In case the rising temperatures did not tip you off, the unofficial begin of summer time is sort of right here.
As Memorial Day weekend nears, Oklahoma’s occasion calendar is beginning to look extra regular in comparison with the previous two years of pandemic planning.
A lot of the state’s long-running vacation weekend occasions are again this 12 months, together with army tributes, enjoyable runs and family-friendly festivals just like the Paseo Arts Competition, which shifted briefly to Labor Day in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nonetheless lacking from this 12 months’s Memorial Day calendar: Rocklahoma additionally moved to Labor Day weekend in 2021, however the fifteenth annual music and tenting pageant is sticking with its September dates once more this 12 months. Traditional and trendy rock followers can plan their return to Pryor for Sept. 2-4.
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However summer time is simply getting began, and listed here are a number of the occasions occurring throughout Oklahoma throughout Memorial Day weekend:
1. forty fifth Infantry Division Museum’s Memorial Day Ceremony
The ceremony honoring U.S. service members begins at 10 a.m. Might 30 on the museum, 2145 NE 36. Admission is free. Data: www.fb.com/45thInfantryDivisionMuseum.
2. Bethany 66 Competition
Free festivities embrace reside leisure by Edgar Cruz and Sherman Andrus, a automotive, truck and bike present, kids’s princess and motion hero parade, arts and craft cubicles, meals distributors and extra. Hours are 9 a.m. to three p.m. Might 28 within the one-block space from thirty eighth Road north to thirty ninth Expressway, between Peniel and Asbury. Data: www.bethany66.com.
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3. thirty first annual Chuck Wagon Competition
This household favourite options out of doors cooking, artisan demonstrations, Western reenactors, archery, nation and Western dancing, craft stations, a petting zoo and reside music by the Rodeo Opry. New this 12 months might be a Native American hunters’ camp, dugout canoe demonstration and LEGO constructing. For the second 12 months, Native American meals samples might be out there. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Might 28-29 on the Nationwide Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63. Data: nationalcowboymuseum.org.
4. Unite the Folks Powwow
Free and open to the general public, this two-day occasion will showcase quite a lot of Native American dance contests that includes opponents of all ages on the Love’s Journey Stops Stage and Nice Garden at Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7. The festivities start at 3 p.m. Might 28 and 1 p.m. Might 29 with a gourd dance. Grand entries of dancers are deliberate at 7 p.m. Might 28 and 4 p.m. Might 29. Data: https://www.fb.com/UnitethePeoplePowwows.
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5. Halloween in Might
The native music group Make Oklahoma Weirder riffs on the Christmas in July idea with its inaugural Halloween in Might at 7 p.m. Might 28 at Oklahoma Metropolis’s latest underground DIY venue, The Sanctuary, 2828 NW 10, the place it shares area with the Beloved Bones curio store. The reside music occasion will characteristic performances by Em and the MotherSuperiors, L-Easy Mensah, Rauland and Bugnog, plus a dressing up contest with prizes, turntable artistry by DJ Dee Rock and eats from Shaq’s Vegan Canines. Data: makeoklahomaweirder.com.
6. 76th annual Will Rogers Stampede Rodeo, Claremore
The Skilled Rodeo Cowboys Affiliation occasion will characteristic bronc using, barrel racing, bull using and extra. Gates open at 6 p.m., preshow leisure begins at 7 p.m., and the rodeo motion begins at 8 p.m. Might 27-29 at Will Rogers Stampede Area, 13653 E 480 Rd. The festivities kick off Might 26 with the slack steer roping at 6 p.m. at Stampede Park and Boots on the Boulevard — Meals Truck Thursday, that includes a full menu of meals vans, reside music, a mechanical bull and avenue dance, from 6 to 9 p.m. in downtown Claremore. Data: https://www.fb.com/WillRogersStampede.
