Family Fun in Tulsa

Site Staff,

Green country is full of fun, family-friendly activities and events. Here are a few you won’t want to miss this month!

April

1. Farmers Markets!

Farmers market season is back!

2. Storytime at Tulsa Zoo

When: Wednesdays, 10 a.m.

Join the Tulsa Zoo for Storytime! Each week, participants will be read a different book and have an up-close ambassador animal encounter. Story time will take place at the Elephant Encounter area.

3.  Tulsa Botanic BLOOMS

  • When: Daily through April 18
  • Where: Tulsa Botanic Garden, 3900 Tulsa Botanic Dr.

Tulsa Botanic BLOOMS is one of the largest spring floral festivals in the region with a kaleidscope of color as over 120,000 tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses and other spring-flowering bulbs burst to life.  Mother Nature has the final word on when the bulbs will show their stuff, but we plan lots of activitiies to get out and enjoy!

Learn more and reserve tickets here. 

4. SpringFest To-Go!

  • When: April 9, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; April 10, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
  • Where: Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave.

Mark your calendars!!! The Tulsa Garden Center is excited to announce that we are gearing up for SpringFest at Woodward Park 2021!

Based on the huge success of our restructured event for 2020, SpringFest To-Go!, we will be continuing to serve horticultural enthusiasts with a safe, outdoor-only event, scheduled for Friday April 9th, 9:00am-4:00pm, and Saturday April 10th, 9:00am-3:00pm.

Last year, due to the pandemic, we successfully moved our annual garden market online as SpringFest To-Go!, an event which allowed plant vendors to sell their spring inventory while keeping customers safe via a drive-thru pick-up service.

SpringFest To-Go! not only continued a much-loved event started by the Tulsa Garden Club in 1955, but also supported our local plant vendors during a very unpredictable time.

SpringFest To-Go! is Tulsa’s kickoff to spring as the first garden market festival of the season – held on the front lawn of the Tulsa Garden Center Mansion located centrally in midtown Tulsa in one of the city’s most historic parks.

All parking in front of the Tulsa Garden Center Mansion is considered “Preferred Parking” and will have an associated parking fee of $5 per vehicle, but as always, Tulsa Garden Center members, Tulsa Historical Society Members, and those with visible Disability Parking Placards can park for free! Click here to become a member.

5. Idea Lab Workshop: Crafted Stanzas

  • When: April 10, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
  • Where: Philbrook Museum, 2727 S. Rockford Rd.

FREE for Members
FREE for Youth 17 & under
Free with General Admission for Adults
*advance, timed-entry ticket required.

Saturday, April 10th: Crafted Stanzas
The words of Ralph Ellison come alive in this workshop. Pair Ellison’s or your own words and phrases with artwork. Create an illuminated text to inspire hope or change for the world to come.

About Saturday Workshops in the Idea Lab:
Join us in The Idea Lab inside Helmerich Gallery each month during the exhibition From the Limitations of Now. Local artists, creatives, and Philbrook educators will share exciting hands-on artmaking inspired by the artists on view.

*To safeguard against the spread of COVID-19, advance, timed-entry general admission tickets are required. Visitors 5 years of age and older are required to wear a face mask inside at all times and in the Garden during events.

6. Family Day at ahha Tulsa

  • When: April 14, 12-3 p.m.
  • Where: ahha Tulsa, 101 E. Archer St.
Join ahha Tulsa for an afternoon of hands-on learning for families with children of all ages! Parents/caregivers and their children and teens will enjoy interactive activities in THE GALLERY, time to explore THE EXPERIENCE, and a variety of materials to create with in THE STUDIO – including our once-a-month special medium, clay!
Good to know:
  • All activities are drop-in—stay for as little or as long as you like
  • Recommended ages are 3–13, but children and teens of all ages are welcome
  • The pre-registration price ($7 per adult and child) is available only online; full ahha admission will be charged at the door
  • Adults are responsible for chaperoning their children, who must be accompanied by a ticketed adult (no more than 5 children to one adult)

7. Dismantling Racism: National Poetry Month – How Poetry Amplifies Marginalized Voices

  • When: Wednesday, April 21, 12-1 p.m.
  • Where: Virtual (Facebook Live)
Join TulsaKids editor Betty Casey, OSU-Tulsa professor and poet Quraysh Ali Lansana, and a panel of poets to celebrate National Poetry Month by examining how poetry can be used to amplify marginalized voices.
This event will be broadcast on Facebook Live to the OSU-Tulsa Facebook page. It will be shared to the TulsaKids Magazine page and in this event as well.

8. Battle of the Bands

  • When: April 29, 7-11 p.m.
  • Where: Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, 1304 N. Kenosha Ave.

Join the Food Bank’s Junior Ambassadors for their annual Battle of the Bands competition. Talented young musicians will compete for the chance to win exciting prizes and career-building opportunities. For more information, contact Jenny Berry at jberry@okfoodbank.org.

May

1. Meet Author Jason Reynolds at the 2021 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature

Meet author Jason Reynolds, winner of the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2021 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature, during a live virtual presentation on YouTube. Reynolds is the New York Times bestselling author of “All American Boy” and other works for young adult and middle-age audiences. “As a Black man and White man, both writers and educators, we came together to co-write a book about how systemic racism and police brutality affect the lives of young people in America, in order to create an important, unique and honest work that would give young people and the people who educate them a tool for having these difficult but absolutely vital conversations,” said Reynolds about his book “All American Boys,” co-written with Brendan Kelly.  

