband Grant Hughes had a dinner party at Westhope the evening before their wedding celebration at Philbrook.

Hawley feels fortunate to have been able to follow his dream of furniture design for so many years. And he’s thankful for the support of the Tulsa community.

“You try to be creative and make a living paying the bills and you like what you do... a lot of people don’t like what they do after some time. I really do, and I appreciate the people who have supported us over the years in Tulsa.”

Pop culture plays a big part in many of the designs found at the store.

People come in with a picture and say they want it like this but different wood, or it is something they can’t find or another configuration... And we build them to last.”

- MARK HAWLEY

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Customers will find unique furniture pieces and artwork at Hawley Design. The matchbox wall art is among the signature pieces found at Hawley Design. The store has recently added fine art to its offerings.

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Remembering James Garner

Daughter Gigi Garner talks about Oklahoma actor’s legacy, love for dogs and motorsports

Jimmie Tramel // Tulsa World Magazine

Every episode of “The Rockford Files” begins with a telephone ringing and a caller leaving a message on your favorite private investigator’s answering machine. This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and message. I’ll get back to you. The message callers leave is different

in every episode intro. The humorous messages gave viewers a clue that Rockford was a magnet for hard-luck stories.

Rockford was a pardoned ex-con who wanted to earn his pay ($200 a day, plus expenses) without getting shot at or punched, but he had a knack for winding up between a Rockford and a hard place.

James Garner had the title role in TV series “Maverick” and “The Rockford Files,” along with numerous movie roles, including “The Notebook.”

Home was a run-down, beach-side trailer, where he was often visited by a father who urged him to change professions. Rockford’s best friends — weaselly ex-con Angel Martin and a cop (Dennis Becker) who grew weary of providing favors — sometimes seemed like frenemies.

Rockford wasn’t like every other P.I.

The Oklahoman who played him was one of a kind, too.

James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner) was raised in and around Norman. He lost his mother when he was 4 and became introverted due to his upbringing. For a complete origin

story, read Garner’s excellent 2011 memoir, “The Garner Files.”

That introverted kid charmed his way onto television and movie screens. He rose to prominence by starring in the TV series “Maverick” and appeared in films like “The Great Escape,” “Grand Prix” and “Support Your Local Sheriff” before his Emmy-winning turn in “The Rockford Files.” Interesting: A Korean War veteran who was awarded Purple Hearts, Garner’s favorite movie project was a 1964 anti-war film.

Garner, who would have celebrated a 95th birthday this year, passed away in 2014. Daughter Gigi Garner created the James Garner Animal Rescue Fund (jgarf. org) in memory of her pup-loving dad.

Tulsa World Magazine caught up with Gigi Garner for a conversation about her father’s life.

TW: It was interesting to read the segment you contributed to your father’s memoir. You wrote that people have asked you what it was like to grow up with James Garner for a father, but, to you, he wasn’t somebody famous. He was Dad.

GG: He’s that guy who comes to the breakfast table with his hair all messed up, and he’s just like everyone else’s dad, except he’s a great dad.

TW: He went with you to a Beatles concert and you watched from the front row?

GG: I got in trouble because I stood up and I started dancing. I think I got pulled back into my seat. I’m not sure if it was my mother or my dad. I was only like 5 or 6. .... We had a lot of fun experiences like that, but, to be honest, my dad was such a kid at heart and he loved to play, like a child. We would play cards and we would go motorbike riding. One time when we were in New York, he set up a race track on the floor (of a hotel) so we could race these little cars on the track and it was going around the tables and around the couch. It was so funny. He was really into that, and so was I, so we had a lot of fun playing.

TW: The book said he rode the Matterhorn amusement park ride with you 12 times in a row?

GG: That’s what I mean. He was really enjoying all the kid stuff as well as I was. The greatest part was they just let us stay on 12 times in a row.

TW: I don’t have the stomach for that.

GG: He loved it as much as I did. We would go go-carting. We did all kinds of stuff that was super fun.

COURTESY, GIGI GARNER

James Garner is shown with daughter Gigi Garner on the set of the television show “Nichols.”

JIMMIE TRAMEL, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

A James Garner statue is prominent in downtown Norman, the city of his birth.

TW: He did love motorsports.