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7. Second annual Black Wall Road Legacy Competition, Tulsa
The three recognized survivors of the Tulsa Race Bloodbath — Viola Ford Fletcher, 108; Lessie Benningfield Randle, 107; and Hughes Van Ellis, 101 — in addition to descendants of the bloodbath’s victims will host this Might 27-28 occasion in and across the Greenwood Cultural Middle, 322 N Greenwood Ave. Marking the a hundred and first anniversary of the bloodbath, the pageant will embrace a city corridor, memorial march, block social gathering and performances by Fireplace in Little Africa, Amber Owens & Firm and Quentin Marcellus. The occasion will shut with a free particular look by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Undertaking, at 7 p.m. Might 31 at Booker T. Washington Excessive Faculty, 1514 E Zion Road. Data: www.blackwallstreetlegacyfest.com.
8. Simmons Middle Memorial 5K Enjoyable Run and Stroll, Duncan
The Simmons Middle, 1330 Chisholm Path Parkway, will honor veterans and active-duty servicemen and girls at this occasion at 9 a.m. Might 28. Data: http://www.simmonscenter.com.
9. forty fifth annual Paseo Arts Competition
Returning to Memorial Day weekend, this 12 months’s occasion will characteristic greater than 100 visiting artists, plus dozens of neighborhood artists, together with 50-plus Oklahoma entertainers, 18 meals distributors, two kids’s artwork areas, free shuttle service and extra. Hours are 10 a.m. to eight p.m. Might 28-29, with reside music till 10 p.m., and 10 a.m. to five p.m. Might 30 within the Paseo Arts District, between NW 28 and Walker and NW 30 and Dewey. Admission is free. Data: www.thepaseo.org.
The family-friendly actions embrace jousting tournaments, performances by touring acrobats, Hen of Prey exhibitions, festive meals and looking for handcrafted objects. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to six p.m. each Saturday and Sunday by way of June 5 on the Fort of Muskogee, 3400 W Fern Mountain Rd. The pageant can be open on Memorial Day. Data: www.okcastle.com.
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11. Boley Rodeo and ‘Crossroads’ exhibit
The nation’s oldest African American community-based rodeo continues Might 28 with a parade at 3 p.m. and the rodeo motion at 7:30 p.m. within the historic Black city of Boley. A Gospel Explosion and Soul Meals Sunday is deliberate for five p.m. Might 29 on Predominant Road. Plus, the Boley Group Middle is internet hosting the Smithsonian Establishment exhibit “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” by way of June 25, with a number of particular applications deliberate. Data: www.thetownofboley.org.
12. The Roots Ball, Medication Park
Hearken to Ponder the Albatross, King Cabbage Brass Band, Electrical Okie Take a look at and extra Might 27-29 within the historic resort city. Music begins on the principle stage at 7 p.m. Might 27, 2 p.m. Might 28 and three p.m. Might 29 at Hitchin’ Put up Park. Admission is free. Data: www.fb.com/MedicineParkOK.
13. Greenwood Rising’s ‘Bear in mind & Rise,’ Tulsa
The Greenwood Rising Black Wall Road Historical past Middle, 23 N Greenwood Ave., will mark the a hundred and first anniversary of the Tulsa Race Bloodbath with a sequence of Might 29-31 occasions culminating in a candlelight vigil at 9:30 p.m. Might 31. Data: https://www.greenwoodrising.org.
14. Norman Veterans Automotive Present
Greater than 30 lessons of vehicles, avenue rods, vans and extra might be displayed and judged on the nineteenth annual present from 10 a.m. to three p.m. Might 28 on the Norman Veterans Middle, 1776 E Robinson. Data: https://www.canadianrivercruisers.com.
15. OKC Dodgers vs. Reno River Cats
What’s summer time with no little baseball? The OKC Dodgers play an nearly weeklong homestand with video games at 7:05 p.m. Might 24-27, 6:05 p.m. Might 28 and a pair of:05 p.m. Might 29 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 Mickey Mantle Drive. Friday Night time Fireworks will comply with the Might 27 recreation. Data: https://www.milb.com/oklahoma-city.
16. Pink Dust Run of Honor, Enid
Together with the 5K and half-marathon course, this occasion features a breakfast, awards ceremony and leisure. It begins at 6:30 a.m. Might 28 at Woodring Regional Airport, 1026 S 66. Data: www.visitenid.org/guests/calendar-of-events.
