Art in Bloom and “The Three Musketeers”
This past weekend, Joss and I got to attend both Philbrook’s Art in Bloom and a performance of Tulsa Ballet’s “The Three Musketeers.” Sadly, both of those events were one-weekend-only. But keep an eye out for next year’s Art in Bloom event info – and consider attending one of Tulsa Ballet’s upcoming productions!
Art in Bloom
This three-day event at Philbrook features art installations from local floral designers, etc. What makes the event extra special is that Philbrook assigns each designer a room. The designers create a piece inspired by the room itself and the art within the room. So it’s a beautiful melding of fine art, Philbrook’s architecture and floral design.
Visitors can vote for their favorite pieces in both the “Grand” and “Petit” categories. Plus, the event occurs at a time when the Philbrook gardens are extra beautiful with bright tulips and other spring blooms!
Here are a few of my favorite installations:
This “Alice in Wonderland” themed installation was by Amber Marie & Co. Located just inside the main Philbrook entrance.
“Grazing through Generations” by Roots + Blooms
“Vivid Hooves” by The Flower Shop Pryor – Callie Schmidt
This installation by All Things Cake won the “Petit” category
This one, by Gilbert Creek Gardens, won the “Grand” category. The photo does NOT do it justice!
While your general admission ticket includes getting to see all the installations, there was a VIP option as well. This ticket allowed guests to build their own bouquet, access a special VIP lounge and included admission to Philbrook’s special exhibition.
“The Three Musketeers”
It was so nice that Tulsa Ballet invited us to see “The Three Musketeers.” I’m not as familiar with the story as I should be (considering I got a degree in English Lit!). However, I was so happy to get to see this one because I figured Joss would enjoy the sword fighting-dancing.
There’s a romantic plot, but what we all appreciated was how much the choreography added comedic elements. These included a two-person horse costume, and “bad guys” trying to sneak up behind the Musketeers during a sword fight, only to miss their attack wildly when the Musketeer bent over last minute, for example. The king was very funny, fluorishing his cape in an exaggerated manner and just generally coming across as silly and arrogant.
TulsaKids has an article, “8 tips for taking kids to the ballet.” Because we decided to go fairly last minute, I could’ve done a better job of preparing Joss for the ballet. The tips include listening to the music ahead of time and going over the plot, etc. I wish I’d at least gone over the plot so he’d have an easier time interpreting what he was seeing on stage. But overall, I’m so glad we were able to go because Tulsa Ballet really does an incredible job with these productions, from the dancing to the choreography to the staging, etc. (And the marketing! They’ve been taking the best photos/videos ahead of time!)
The final performance of their main season for this year is the Signature Series, May 8-11.
Next season, productions include Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty and Casanova, among others. Find details at tulsaballet.org/performances
