Tulsa, OK

Backstage at the Midnight Social Club

Leave your hat with the coat check gal and step into The Midnight Social Club, the swingingest place to be in Kansas City in 1934.

Those sassy, saucy sirens of song, Stella Moon, Garnett McGee, Little Ruby and club owner Violet Redd, will entice you with haunting ballads and finger-snappin’ tunes that will help you forget your troubles, even if they can’t forget their own.

Filled with humor, poignancy and killer musical performances, BACKSTAGE AT THE MIDNIGHT SOCIAL CLUB is the debut offering of a new company with the promising name of Sweet and Hot Productions. This original work is presented in a reader’s theatre format, starring local divas Cindy Cain, Pam Van Dyke Crosby, Annie Ellicott and Rebecca Ungerman, backed by the Frank Brown Band.

This event is part of the 2008 SummerStage Festival, sponsored by the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust.

Tickets are $20-$30
Adult language, humor and attitude

(Photo by Carol Curry)

The Pirates of Penzance

Present-day England is the setting for this “very model of a modern” production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s timeless musical comedy about a band of nautical misfits who always have a soft spot for any man who claims to be an orphan.

Frederic, a pirate apprentice waiting to break free from his indentured status on his 21st birthday, falls for a pretty girl named Mabel. Misfortune arises when Frederic discovers he really is only five years old, due to his birthday falling on February 29.

Ron Loyd, who wowed audiences last summer in the title roles of Sweeney Todd and The Music Man, is the Pirate King. Another LOOK favorite, Brian Cheney, plays Frederic.

This event is part of the 2008 SummerStage Festival, sponsored by the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust.

Laughing Matter Improv

Laughing Matter Improv shows are interactive, improvisational theatre with audience participation — in fact, it’s the audience who makes the performance happen! If you like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” or “Second City,” you’ll love this version performed by the Clark Teen Laughing Matter troupe and the Clark staff.

This event is part of the 2008 SummerStage Festival, sponsored by the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust.

Tickets are $10.

TACTA Showcase

Theatre groups from across Green Country perform 10-minute excerpts from their favorite plays and musicals in this sixth annual cabaret-style show.

This event is part of the 2008 SummerStage Festival, sponsored by the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust.

Granny Diva

In this comedy by local playwright Dale Whisman, Marie begins acting classes on a lark after the death of her husband. She discovers a talent that lifts her out of depression and takes her from community theatre to Broadway, with an unexpected stop in “Divaville.” Unfortunately it all goes to her head, and her friends and family finally let her know it.

This event is part of the 2008 SummerStage Festival, sponsored by the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust.

Tickets are $10.

Maegan and I just finished a week of Day Camp with the Girl Scouts. We had a blast too. We were both a little nervous Monday. Since I was never a girl scout and this is Maegan’s first year, we had no idea what to expect. But our nerves passed pretty quickly and we had tons of fun this week. We both learned all kinds of arts and crafts as well as the usual camping stuff.

The coolest thing we learned was how to “lash” a table. Making a table out of just basic materials was amazing. Two poles, an armful of wooden slats and a roll of twine would not have inspired me to make a table until I saw four girl scouts do it in minutes.

Everyone was amazing. First, everyone is a volunteer there. No one gets paid, whether they have the least important job or the most important, everyone is there voluntarily. Some people are working full time jobs as well as spending 6-8 hours everyday this week at camp. It was hot out there this week, too.

Maegan and I are slow to make friends. We both made several new friends this week, and we can’t wait to see them all next year.

More info from our local council:

Day Camp

Camp by day, home by night. Day Camp is basic Girl Scout camping that teaches those essential skills - fire building, campsite preparation, setting up a tent, and teamwork. At Day Camp, girls begin to gain outdoor self-confidence.

Who may attend?
Any Girl Scout may attend Day Camp. Young children (3-5 years old) of day camp staff will have their own preschool unit and sons of Day Camp staff (6 years and older) will have their own unit as well.

How can we sign up?
A Day Camp/Resident Camp informational book was distributed to troop leaders in early January. Some camps will fill up very quickly-before the deadline! Be sure to send in your registration as soon as possible. If you want a registration packet, and have not received one from your troop leader, email Camping Registrar and be sure to include your mailing address.