GG: He always had a penchant for going fast. Even when he was a teenager and got to drive, he was always going fast. He just had the natural ability to be a great, competitive driver.

TW: Maybe he could have been?

GG: He was told many times by di erent drivers that he could have been a championship race car driver. He was told by Bob Bondurant, who taught him how to drive for “Grand Prix,” that he could have been a professional driver, without a doubt.

TW: Well, a “Rockford Files” episode really wasn’t a “Rockford Files” episode unless there was a car race.

GG: He liked to do those car chases himself. He literally could not run on camera, but he could do the car chases.

TW: He had his own signature move where he would drive in reverse, hit the brakes and that Firebird would spin around.

GG: Right. It was the Rockford J-turn, or whatever.

TW: He wrote in his book about how starring in “The Rockford Files” exacted a physical toll, so it’s interesting that you say he could not run on camera. It must have been a struggle to run when you take a beating

like he did during that TV series.

GG: Fortunately he had somebody who could run for him. He had a double that looked just like him from the back — I mean identical. In fact, I got confused a couple of times, and I would

be walking and I would go, “Dad? Dad?,” because he would be in front of me and he wouldn’t turn around. Finally, it would be Roy Clark and he would turn around and I would go “Oh, I’m sorry.”

TW: Roy Clark was the name of the double?

GG: His name was Roydon Clark.

TW: It’s hard for me to judge because I love his work, but it seems like in the years since we lost your dad, the appreciation for him has not declined and that level of appreciation may be as high as ever. I don’t know how you feel about that.

GG: Fortunately, thank God, he is literally immortal because every time you turn on a TV show or something, you can see his work. I remember I was talking to this friend of mine and we were at a film festival and I had to watch one of his films. It was right after my dad passed away. I said to my friend, “This is going to be hard to watch him” because it was just so fresh. He said, “You know what? You are the luckiest person I know. You can just turn on a TV any time, anywhere, and see your dad and hear his voice.” He said, “I don’t have anything like that from when my dad passed. I don’t have any memories of

James Garner originated the role of Bret Maverick in the television series “Maverick,” and he revisited the character in a later series, “Bret Maverick.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

A lover of motorsports, James Garner starred in the film “Grand Prix.”

him.” You know what? That was right. I’m very lucky.

TW: People have said so many positive things about your father — how he wasn’t full of himself and how he was just a guy who treated them well. Peter Frampton told a story like that in his book.

GG: My dad, as an Oklahoman, never forgot where he came from. That was just how he was. People from Oklahoma are just very loyal, and he just was a genuine, good person.

TW: I’m sure you know about many things a lot of us didn’t see as far as how he interacted with people.

GG: And he did so many things for people and he never even told people he did these things. I didn’t find out he did them, a lot of it, until he passed away. People would write me and tell me “Your dad did this for me. Your dad did that for me.” It was really impressive. My dad was very nonjudgmental in a lot of ways.

TW: Your dad named his company Cherokee Productions.

GG: He did. I think he felt like he was Cherokee. That’s why we ended up with a couple of dogs named Cherokee and a production company named Cherokee.

TW: Your father’s fans have their own favorite James Garner project. Was there one of his movies or TV shows that meant more to you than any of the others?

GG: His favorite project — his long-favorite project — was “The Americanization of Emily,” because it was Paddy Chayefsky, and it was a very deep subject. My own personal favorite of all the movies he has done is probably “Grand Prix” because I think he had the most fun making that movie out of all the other films he made.

TW: You came at that question from the standpoint of wanting your dad to have a fun and good experience.

GG: Absolutely. And he loved every minute of that.

TW: Your dad said in his book that Bret Maverick and Jim Garner were almost the same guy. I can see where he’s coming from.

GG: I think they were both invented by Roy Huggins. Yeah, they were (similar). Those characters were, in a way, sort of tailored to my dad and what felt believable. People say my dad made acting look simple, but actually it’s very complicated to do what he did and make it look simple and easy.

TW: I got a kick out of his description of Rockford and Maverick in that they weren’t necessarily cowards. They were just interested in self-preservation.

GG: Well, one of the things my dad really strived to do was not do projects that had a lot of blood and guts and violence. He would rather play the fool and get beat up rather than have something that is graphically violent.

