Ripples

One of my favorite aspects of Tulsa International Mayfest weekend is that myriad events and activities that spring up around the Mayfest hubbub on Main Street and the goings-on in the Blue Dome District with Blue Dome Arts Festival.

Here's just a sampling of events that will benefit from the waves of traffic brought on by the biggest downtown festival all year, while causing their own ripple effects as well: 

First birthday party at Elote Cafe & Catering

Dwelling Spaces ROCKS Blue Dome Arts Festival and Mayfest

Blue Invitational Art Exhibit

American Craft Beer Festival at McNellies, a celebration of National Craft Beer Week

Hanson on the Blue Dome Arts Festival Music stage at 11 a.m. Saturday

Whew, that's a lot of awesome sauce. 

Perhaps the biggest and most-loved Mayfest/BDAF sideshow, though, is Art Car Weekend, hosted for the fifth year by Living Arts of Tulsa. Artists come from all over the country to to enter their crazy, colorful working car designs in the show. 

It all gets started today at 6 p.m., when the Art Car Artists will start rolling into T-Town. The cars tour Tulsa schools tomorrow from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. They'll parade through downtown at 2 p.m. Saturday and party the night away at the Roadhouse at Blue Dome Diner. The artists will sit down for a documentary by Harrod Blank at Circle Cinema. For all the times in between, head to second and Elgin to up-to-the-minute updates on Art Car Weekend. 

Want to put a bite to eat after the Saturday afternoon Art Car parade on the itinerary? Great. That's a good idea. Know what'd make it even better? If that bite to eat didn't cost you a darned, blessed thing. Also, if you were wearing a free Mayfest t-shirt and had a free Mayfest poster rolled up and tucked under your arm. 

I should be a professional party planner. Because if a trip to Art Car Weekend, Blue Dome Arts Festival, Tulsa International Mayfest and maybe a few events in between isn't a party, I don't know what is.

You can win this free bundle of Mayfest goods by heading to Twitter, Facebook, Myspace or the comments in this blog and chatting about one of the many events listed in this post.

BONUS: Four bonus entries to each entrant who posts a photo to the Tasha Does Tulsa group on Flickr. That's a total of five entries for the shutterflies.

BONUS: Four bonus entries to each entrant who can answer the following question: Which act will take the Main stage at Williams Green at Mayfest Saturday night at 9:00 p.m.? That's a total of five entries for the Mayfest trivia and music lovers.

Bonus: Four entries to each entrant who'd be coming to Mayfest from outside the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area. That's a total of five entries for the out-of-townies. 

Contest ends Friday night at 5 p.m. I'll announce winners later in the evening, so stay tuned.

Good luck, Mayfest fiends! I could say the same thing to the weather, but hey, it's all part of the fun of holding a festival during the wettest month of the year in the state of Oklahoma. Wee!