What about volunteering at Day Camp?
All Magic Empire Council Day Camps are staffed by volunteers, which helps to keep the cost of camp to a minimum. If you are interested in volunteering, view our Volunteer Staff Application. There are a variety of positions available, including roamers, bus monitors, unit leaders, unit assistants, and program consultants. Please complete the form and send it with your daughter’s Day Camp registration form.

The safety and security of girls is paramount and it is the Council’s intention that reasonable and prudent safety and security measures be observed at all times through all aspects of the program. Its goal is for girls, parents, leaders, and other Council personnel to reach, as nearly as possible, the threshold of feeling secure while girls participate in the program; therefore, the responsibility of safety and security is shared equally by the Council, the leaders, other accompanying adults and the parents.At Day camp, two or more security roamers patrol the perimeter of the camp, relay messages and report to headquarters periodically. The importance of the “buddy system” is stressed to the girls and unit leaders take casual head counts on a regular basis. All day camp properties are fenced with locked gates deterring access.The Council does not advertise the exact location of any camping facility.

It’s the season of fresh vegetables, and in Tulsa we are lucky to have many local producers and many farmers markets. Join the Buy Fresh, Buy Local OK movement. Check out local farmers’ markets and buy your produce there.

Here’s why it helps:

• Eliminates the cost of transporting the produce to Tulsa
• Eliminates the cost of packaging so that produce can be stored and transported without damage. Packaging not only uses up resources in its production, like trees for paper and petroleum for plastics, but fills up landfills and trashes up our streets, rivers and oceans.
• Markets provide family farmers with a reliable place to sell the fruits of their labor directly to the public.

Market products include locally grown fruits, vegetables, herbs and other farm-fresh items. Also, honey, eggs, plants, flowers and hand-crafted items are available. Some also offer meats, dairy products, nuts and baked goods. Check it out!

Monday

Pearl Farmers’ Market
4:30 – 7 p.m., April 28 thru Sept. 15
Centennial Park – southwest corner of 6th St. and Peoria.

Tuesday

Downtown Tulsa Farmers’ Market
10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., May 6 thru October
Williams Green, 3rd St. and Boston

Wednesday

Brookside Farmers’ Market
8 a.m. – 12 p.m., May 7 thru Oct. 22
1st and Peoria, ACE Hardware Parking Lot

Collinsville Farmers’ Market
8 – 11 a.m., June through October
12th and Main, Downtown Collinsville

Owasso Farmers’ Market at YMCA
8 a.m. – 12 noon May 7 thru ?
YMCA, just off Hwy. 169, 8300 N. Owasso Expressway

Sperry Farmers’ Market
5 – 7 p.m. (opening soon)
North of Sperry on Hwy 11

Saturday

Cherry Street Farmer’s Market
7 – 11 a.m., April 12 thru Oct. 4
Lincoln Plaza – 15th St. and Peoria

Collinsville Farmers’ Market
8 – 11 a.m., June thru October
12th and Main, Downtown Collinsville

Jenks Farmers’ Market
7 a.m. – 12 p.m., May 3 thru October
Pedestrian bridge between Aquarium and Riverwalk

North Tulsa Farmers’ Market
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., May thru October
Newsome Community Farm, 2620 E. 56th St. N.

Owasso Farmers’ Market at YMCA
8 a.m. – 12 noon May 7 thru ?
YMCA, just off Hwy 169, 8300 N. Owasso Expressway

Sperry Farmers’ Market
5 – 7 p.m. (opening soon)
North of Sperry on Hwy 11

For more information about buying produce, honey, soap and other locally made products, check out: www.BuyFreshBuyLocalOK.com

Being a dropout myself, this is a program I can really get behind. I just wish it was larger. Hopefully they are successful enough to expand the program in the future.

The City of Tulsa and other local businesses, schools, and organizations have teamed up to initiate a program that allows young people to make money while they train for careers in the construction industry and complete their high school diploma or GED.

This community project seeks to recover Tulsa-area high school dropouts, and those at risk of dropping out, by providing an opportunity to receive high school credentials and occupational training for a group of 20 Tulsa-area youth, ages 18 to 22. Participants are offered incentives for good training attendance and are paid for their work-based learning experiences. After demonstrating proficiency in the program, participants will have an opportunity for employment with a local construction company.