TW: The best weapons Maverick and Rockford had were their mouths and their wits.

GG: Absolutely. And my dad, in real life, was the wittiest person I have ever known.

TW: His chemistry with Stuart Margolin as Angel Martin in “The Rockford Files” is unbelievable.

GG: Their chemistry off-screen was the same. They were very, very close friends — like brothers. They were very close.

TW: I think your dad was a big fan of the golden rule — treat people the way you want to be treated — and, with that, I’ll bring up that he participated

on the historic March on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr.

GG: There’s a video on YouTube you should look at because it’s really historically interesting. When they were deciding to go march with Martin Luther King, they had a meeting at Charlton Heston’s house. It was almost all of the people that went, like Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Rita Moreno. ... They were discussing why they were going and what their plan was. It was just really interesting to hear them speak about how they wanted to portray themselves as human beings and not actors and things like that. It was all filmed by Blake Edwards and it’s a really significant piece of history with just how they were organizing it and figuring it all out and what their actual thoughts were amongst themselves.

TW: In addition to standing up for others, your dad stood up for himself and fought back on “Maverick” and “The Rockford Files” to get his due.

GG: He was the first actor ever to sue a major studio and win. That

Hollywood celebrities pose on the steps before boarding an airplane for the March on Washington in 1963. From left: actors Frank Silvera, James Garner, Marlon Brando, Steve Cochran (partly hidden); Anthony Franciosa, Rita Moreno and Harry Belafonte.

was Warner Bros. With Universal, he knew he had the goods, and he knew they would never have to go to court because they would have to open all their books to every other show. He knew they didn’t want to do that, so he had the means at the time to employ lawyers for close to nine years. But he fought for what was right, and what was right was right.

TW: Having binged “The Rockford Files” multiple times, I see some of the same actors pop up as different characters over the run of the series, and I wonder if these guest stars are people your dad really liked and he had a hand in them coming back, or maybe it was just complete coincidence.

GG: I think it’s some (of both). In the olden days, they would just use the same actors and just put them in different characters. Some of these people, yes, absolutely. And then some of them were probably a favorite of the casting director or the other producers or something. I don’t know. But they don’t do that anymore. They used to.

TW: You started the James Garner Animal Rescue Fund in your father’s memory. How is that going?

GG: To be honest, the way I raise money is I sell my dad’s memorabilia. That’s what I did last year. I sold my dad’s Cadillac for $100,000 at BarrettJackson Auctions, and then I sold a lot of my dad’s memorabilia at Julien’s Auctions of Hollywood. I also sold my dad’s watches through Phillips in New York City. And that’s how I raise money for my charity. I would love to get donations through my PayPal, which is paypal.me/msgigigarner, but people don’t unfortunately have a tendency to give, so I have to figure out ways to

raise my own money for my charity, so I sell things and also I’m an artist. I’m a painter, and I’m represented by a gallery in Beverly Hills called ACCA Gallery in Beverly Hills, and a major percentage of what I sell from my paintings goes to charity, as well.

TW: You may have mixed feelings about selling your father’s items, but it’s going to a cause he would appreciate.

GG: Exactly. Although it’s difficult

to part with some things, I can’t take them with me, and I don’t have anyone to pass them down to, so I felt like the best solution was to sell the things to his fans and let them enjoy them.

TW: Is there one thing you won’t part with?

GG: I have his chair that he read all of his scripts in, and I did try to sell it at Julien’s, but it didn’t meet the reserve, so I happily took it back. I’m looking at it right now. And the other thing is his wedding band. I have his wedding band.

TW: Do you think you inherited your love of dogs from your dad?

GG: Probably.

We always had dogs. He got me a dog for my sixth birthday, and I have been in love with dogs my whole life — all animals, but, in particular, dogs.

TW:At what point in your life did you realize your dad had a different job than other dads and not just every dad is on TV and in the movies?

GG: I’m a late bloomer. It took me a while to figure it out. But my dad was this very tall, dark and handsome man, and, everywhere he went, people just stopped. Even if he wasn’t an actor, he just had a presence and a charisma that people could not ignore, but it took me a while to figure it out.

