Festival of the Arts, April 22-27.

[KenRagsdale]

The 2014 Festival of the Arts will take place April 22-27 in Downtown Oklahoma City at the Festival Plaza and the Myriad Botanical Gardens.

Festival of the Arts | Arts Council OKC

[OKCisOK4me]

New job means I can probably attend this except that for I'll be on call for the first time that weekend. A weeknight sounds like a good idea!

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[Easy180]

Time for my annual trip with set schedule...Eat, drink beer then leave

[Stew]

Can't wait to get me a Sammy's calzone.

[ljbab728]

Time for my annual trip with set schedule...Eat, drink beer then leave

My schedule is a little different. Drink beer, eat, drink beer then leave.

[RadicalModerate]

My schedule is a little different. Drink beer, eat, drink beer then leave.

Thank goodness you aren't on The Koala Schedule: Eats shoots and leaves.

(the Arts Festival is one of my all time favorite events. has been so for too many years to count. and with the recently refurbished garden area around the crystal bridge it can only be better than it was before.)

(is Braum's going to have a kiosk/hut down there this year? . . . =)

seriously: I think the case could be made that The Downtown Renaissance began with The Festival of The Arts, followed by Opening Night and Spaghetti Warehouse over in Bricktown.

[ljbab728]

(is Braum's going to have a kiosk/hut down there this year? . . . =)

I was driving right by that area today where they are starting the setup. I looked desperately for the big Braum's ice cream cone sign and didn't see one.

[HangryHippo]

Will Deep Fork and their sliders not be back this year?

[TheTravellers]

Will Deep Fork and their sliders not be back this year?

Doesn't look like it. Anybody know what Smoke Stack BBQ is (google wasn't much help)?

Culinary Arts | Arts Council OKC

[HangryHippo]

Doesn't look like it. Anybody know what Smoke Stack BBQ is (google wasn't much help)?

Culinary Arts | Arts Council OKC

Well, that's a shame. Those things were so tasty!

[Jeepnokc]

No Sammy"s? Seriously?

[Stew]

No Sammy"s? Seriously?

There is no god.

[RadicalModerate]

There is no god.

I heard that, since Mutt's won't be there, word on the street has it that the correct phrasing would be: "There is no dog."
(but I've been wrong before . . . and some Koreans are outraged.)

To overcome the disappointment, be sure to stop by John Schirmer's tent.
He does some amazing (humorous/eccentric/bordering on odd and/or quirky) woodcuts/prints.
I actually have this one hanging on the dining room wall.



It was a gift from an artist, now deceased, of a different type, who encouraged me to pursue my hobbies of cooking and social satire.

Thankfully, Mr. Schirmer wasn't "juried out" of this year's Festival.

All Rights Reserved and Respected:
Woodcuts by John Schirmer

(the only thing that could move this year's Downtown OKC Arts Festival closer to perfect would be a reunion concert by the local (former) semi-Celtic band, Nonesuch. But that ain't gonna happen on account of there ain't no god nor dog . . . =)

[Jeepnokc]

Apparently this is some dog there but not sure of the pairing. Sounds very odd to me but is seems they are serving up French fries with hot dogs sliced up and mixed in.

Inca Trail Peruvian Restaurant & Red Earth Booth 21

Salchipollo (Fried Chicken w/ French Fries and Sliced Hot Dogs) -$7.00

Salchipapas (French Fries w/ Sliced Hot Dogs) -$5.00

[KenRagsdale]

“Even the forks are biodegradable.”

Festival of the Arts gets greener, begins Tuesday in downtown Oklahoma City | News OK

[foodiefan]

RM. . .love his work!! I have "Time Out" (lady in a bathtub with wine and cheese) that I bought at AF 2006.

[Roger S]

Doesn't look like it. Anybody know what Smoke Stack BBQ is (google wasn't much help)?

Culinary Arts | Arts Council OKC

I want to say Smoke Stack BBQ was at the Paseo Arts Fesitival last year..... If it is the same I can't recommend it.... We had Moink Balls and a Pulled Pork sandwich. The Moink Balls were passable but you can't really screw up a bacon wrapped beef meatball. The pulled pork was finely chopped mush.

[TheTravellers]

I want to say Smoke Stack BBQ was at the Paseo Arts Fesitival last year..... If it is the same I can't recommend it.... We had Moink Balls and a Pulled Pork sandwich. The Moink Balls were passable but you can't really screw up a bacon wrapped beef meatball. The pulled pork was finely chopped mush.

I believe we have the same thoughts on BBQ, I trust your opinion, I'll let my wife know to be cautious of them, she was going to try them this year (she works downtown, so she goes often), thanks.