17. thirty second annual Tour de Meers Bike Experience
An annual fundraising occasion for the Meers Volunteer Fireplace Division, the Might 28 bike experience affords cyclists various lengths for the routes, together with 10, 22, 36 or 60 miles, within the neighborhood of Meers, Medication Park and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Registration begins at 6 a.m., and the experience begins at 7:30 a.m. Data: www.tourdemeers.org.
18. 69th annual Barnsdall Huge Coronary heart Day
The all-day festivities Might 28 embrace a parade, a terrapin race and frog leap, reside music, kids’s video games, a grand fireworks finale and extra. Further actions are deliberate all through the vacation weekend. Data: www.fb.com/BarnsdallChamber.
The Gophers football program addressed a need in the middle of its defense for the 2025 season with Oklahoma State linebacker Jeff Roberson on Thursday night.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound graduate transfer from Choctaw, Okla., totaled 58 tackles, including 8.5 for lost yards, three sacks and one interception in 12 games in 2024. He had a middling 57.7 grade from Pro Football Focus, along with 19 pressures, but also 11 missed tackles last season.
Roberson played 670 snaps last season, but only 107 across 2021 and 2023. He played special teams as a freshman in 2020 and missed the 2022 season with injury.
Roberson will help fill the void left by leading tackler Cody Lindenberg; the Anoka native declared for the NFL draft after the regular season and skipped the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Maverick Baranowski and Devon Williams top the U’s depth chart at linebacker going into next season.
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The Gophers have added 15 total players via the NCAA transfer portal since early December and are still looking for help at cornerback and possibly defensive line.
The Cowboys went to the SEC to pick another linebacker out of the portal.
Ole Miss transfer Trip White, who was listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds last season, pledged to Oklahoma State, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. White played in all 13 of the Rebels’ games this past season, his redshirt sophomore year. He made one tackle, primarily playing special teams.
White played in three games while maintaining a redshirt as a true freshman in 2022. He appeared in five games in 2023, and to this point has totaled nine career tackles.
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Out of Parkview Magnet in Little Rock, Arkansas, White was a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class and chose Ole Miss over offers from Arkansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Indiana and others. The 247Sports Composite system tabbed White as the No. 1,103 player in the class, the No. 109 linebacker in the class and the No. 12 player from Arkansas in 2022. He also started as his team’s quarterback as a high school senior, throwing for 2,035 yards and 19 touchdowns to go with 445 rushing yards and seven more scores.
White becomes the third linebacker the Pokes have grabbed out of the portal, joining Bryan McCoy (Akron) and Brandon Rawls (Saginaw Valley State). White’s addition comes a few days after Jeff Roberson hopped in the portal. With Roberson, Nick Martin, Collin Oliver and Kendal Daniels all gone from last season’s squad, OSU’s linebacker room — like most position rooms — will look quite a bit different heading into 2025. Kap Dede is set to coach that group, with new OSU defensive coordinator Todd Grantham bringing him in from Western Kentucky.
The Oklahoma Sooners will open the 2025 softball season on Feb. 6 against the CSUN Matadors in San Diego. After a historic season, Oklahoma faces a lot of turnover after losing a number of fixtures in the lineup to graduation.
The Sooners certainly aren’t lacking for talent, however, as a trio of players were named to Softball America’s preseason All-American teams on Tuesday.
Sophomore outfielder Kasidi Pickering and Utility/DP Ella Parker were named to Softball America’s first team. Newcomer Abby Dayton was named to the second team.
Parker led the Oklahoma Sooners with a .415 batting average from the utility role. She also had 13 home runs and 62 RBIs as a true freshman. Parker hit .500 over Oklahoma’s final four games to clinch their fourth-straight national title.
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Pickering hit .389 with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs as a true freshman for the Sooners. In the Women’s College World Series final against Texas, she had home runs in both games against the Texas Longhorns to win the championship.
Abby Dayton is one of a number of impact transfers for the Oklahoma Sooners this season. She led the Pac-12 in batting average, hitting .431 and also had an on-base percentage of .510 for the Utah Utes.
The Oklahoma Sooners will have a new look, but led by this trio of stars, the defending national champions will be ready to compete in the SEC.
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