TW: I’m dumbfounded that he battled stage fright, because it doesn’t seem like he’s someone who would be a candidate for that. You saw this

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

James Garner and fellow Oklahoman Darryl Royal, then the University of Texas football coach, were photographed on the set of NBC’s “The Long Summer of George Adams” in 1981.

COURTESY, GARNER FAMILY Young James Garner is shown with his first dog, Ginger. Garner’s daughter, Gigi, started the James Garner Animal Rescue Fund in the late actor’s memory.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE James Garner and wife Lois are shown at a charity event in 1958.

firsthand?

GG: The thing he really did not like was public speaking, but he was so good at it. Again, that’s my dad probably being self-deprecating and making a thing out of nothing. Really, he was a very, very good public speaker.

TW: He got sweet-talked into delivering a commencement address at the University of Oklahoma. He agreed to it eight months in advance and he wrote that it was the worst eight months of his life.

GG: He was trying to figure out what to say. But you know what? It came off perfect.

TW: He wrote that he was moved to tears when they introduced him.

GG: That’s his Oklahoma base right there.

TW: Sometimes children go back to where their parents were raised just to check out the roots. Have you been back to the Norman area much?

GG: I have — not a lot, but I have been there a couple of times. I love Oklahoma. My cousins live there. We were talking (earlier) about the auctions. The OKPOP Museum bought some of my dad’s memorabilia. They bought some of his best pieces and, when that opens in Tulsa, I’ll be coming for that.

TW: It’s interesting that your dad had the foresight to save memorabilia instead of getting rid of it all.

GG: It was kind of a surprise to me, too. I actually found some of his military memorabilia, his Purple Heart and things like that, and I donated it to a museum in Broken Arrow. There’s a military museum there, and they have it. They have some of his military memorabilia and his Purple Heart because I wanted it to go back to Oklahoma.

TW: We’ve spoken about this before, but he was proud of his Oklahoma roots.

GG: So proud. ... He loved OU football. He would go to games when he could.

TW: What’s something you know about your dad that other people may not know, but you want them to know about it?

GG: I know a lot of things about my dad that no one else knows, but it’s very difficult to put into words because there are so many separate, specific things that he did. I was just laughing about that the other day about how he was non-judgmental. If I liked

something — like we would watch the Olympics, you know? I used to go ice skating a lot. I would watch the Olympics and go “I could do that.” He is not over there going “No, you can’t.” I was never told “No, you can’t.”

TW: Did he spoil you?

GG: I will probably admit to that. I consider it blessed and lucky. How about that?

TW: I’m going to guess he may have set some kind of record for making people cry in “The Notebook.”

GG: That’s why I didn’t go see it.

TW: You’ve never seen it?

GG: My dad didn’t want me to see it. ... The “favor” for the premiere was tissue boxes. They had boxes of tissues they handed out at the premiere.

TW: He didn’t want to subject you to something that sad?

GG: Right. When it’s your dad or it’s a family member, you are not telling yourself “It’s just a movie, it’s just a movie.” You get wrapped up in it. It’s probably a good idea that I didn’t see it.

TW: I spoke with Vincent Price’s daughter. He was in all those horror movies and she told me she hated watching her dad’s films because he would melt at the end or something else horrible would happen to him.

GG: I really hate when that happens. Fortunately my dad has never melted.

TW: Is there anything else about your dad that you want to say?

GG: The most important thing for me is to carry on my dad’s legacy somehow. Fortunately we’ve got films and television shows. I do appreciate the people who are still watching “The Rockford Files” and still are big fans. Next year will be, I believe, the 50th anniversary or something of “The Rockford Files” and people are still watching and there’s a cult following, which I really appreciate, because I want to keep his memory alive. I don’t want people to forget about him.

COURTESY, GIGI GARNER

James Garner poses with daughter Gigi Garner.

James Garner (left) holds a Purple Heart medal presented to him in 1983.

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heritage Historyand

Sand Springs Museum offers dual dose of Americana with Ben Franklin, U.S. Constitution exhibits

Sharon Bishop-Baldwin Sand Springs Leader

COURTESY, NATIONAL PORTRAIT

Benjamin Franklin was a diplomat and negotiator, but he also was a scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, humorist and philanthropist.

