Tulsa 2025: Things to Look Forward To
2024 saw some big changes for Tulsa, including the opening of the new Williams Crossing Pedestrian Bridge and Zink Lake, a new arboretum at Tulsa Botanic Garden, Tulsa Zoo’s Elephant Experience and Preserve, and the WeStreet Ice Center! And of course, a historic election of Mayor Monroe Nichols!
Plus, we got three new sports stores: Scheels, the long-anticipated REI and the remodeled Dick’s House of Sport. And another major shopping project that wrapped up in 2024: Tulsa Premium Outlets in Jenks.
So, what’s on the horizon for 2025? Here are a few things we can’t wait to see and do. Of course, any projects involving construction could be pushed back later than expected, so it will be interesting to look back at the end of the year and see which of these projects has come to fruition.
1. Samurai at Philbrook
Philbrook’s first major exhibition of the year opens March 12 and will be on view throughout the summer. Samurai: Armor from the Collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller showcases 80 Samurai artifacts, ranging from the 1100s to the 1800s.
2. Broadway in Tulsa
In early 2025, Celebrity Attractions will no doubt announce their 2025-2026 lineup. But in the meantime, there are still plenty of shows from their 2024-2025 season to look forward to!
- Jan. 21-26: Les Misérables
- Feb. 11-16: Clue
- March 4-5: Dear Evan Hansen
- April 15-20: Back to the Future – The Musical
- May 28-June 15: Wicked
- Fall 2025: The Outsiders – The Musical
3. Tulsa Ballet
Likewise, Tulsa Ballet is still in the middle of a fantastic 2024-2025 season. Upcoming productions include:
- Feb. 27-March 2: Alice in Wonderland
- April 3-6: The Three Musketeers
- April 11-12: Peter and the Wolf (perfect for introducing kids to ballet!)
- May 8-11: Signature Series
4. New Cherry Street Restaurants
Taking over the old Subway location on Cherry Streets (in a fancy new building), Hatch Early Mood Food and Riserva, a tapas bar, are scheduled to open spring 2025. Hatch is already open in Jenks, but we are looking forward to being able to order from their lengthy menu of signature pancakes, benedicts, etc., in Tulsa proper.
5. Swirl 66
Speaking of new eateries, McNellie’s group opened two fun new destinations near 18th and Cincinnati last year: Bishop Quigley and Maple Ridge Grocer. Now, the group has been working on converting an old Phillips 66 gas station – also at 18th and Cincinnati – into an adorably pink soft-serve ice cream store, Swirl 66. We don’t have an opening date yet, but it looks like it’s coming along nicely.
6. Cat Cafes
Who else has been obsessively checking the Facebook page for Don’t Stress Meowt Cat Café, opening in Tulsa’s Farm Shopping Center in either December 2024 or early 2025? Not only can you rent time in the cat lounge – meeting and cuddling adoptable kitties! – they also have pawninis, drinks and an inviting atmosphere. You’re welcome to enjoy the café amenities without spending time in the cat lounge.
But Don’t Stress Meowt is not the only cat café opening soon! The Chat – A Cat Café – is coming to Broken Arrow. They’ve got a cute yellow-brick-road mural on the floor of their cat room, and it looks like another purrrfectly pleasant place to hang out!
7. New Childcare Options
In TulsaKids’ January 2025 issue, you can read all about the new Celebree School, opening in Kingspointe Village early in the year. It will serve ages 6 weeks to preschool, and uses Becky Bailey’s renowned Conscious Discipline model.
Also, Happy Campers Academy is opening a new location in Broken Arrow, which you can learn more about at happycampersacademy.com
8. FAMily Discovery Center
Now, we’re heading to Oklahoma City! First Americans Museum has been open for a few years now, but in summer 2025, they are opening their long-anticipated FAMily Discovery Center, an “immersive, magical space [that] will offer a unique, fun-filled learning experience for everyone, ages three to 103.”
9. OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark
Next to the First Americans Museum, OKC visitors and residents will also be able to enjoy the OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark, opening Feb. 21, 2025. In addition to a luxurious hotel, the resort features a “resort day spa, outdoor adventure lagoon, amphitheater, indoor waterpark, over 12 food and bar outlets, Native American Marketplace and retail outlets.” (visitokc.com)
10. Discovery Lab
Discovery Lab has a couple of exciting things to mention: a new exhibition opening in February 2025, and a new café concept in partnership with Elote Café & Catering, a Tulsa-area favorite. The Elote café was scheduled to open in December, so they should be ready to take your order! Don’t know what you want? Try their signature puffy tacos.
11. Nutcracker Festival
Nutcracker Festival wasn’t on our radar when we wrote our list of things to do in Tulsa for 2024. Tulsa Ballet and TulsaGo, its founders, made the big announcement in July 2024, and the inaugural Nutcracker Festival took place in December of that year. Billed as “Oklahoma’s Most Exciting Holiday Experience,” Nutcracker Festival was envisioned as a complement to Tulsa Ballet’s beloved annual “Nutcracker” production, which has been a holiday tradition for generations of Tulsans.