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor, Union Public Schools, Work Force Oklahoma, Career Tech, Tulsa Technology Center and a local construction consortium are working together to present the pilot program. Partnering industries will include the Association of General Contractors and the Association of Builders and Contractors (ABC), as represented by Tulsa-based Cantera Concrete Company.

This program is just one of many designed to ensure the success of Tulsa students. The City of Tulsa is also hosting the America’s Promise Alliance Dropout Prevention Summit this summer. The forum will bring together city and community leaders to map out an action plan for reducing the rate of high school dropouts in the city.

The summit is slated for Thursday, August 28, 2008 at the Allen Chapman Activity Center at the University of Tulsa, 440 S. Gary Avenue.

Last week, the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., released a report on the carbon footprint of American citizens living in the 100 largest cities.

Both Tulsa and Oklahoma City had high per capita carbon footprints, meaning that the energy use and activities of individuals are responsible for high levels of carbon dioxide being released into the air. Other large cities with high per capita carbon footprints were east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of Little Rock, St. Louis and Kansas City.

However, Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor believes that Tulsa is in the forefront of cities which are tackling issues related to greenhouse gas emissions. “Our residents appear ready to make the behavioral changes that are required,” Taylor said.

Tulsa statistics show several things: bus ridership is up 8 percent in the last 10 months; City curbside recycling subscription signups have increased 10 percent this year, to over 10,000 residents; Metropolitan Environmental Trust site collections are up, and; in 2008, recycling programs have started or expanded at top corporate employers, including BOK, Red Cross and Riggs Abney. In addition, Green Traveler signups (for Rideshare carpooling programs) have increased as well, and the City of Tulsa, will soon announce their partnership with INCOG’s Green Traveler program.

The ReGreen Tulsa program, a partnership with individuals and groups to plant 20,000 trees in Tulsa by 2010, will also help decrease the carbon footprint of Tulsans. Trees are a critical part of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. As a “producer”, like all plants, trees take in carbon dioxide and use it during the process of photosynthesis. In addition to the sugar food created for the plant by that process, the plant releases oxygen and water vapor into the atmosphere.

Taylor also cited interest in the recent Light Rail Conference, and growing excitement about PLANiTULSA, Tulsa’s comprehensive plan, as other indications that Tulsans are ready to tackle the issues.

The per capita carbon footprints were calculated using data on carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from passenger and freight highway transportation and from individual and group residential buildings. Commercial building, industry or non-highway transportation emissions were not included in determining this per capita footprint ranking.

Tulsa and Oklahoma City ranked 90th and 93rd out of 100 cities. (One means the smallest per capita footprint and 100 is the largest.)

Carbon dioxide is one of several gases labeled as greenhouse gases, because they accumulate in lower layers of the Earth’s atmosphere and trap heat close to the earth, affecting the planet’s climate.

The Brookings Institute Report analyzed data collected from 2000 – 2005.

Tulsans who have tree limbs and other greenwaste to dispose of in the wake of this weekend’s storms have three options for disposal.They can take limbs and other yard-wastes to the City’s greenwaste recycling site at 10401 E. 56th. Street North. The site is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. except on official City of Tulsa holidays. Tulsans can also pick up free wood-chip mulch there for landscaping and gardening use.

Anyone dropping off tree limbs, grass clippings or other yard wastes should have a recent City of Tulsa utility bill to show, or have a drivers license with an address within the city limits.

Residents can also tie tree trimmings into bundles no more than four feet long and weighing no more than 50 pounds and place the bundles by their trash containers for pick-up by refuse collection crews on regularly scheduled collection days.

A third option is waiting for a City crew to pick up limbs stacked by the curb. Citizens will have until June 15 to drag limbs to the curb. Beginning Monday, June 16, Public Works crews will make one sweep through the entire city looking for and collecting tree limbs at the curbs.

Citizens do not need to call the City to request pick-ups. Crews will make a pass down all streets to look for limbs placed properly near the curbs.

Limbs should not be stacked on top of or too close to utility meters, telephone or cable switch boxes, mail boxes or fences. They should be close to, but not in, the streets, so that crews can access the debris piles with mechanical grappling equipment.