With summer roughly bookended by Memorial Day and Labor Day and with Independence Day falling almost directly between them, patriotism is a natural seasonal draw. And where better to spend these hot days learning about the country’s history and heritage than in a museum?

The Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum is happy to oblige

INDEPENDENCE DAY FESTIVITIES

> 6/30, BIXBY FREEDOM CELEBRATION

Bentley Park, 8505 E. 148th St.

The annual Bixby Freedom Celebration is a free, community-wide event held the Friday before July 4. There will be a variety of food vendors, and a patriotic program will incorporate a public swearing-in ceremony of new military recruits.

> 7/1, CLAREMORE FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR

Claremore Lake, East Blue Starr Drive

Claremore will host its annual fireworks display at Claremore Lake on Saturday, July 1. Music, concessions and more will be available leading up to the fireworks show. The popular kids fishing derby will be held the morning of July 4.

> 7/1, NEW ORLEANS SQUARE BLOCK PARTY

701 E. 101st St., Broken Arrow

The New Orleans Square Block Party, held at the New Orleans Square shopping center in Broken Arrow, is a family-friendly event will feature a car show, kids zone, live music, food trucks, merchandise vendors and a grand finale firework show. See the square’s Facebook page for more information.

> 7/2, FIRE ON THE WATER

CrossTimbers Marina, 12301 CrossTimbers Marina Drive, Sperry

The sky over Skiatook Lake will light up with the annual Fire on the Water fireworks display. Boat owners can decorate their crafts with colorful lights and take part in the Boat Parade. crosstimbersmarina.com

> 7/3, FOURTH ON THE THIRD

VanTrease PACE, TCC Southeast Campus, 10300 E. 81st St.

The Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College presents its annual patriotic concert in an outdoor setting. signaturesymphony.org

> 7/4, FOLDS OF HONOR FREEDOMFEST

River West Festival Park, 2100 S. Jackson Ave.; and Dream Keepers Park, 1875 S. Boulder Ave.

This event features live music, inflatables, family picnics and fireworks along the Arkansas River. Fireworks are shot from the 21st Street Bridge. freedomfesttulsa.com

GALLERY/TNS

with two Americana-themed exhibits.

“Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World,” on display at the museum through July 25, looks at the life and achievements of one of the country’s most beloved figures. “The Blessings of Liberty: The U.S. Constitution” examines the immense importance of a document that transformed 13 colonies into a nation. It will run Aug. 8 through Sept. 27.

Besides serving his country as a diplomat and negotiator, Franklin was a scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, humorist and philanthropist who continues to inspire and inform Americans more than 300 years after his birth.

Written to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” the Constitution is short and simple yet vast and complex. As the blueprint for the nation, it contains what founders put forth as a system of beliefs and a way of life, all of which are regularly challenged by citizens — as called for in the Constitution itself.

The Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 9 E. Broadway St. on the corner of Broadway and Main streets in the former Page Memorial Library building. Admission is free.

For more information, including about arranging group visits, call the museum at 918-246-2509 or visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/ SandSpringsMuseum.

> 7/4-7/5, TULSA DRILLERS INDEPENDENCE

DAY FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA

ONEOK Field, 201 N. Elgin Ave.

The Tulsa Drillers take on the Wichita Wind Surge with massive fireworks displays planned. The games are at 6:35 p.m. TuesdayWednesday, July 4-5.

> 7/4, JENKS BOOMFEST

300 Riverwalk Terrace, Jenks

This annual event at the Riverwalk offers a full day of family fun, including live music, food and more. The Oklahoma Aquarium will offer a front-row view to watch the show with paid admission. Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged.

> 7/4, RED, WHITE AND BOOM

Owasso Golf and Athletic Club, 13604 E. 84th St. North, Owasso

Owasso’s annual Independence Day celebration, “Red, White and BOOM,” is typically visible city-wide, and the fireworks will be accompanied by patriotic music that will be broadcast on KYFM-100.1 FM. The pre-show is packed with food trucks, bounce houses and more at Redbud Festival Park.