We got to attend the inaugural festival and had a blast! It’s the ultimate kid-friendly event, with an indoor train, bounce houses, face painting, visits with Santa, a cake walk, treats and more. So we’re looking forward to seeing what changes and what stays the same for 2025!
12. Tulsa County Parks
Tulsa County Parks recently announced some new plans. First, they’re adding three new indoor courts to the Case Community Tennis Center. Apparently, the Tennis Center is fully booked every day, so this should help more people enjoy the facilities.
Tulsa County Parks is also building a new ADA trail at Chandler Park. Last year, they opened a new nature center at Chandler, so it’s definitely going to be a good year to get out to the park and explore the new offerings.
13. Tulsa Wave Park and Zink Lake
Zink Lake and the Tulsa Wave Park opened Labor Day Weekend 2024, but River Parks Project Manager Ryan Howell says they are looking forward to the area’s first full summer of watersports recreation. Expect more opportunities for paddleboard and kayak rentals, plus new events like surfing competitions, kayak races and rowing regattas.
Just north on Riverside, Daigoro, a new “pan-Asian fusion” restaurant operated by the Lone Wolf team, is set to open in early 2025 as well. This will occupy the former Blue Rose location.
14. Turkey Mountain Updates
River Parks also has some big plans for Turkey Mountain, including the opening of “The Sanctuary Trails” – 7 miles of trails plus 90 acres of greenspace; and “The Rock Yard” – Oklahoma’s Largest Mountain Bike Jump Park. Plus, they’re going to be adding an additional parking lot and replacing the bike trail between 71st St. bridge and Turkey Mountain “to widen it, add lighting and improve safety.”
Follow @riverparks on Facebook so you don’t miss any updates!
15. Tulsa City-County Library’s Summer Reading Program
So many Tulsans have grown up collecting medals from Tulsa City-County Library’s Summer Reading Program. This year’s SRP will run from June 2-July 31. And according to Oklahoma.gov, this year’s Summer Reading Program theme for Oklahoma libraries is “Color Our World,” a theme which “encourages readers to explore the vibrant and multifaceted world around them through the power of reading.” In addition to earning fabulous prizes, summer library-goers can attend special programming including outdoor concerts, free movies and more.
16. Tulsa Zoo‘s Giant Anteater Habitat
In Dec. 2024, Tulsa Zoo announced the new Clayton and Gina Hughes Family Giant Anteater Habitat. They plan to break ground in 2025, and celebrate with a fall ribbon cutting. The Zoo has never had giant anteaters before, so this is pretty exciting! According to their press release, “this innovative habitat will offer guests a close-up look at the unique adaptations of giant anteaters, such as their long snouts for dining on ants and termites, sharp claws for digging, and thick coats for protection.”
17. Tulsa Botanic Garden: Sculpture Exhibit
In an enewsletter, Tulsa Botanic Garden announced that they would be bringing an exciting new traveling exhibit of sculptures to the garden in March 2025. We loved their LEGO animals exhibit in spring 2024, so are very excited to get all the details about this one!
18. Daiso?
Are you familiar with Daiso? If you are, you’re likely thrilled that Tulsa may be getting its very own Daiso location in the Southroads Shopping Center! If not, just know that this Japanese dollar store has a lot of enthusiastic fans. You’ll be able to buy everything from Japanese snacks to plushies to unique home décor, accessories and more.
As of this writing, there’s not an official opening date, but alert shoppers have seen Daiso notifications on the windows of the former PetCo Southroads location. (PetCo recently moved to a new space in Southroads, so they’re still in the area.) Plans for an OKC-based Daiso were also announced in September 2024, although there seems to be some confusion about if/when it is actually happening.
19. Cry Baby Hill Development?
Proposed development on Cry Baby Hill caused quite the stir when the city published the chosen design for a new statue intended to adorn this Tulsa Tough hotspot. Shortly after this controversial revelation, plans for a nearby hotel were also announced. While the hotel isn’t expected to be up and running before 2025, we’ll be following along to see what happens on Cry Baby Hill in 2025.
20. A Year with TulsaKids!
We don’t want to end this list without mentioning some of the fun things TulsaKids has planned for the coming year. As always, we’ll bring back our Cover Kid Contest in July, hot on the heels of the publication of our Summer Family Fun Guide in early June.
Our Christmas Giveaways will start Dec. 1 – we’ll be doing a new, exciting giveaway each day until we run out of prizes, but we’ve already got some good stuff lined up! In 2024, we gave away Polar Express train ride tickets, “Nutcracker” tickets and much more.
And be sure to sign up for our eNewsletter so you don’t miss some other great promos that will pop up throughout the year.