[RadicalModerate]

Just got back from the Arts Festival. It was great except for the $10 parking for two hours. We went straight from Ingrid's so we didn't get anything at the Food Court except for some Strawberries Newport for a dessert. We ate that while listening to Edgar Cruz perform his miracles on the guitar. We (and by we I mean my wife) bought a print from an amazing Colorado photographer. It's a picture of a lake and some trees that looks like it could be a hundred miles out in the wilderness but is actually in the middle of the Urban Sprawl of Ft. Collins, Colorado. Apparently, it used to be a gravel pit but is now called Kingfisher Point. I'll have to Google it. John Schirmer and his woodcut prints were there and we said "Hi" to him. And I bought an Edgar Cruz CD. It was a lot packed in to two hours of parking. =) Maybe I'll post a couple of pics later. Now, it's off to a Dance Competition over at Rose State. As others have observed, The Downtown OKC Arts Festival (along with Opening Night and the Spaghetti Warehouse) were the seeds of the Renaissance of our fair City. (now if they could just do something about the parking. I know, I know, we should have taken the bus . . . =)

[OKCisOK4me]

I went today too. Parked in the garage just to the north of the elementary school for a lowly $6! Had just enough cash left for a water, gyro sandwich & beer, and then another water. I looked at all the tents. Most interesting art to me was the tent that had paintings of outdoor settings with stuffed animals as the subjects. Quite funny. On the NE corner there was a painting of downtown from Park & Hudson that went for a measly $7400. Really, I went down for food and people watching. I ended up taking a lot of pictures.


On edit: I do want to go back tomorrow--not by myself like I was today--and partake of the wine tents.

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[RadicalModerate]

There are towers . . . And then there are Towers. The tents are occupied by wandering bands of Food Gypsies and Vagabonds . . .


The Guitar Genius, UnPosed
.0

Strawberries Newport (a just dessert at just $7.00 =)


(the Edgar Cruz CD is GREAT and I love the artwork we purchased. Now I need to go buy a frame for it.)

[Jeepnokc]

I went to the show the first day before leaving town on business. I was not very impressed with the show this year. This show is considered one of the top shows in the country primarily due to the business supporters who spend a lot of money purchasing art on the first day. It is a very difficult show to get into also. I participate and apply to a few shows a year as an artist and have at through the jury selection process for shows like Main Street in Fort Worth which is one of the top 5 shows in the country. I have been accepted at shows like the Bayou Arts Festival in downtown Houston which is one of the better shows in the nation and is hard to get into. In the Art Festival community, there is a big difference between fine art shows and craft shows. You will not see a lot of crafts at the bigger art shows and certainly not commercial booths like Direct TV or Sign up here to win a free car. Those type of booths/displays cheapen shows and are selling out to commercialism. I generally only see them at shows that are struggling financially which there isn't reason for the OKC show to be struggling. OKC is one of the few shows that actually take a % of the artists' sales which in turn causes artists to raise the price of their work to cover the commission. Most shows only charge booth rental ($300-1200 depending on show)as well as charging 25-45 dollars for every person that applies (Shows like OKC may have 750-1500 applicants all paying the jury fee.)

In this year's show, there were several booths selling clothing (dresses, scarfs, and flip flops) which are nice and creative but are more craft art than fine art. There was one booth where the artist simply hung a few small pictures on the metal grid of the booth. I am curious how she got selected as they require a booth shot to check display as well as a large and consistent body of work. There were some excellent artists at this year's show but overall, the show was not up to the level that this show is known for.

This is strictly my personal opinion and others may differ but it is based on what I have learned actually participating/applying/displaying at shows and researching shows to apply to. It isn't cheap applying and participating in shows so you spend time figuring out the better shows so you don't lose money.

[ljbab728]

I've not heard the the Arts festival is struggling in the least. Do you have evidence of that other than being concerned about the types of things being sold?

[Jeepnokc]

I didn't say they were struggling...just that they shouldn't be struggling as they have great sponsorship from the art patrons and they collect a commission from the art which is why there isn't a need for them to sell space for a DirectTv booth or sign up for a free car at a top level show like OKC. Usually you only see that at shows that are struggling which OKC shouldn't be. Sorry if my comment came across otherwise. This type of commercialism as no place at a show like OKC.

[RadicalModerate]

I didn't say they were struggling...just that they shouldn't be struggling as they have great sponsorship from the art patrons and they collect a commission from the art which is why there isn't a need for them to sell space for a DirectTv booth or sign up for a free car at a top level show like OKC. Usually you only see that at shows that are struggling which OKC shouldn't be. Sorry if my comment came across otherwise. This type of commercialism as no place at a show like OKC.

You did a wonderful and amazing work on your building on Film Row. (imho)
I don't think this year's Downtown Arts Festival was disappointing.
Here's the Work of Art we purchased (in hope that posting it doesn't violate one rule or another).



It sorta makes ya' reflect on stuff . . . don't it?
the dude was from south of Ft. Collins, CO fer cryin' out loud and that used to be an abandoned gravel pit. geez. =)