> 7/4, DUCK CREEK FIREWORKS

Arrowhead Yacht Club & Marina, 32888 S. 4507 Road, Afton

The Duck Creek Fireworks show has been a Grand Lake tradition since 1946. A fly-over by the WWII War Birds and F-16s will provide even more excitement to this annual event. duckcreekfireworksok.com

ABOVE: As the blueprint for the nation, the U.S. Constitution outlines a way of life that is regularly challenged by citizens. COURTESY, TownNews.com Content Exchange

LEFT: “Join, or Die” is a political cartoon drawn by Benjamin Franklin and first published in his Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754. COURTESY

Fireworks explode during the Folds of Honor FreedomFest over the Arkansas River on July 4, 2022.

TULSA WORLD FILE

LET’S GO.

> 7/8, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE WORLD TOUR

Queens from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will come to “Werq the World” in the official world tour, hosted by Bianca Del Rio and Michelle Visage.

WHERE: Tulsa Theater, 105 Reconciliation Way FOR MORE: tulsatheater.com

> 7/12-7/16, WOODYFEST

The 26th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival pays tribute to Woody Guthrie through songs, communion, scholarship, tradition, storytelling and songwriting. The Woody Guthrie Coalition and the festival will welcome members of the Guthrie family, renowned singer-songwriters and returning performers for the celebration of the late folk singer’s life and legacy.

WHERE: Okemah

FOR MORE: woodyfest.com

> 7/13-7/15, PORTER PEACH FESTIVAL

The Porter Peach Festival celebrates 57 years. There will be live music, a parade, food trucks, arts and craft vendors, a culinary contest, tractor pulls and, of course, peaches.

WHERE: Porter

MORE: Porter Peach Festival Facebook page

> 7/14-7/16, TOKYO, OK

Oklahoma’s largest anime, Japanese and pop culture festival descends on the Cox Business Convention Center in the Grand Hall this weekend.

WHERE: Cox Business Center, 100 Civic Center FOR MORE: coxcentertulsa.com

> 7/14-7/16, AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART

Braum’s An Affair of the Heart is a three-day unique shopping experience to the SageNet Center at Expo Square. Shoppers can browse handmade goods, gourmet food, clothing, furniture and more.

WHERE: Expo Square, 4145 E. 21st St.

FOR MORE: aaoth.com

JUNE

> 6/28-9/17, ‘NEW REALMS: ART LAB’

In a new exhibit at Philbrook Museum of Art, visitors become worldbuilders. Engage with striking reality-bending works of art, then explore hands-on spaces where you can experiment, play, and create new realms of your own design.

WHERE: Philbrook Museum of Art

FOR MORE: philbrook.org

> 6/29, TYLER HENRY

Tyler Henry, “The Hollywood Medium,” brings his national live show tour to the Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort. During “An Evening of Hope and Healing,” Henry explains how he communicates with the other side, gives live audience Readings and answers audience questions.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

> 6/29-7/1, JAY HUCKLEBERRY FESTIVAL

Attendees can enjoy arts, crafts, food and more at the 56th annual festival.

WHERE: Jay Community Center FOR MORE: jaychamber.com

> 6/30, FLEET FOXES

Powerhouse indie folk band Fleet Foxes brings its Shore tour to Cain’s Ballroom. In 2020, Fleet Foxes’ “Shore” was released to critical acclaim.

WHERE: Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St. FOR MORE: cainsballroom.com

JULY

> 7/1, THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

The Righteous Brothers, who have topped the charts for four decades with hits like “Unchained Melody” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,’” are coming to Hard Rock Live.

WHERE: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa FOR MORE: hardrockcasinotulsa.com

> 7/6, I LOVE THE 90S TOUR

Relive the ‘90s with some of the most iconic names in rap, hip hop and R&B. Vanilla Ice, Treach of Naughty by Nature, 2 Live Crew and C&C Music Factory will perform.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

> 7/14, GARY LEVOX

Former Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox is going solo. LeVox has released his first solo country single “Get Down Like That” and will continue making music while touring.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway

FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

> 7/15, LOVERBOY

The band who brought the world “Working for the Weekend” is coming to Hard Rock Live. Loverboy, one of the first bands to be featured on MTV, has sold more than 10 million albums.

WHERE: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa

FOR MORE: hardrockcasinotulsa.com

> 7/20, COLLECTIVE SOUL

Rock band Collective Soul will perform at Hard Rock Live. The band’s self-titled 1995 album went triple-platinum, with hits including “Shine,” “December” and “The World I Know.”