See the live award presentation here: www.youtube.com/tulsalibrary.  

Announcement of the 2021 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest winners will held after the award presentation. Visit www.tulsalibrary.org/zarrowaward for more details. For all ages.

2. Tulsa Mayfest

  • When: May 7-9, 2021
  • Where: The Tulsa Arts District

Tulsa’s iconic spring festival will take place outside in the Tulsa Arts District and Historic Greenwood. As always, Mayfest will feature juried artists from across the country, local artists, bands, and musicians, and traditional festival food. We’re all ready for a fun, enriching creative outlet, and we need your help to keep Mayfest safe this year! You can read all about the festival details, including Mayfest’s pandemic safety plan, at www.TulsaMayfest.org.

DON’T MISS: The Studio @ Mayfest: This year, Mayfest’s KidZone becomes THE STUDIO @ Mayfest. We’re bringing the ahha STUDIO to the festival and it means hands-on creativity for all Mayfest guests – not just kids! THE STUDIO @ Mayfest invites visitors of all ages to think like artists through open-ended creative exploration and discovery. In this space, you can select your own materials from those provided and use your imagination to create a work of art. What you create is entirely up to you: the possibilities are endless. If you’d like help getting started, select a “creative challenge” to help spark your imagination.

3. Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Project: First Friday Opening

  • When: May 7, 6-9 p.m.
  • Where: Living Arts of Tulsa, 307 E. Reconciliation Way

May First Friday Eventbrite Tickets HERE

June First Friday Eventbrite Tickets HERE 

This exhibition will be up in the gallery to view from May 7 – June 19, 2021.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays are reserved for appointments between 12:00-4:00 PM.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays are open for gallery hours from 12:00-4:00 PM with limited capacity.

Please note that Living Arts of Tulsa does not charge admission to view exhibitions.

We require masks during the entirety of patron’s visits.  Temperatures will be taken upon entry to the gallery and patrons will be asked to complete a COVID survey.

Please call 918-585-1234 or email info@livingarts.org to set up a viewing.

Gallery Hours Eventbrite Tickets HERE

4. Mother’s DIY

  • When: May 9, 1-3 p.m.
  • Where: Gilcrease Museum, 1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Rd.
Celebrate Mother’s Day at the museum with a fun and relaxing Paint-By-Numbers activity inspired by a work of art from the Gilcrease Collection! This event will take place in a socially distanced space where masks are required. Registration is limited to the first 40 people. Cost per person: $20 for members, $25 for non-members. (Museum admission included)
Members: Members-only tickets and pricing will be displayed after you log in. Please log in by clicking the profile icon at the top left corner of your screen
This program is for teens and adults.

5. Booked Up for Summer Celebration

  • When: May 15
  • Where: Fulton Street Books and Coffee, 210 W. Latimer St.

Make plans to attend Reading Partners’ Booked Up for Summer Celebration Event on Saturday, May 1 at Fulton Street Books & Coffee for a day of food trucks, storytimes, and performances by Hot Toast Music Co. The event is free and open to the public. Donations can be made to support Reading Partners in supplying each student in their program with Summer Learning Packets. Donations can be made at BookedUpForSummer.org or you can purchase books at Fulton Street Books & Coffee and donate them directly to Reading Partners. Ensuring students have at-home literacy resources this summer is more critical than ever before as students face a year of unprecedented unfinished learning. Learn more at BookedUpForSummer.org.

6. Idea Lab Workshop: Empowered Collages

  • When: May 15, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
  • Where: Philbrook Museum, 2727 S. Rockford Rd. 

*advance, timed-entry ticket required.

Saturday, May 15th: Empowered Collage
Inspired by artwork in the Idea Lab, imagine yourself strong, fierce, brave, empowered. Use bold colors, textures, and shapes to collage your reality.

About Saturday Workshops in the Idea Lab:
Join us in The Idea Lab inside Helmerich Gallery each month during the exhibition From the Limitations of Now. Local artists, creatives, and Philbrook educators will share exciting hands-on artmaking inspired by the artists on view.

7. Ironman North American Championship Tulsa

  • When: May 23
  • Where: Various Locations

Cheer for athletes participating in the Tulsa Ironman! The swimming and cycling portions of the race will take place near Keystone Lake. The running portion of the lake begins at OSU-Tulsa and ends at Guthrie Green. Learn more at ironman.com/imtulsa.

8. 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Commemoration Events

  • When: All Month Long
  • Where: Various Locations

The Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission has several events listed on their website for commemorating the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial. Find them here: https://www.tulsa2021.org/events. Tulsa City-County Library will also be hosting memorial events in April, May and June. Information is available here: https://www.tulsalibrary.org/research/tulsa-and-oklahoma-history.

Also consider visiting the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park and attending the 12th Annual Reconciliation in America National Symposium, hosted by the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation. Learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/JohnHopeFranklinCenterForReconciliation.

Additionally, the YWCA Tulsa has a Black-Owned Business Directory, which they published “in an effort to increase visibility and long-lasting support of our local black-owned businesses in commemoration of the 1921 Race Massacre.” Find that resource here: https://www.ywcatulsa.org/get-involved/tulsa-black-owned-business.

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