WHERE: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa

FOR MORE: hardrockcasinotulsa.com

AL POWERS, INVISION VIA AP FILE

Vince Neil (left) and Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue perform in Las Vegas in 2014. Motley Crue is reuniting with Def Leppard for a world tour that will include a stop at Chapman Stadium on the University of Tulsa campus.

> 7/21, THE CHICKS

The 13-time Grammy Award-winning band — and the biggest U.S. female band of all time — will play the BOK Center as part of their world tour. Canadian folk band Wild Rivers will provide support.

WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com

> 7/22-7/23, TULSA POWWOW

The 71st annual event will include arts and crafts, food and, of course, the dance contests.

WHERE: Cox Business Center, 100 Civic Center FOR MORE: coxcentertulsa.com

> 7/22, AIR SUPPLY

Soft rock stars Air Supply have been entertaining audiences for over 40 years. They will visit The Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort in July.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

> 7/22, ROCK THE DOCK: AMBROSIA AND FRIENDS

“Yacht rock” band Ambrosia is heading to Tulsa as part of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa’s “Rock the Dock” showcase. Additional artists such as John Ford Coley, Maxine Nightingale, Al Stewart and the “Voice of Player” Peter Beckett also will be performing all their Billboard top 40 hits from the ’70s and ’80s.

WHERE: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa FOR MORE: hardrockcasinotulsa.com

> 7/26-7/27, ‘THE BOOK OF MORMON’

“The Book of Mormon,” presented by Celebrity Attractions, comes to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center for two nights. The nine-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical is an outrageous comedy that follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word.

WHERE: Tulsa PAC, 101 E. Third St. FOR MORE: tulsapac.com

> 7/27, MADONNA

Madonna is bringing her Celebration Tour to Tulsa with a summer concert at the BOK Center. Special guest Bob the Drag Queen (Caldwell Tidicue) also will appear.

WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com

> 7/28-7/29, HERITAGE FEST

The Miami OK Route 66 Heritage Fest is back for its third year. The event features live music, a car and motorcycle show, a 5K run, food trucks and more.

WHERE: Downtown Miami

MORE: Miami-Oklahoma Route 66 Heritage Fest Facebook page

> 7/29, PARAMORE

The pop-punk band Paramore is bringing its nationwide tour to the BOK Center The band will be performing songs from its new album, “This Is Why.” Foals and the Linda Lindas will provide support.

WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com

AUGUST

> 8/1, NF

Michigan rapper and producer NF is coming to BOK Center for The Hope Tour, featuring guest Cordae. The tour is in support of a new album, “Hope.” It’s the fifth studio album from the chart-topping and multi-platinum artist.

WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com

> 8/4, JOHN FOGERTY

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty is returning to Tulsa for a performance at The Cove inside the River Spirit Casino Resort. Fogerty’s songwriting skills and unique vocals carried him to success as a solo artist and as the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

> 8/11-8/12, ZACH BRYAN

Oologah music artist Zach Bryan will play two shows at BOK Center for The Burn Burn Burn Tour. In December, Bryan released a live album titled “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster.”

WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Oologah music artist Zach Bryan comes to the BOK Center in August.

> 8/16,

Three legendary rock acts will team up and play the first stadium concert at the University of Tulsa since 1990.

WHERE: Chapman Stadium, 3112 E. Eighth St. FOR MORE: motley.com; defleppard.com; alicecooper.com

> 8/19,

The alternative/folk pop groups The Head and the Heart and Father John Misty will co-headline for an August tour stop at Tulsa Theater. Miya Folick will provide support.

WHERE: Tulsa Theater, 105 Reconciliation Way FOR MORE: tulsatheater.com

> 8/26, COUNTING CROWS

Rock band Counting Crows bring their Banshee Season Tour to River Spirit Casino. After releasing their multiplatinum debut album “August and Everything After” in 1993, the band went on to release seven more studio albums, selling more than 20 million records worldwide.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway

FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

SEPTEMBER

> 9/1-9/3, CHEROKEE NATIONAL HOLIDAY

The 71st annual Cherokee National Holiday will feature arts vendors, food, music, a parade, a fishing tournament, cornhole competition, traditional games and inter-tribal powwow. WHERE: Tahlequah

FOR MORE: thecherokeeholiday.com

> 9/1-9/3, ROCKLAHOMA

See Pantera, Rob Zombie, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack and more as the Rocklahoma camping and music festival celebrates its 16th such event.

WHERE: Rocklahoma festival grounds north of Pryor

FOR MORE: rocklahoma.com

DEF LEPPARD, MOTLEY CRUE AND ALICE COOPER

THE HEAD AND THE HEART/ FATHER JOHN MISTY

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

The Porter Peach Festival celebrates 57 years in July.

> 9/7, CANDLEBOX

Rock band Candlebox is bringing The Long Goodbye farewell tour to River Spirit Casino Resort. The band’s newest album, “Wolves,” hit No. 7 on the Billboard chart.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway

FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

> 9/9, ‘PRELUDE: BEETHOVEN’S

FIFTH SYMPHONY’

The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra’s Patti Johnson Wilson Classics Series will open its 2023-2024 season with “Prelude: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.” Guest conductor Marcelo Lehninger will lead the orchestra in a program featuring Beethoven’s iconic symphony, which also includes “Le Corsaire,” Op. 21, by Berlioz and the Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 by Edward Elgar. Rising star Sterling Elliott will be the soloist for the Elgar concerto.

WHERE: Tulsa PAC, 101 E. Third St. FOR MORE: tulsasymphony.org

> 9/13-9/16,

BORN & RAISED MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Born & Raised Music Festival, which features outlaw, Texas and Red Dirt country music, returns for the third year. Turnpike Troubadours, Whiskey Myers and Gary Allan top the lineup.

WHERE: Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds north of Pryor FOR MORE: bornandraisedfestival.com

> 9/14, CHICAGO

The Grammy-winning rock band that has been touring for 56 straight years will play fan favorites from across their catalog.

WHERE: River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway FOR MORE: riverspirittulsa.com

> 9/15-9/17,

SCOTFEST

The annual Scotfest celebrates Celtic history and heritage. Find Scottish and Irish dance demonstrations, highland athletics, whisky tastings, solo piping, traditional drumming and pipe band competitions.

WHERE: Broken Arrow Events Park, 21101 E. 101st St., Broken Arrow FOR MORE: okscotfest.com

Oklahoma Icons Quiz answers from pages 60-61

> 9/15-9/24, ‘CREATIONS IN STUDIO K’ Tulsa Ballet will open its 67th season with “Creations in Studio K,” its annual showcase of new and new-to-Tulsa dance works. This season features world premieres by choreographers Penny Saunders and Adam Hougland and the return of “The Sun Sleeps,” created by Yury Yanowsky for TBII. WHERE: 1212 E. 45th Place FOR MORE: tulsaballet.org

> 9/22, ‘FARRENC’

The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra will present “Farrenc,” the first of four concerts in the Josephine G. Winter Chamber Music Series.

WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 709 S. Boston Ave. FOR MORE: tulsasymphony.org

> 9/26-10/1, ‘ALADDIN’

Celebrity Attractions’ 40th season will open with Disney’s “Aladdin.” This new production of the animated film was dubbed “pure Genie-us” by USA Today and features all the songs from the film, as well as new material written by composer Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin. The production is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw.

WHERE: Tulsa PAC, 101 E. Third St. FOR MORE: tulsapac.com

COURTESY, DEEN VAN MEER Senzel Ahmady portrays Jasmine and Adi Roy stars as Aladdin in Disney’s “Aladdin.”

1. U.S. Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves

2. Maria Tallchief, prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet

3. Olympian Jim Thorpe

4. First woman elected as Cherokee Nation chief, Wilma Mankiller

5. Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton

6. Folk singer Woody Guthrie

7. Comedian, actor, social commentator Will Rogers

8. Singer Patti Page

9. Educator, civil rights leader Clara Luper

10. Professional baseball player Mickey Mantle

Tulsa.It’swhoweare. Caretaker,caregiverandTulsaproud.Dr.Parkerismorethan justpartoftheSaintFrancisfamily—she’spartofourpromise toimprovethehealthofthecommunitieswecallhome.

RyanParker,M.D.

•EmergencyMedicinePhysicianandAssociateChiefMedicalOfficer