What To Do in Tulsa This Weekend

We're going to try something different here on this week's edition of What To Do in Tulsa This Weekend.

Instead of grouping events by type - music events, art events, theatre events and the like - I listed them in chronological order and grouped them by weekend day. Now all of Friday's events are together, snug as a bug in a rug. It's the same with Saturday and Sunday events, too.

But, say you couldn't give a hoot about what's going on in the sports world this weekend. Maybe all you care about is this weekend's offering in music, and you don't want any other kind of event clouding your laser vision. To find all of the music events happening in Tulsa before roll call on Monday, simply look for the listings with pretty blue headings. I've color coded the other types of events, too, as such:

Orange = Sports
Blue = Music
Purple = Arts & Theatre
Green = Stuff to do for Kids
Red = Community/Other Stuff

Because show times vary, movies remain under their own heading.

With the chronological and the color-coded events listings joining forces, what you'll have (hopefully) is an events page that is so organized and so easy to use, you'll want to buy me a year's supply of chocolate peanuts. And I won't refuse you. Because that'd be bad manners, and my momma didn't raise no fool.

If this format doesn't work to your liking and you're thinking about spreading rumors that I still wore Rainbow Bright underwear in junior high if I don't change it back, e-mail me before you do anything that we'll both regret.

As heard every Friday morning at between 6-8:30am on the KRMG Morning News with Joe Kelley, here's what to do in Tulsa this weekend.

Friday, January 15

Tasha's Pick: Chili Bowl: Friday Qualifying Night 
When: 9am-midnight
Where: Expo Square, QuikTrip Center, 4145 E. 21st Street
The nation's motorsports spectacle that is to the sport what the Super Bowl is to football is upon us, Tulsa. The 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals is closing in on a quarter-century of unforgettable racing action atop the QuikTrip Center's quarter-mile Tulsa Expo Raceway clay oval at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. It all kicked off Tuesday night, culminating with Saturday night's 50-lap championship main event. The entry list for the event is at 266, representing a worldwide field. Don't miss it.

Wanda Jackson @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
When: 11am
Where: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Catoosa, Grand Lobby
The Queen of Rockabilly and the First Lady of Rock-and-Roll herself will be at Hard Rock in Catoosa to sign and donate one of her signature Daisy Rock guitars to the hotel's private music collection. She plans to stick around to sign autographs for fans. Jackson has a new single coming out, by the way, on Jan. 26.

The Cherokee Story Continues
When: 1pm
Where: Gilcrease Museum, 1400 Gilcrease Museum Road
Dr. Duane King, executive director for Gilcrease Museum, will continue his presentation and discussion on Cherokee culture. This forum is free with paid museum admission.

You Are Here: Prints by May Yang
When: 5pm
Where: Dwelling Spaces, 119 S. Detroit Ave.
Check out this set of prints all about May's favorite city - Tulsa, of course, and all of its notable spots and familiar neighborhoods. I hear there will be cupcakes, too, so arrive early.


Senator Coburn Town Hall Meeting
When: 5:30-6:30pm
Where: SpiritBank Event Center, 10441 S. Regal Boulevard
If politics is your bag on a balmy Friday night, head south to visit with The Doctor, who will be taking questions and addressing issues important to Oklahomans.

Rebecca Ungerman @ Sake
When: 6:30pm
Where: Sake Japanese Restaurant, 6827 S. Memorial Drive
Make your way out south to see the winner of the 2009 Urban Tulsa Weekly Absolute Best Music Award for best female vocalist belt out tunes with Scott McQuade. Plus, there will be sushi. What's not to love?

Silent Movie Night at Theatre Organ Club
When: Doors at 6:30pm, show at 7pm
Where: Tulsa Technology Center, 4600 S. Olive Ave. in Broken Arrow
Get a little closer to the days of vaudeville with a silent movie with the Sooner State Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society. See the 1925 movie, The Son of The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino. Bill Rowland will man theatre pipe organ. Admission is free, and so is the popcorn and lemonade.

TU Women's Basketball
When: 7pm
Where: Reynolds Center, 3208 E. Eighth Street
Watch the lady Hurricanes take on the girls from Tulane.

Adam Heare and Dorian Mode
When: Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm
Where: Flytrap Music Hall, 514 E. Second Street
With Two Steps Back and Popular Culture. Call 918.794.0238 for tickets.

What the Butler Saw
When: 8pm
Where: Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Second Street
If you like Oscar Wilde (a little Earnest, anyone?), you'll love this final play written by Joe Orton, a master of macabre and known for his sharp sociosexual commentary that tests the boundaries of traditional theatre. Leave the kids at home for this one. Tickets are $15.

The Grace Project
When: 8pm
Where: Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth Street
A production commissioned by Grace Hospice, The Grace Project is comprised of short pieces about death from the 50swats writers' collective. Tickets are $8.


Saturday, January 16

Tasha's Pick: Momma's Saturday Book Club

When: 11:30am

Where: Joe Momma's, 112 S. Elgin Ave.

This weekly kids' book club meet-up is going strong, and this week it's all about Edward - you know, Edward from The Boy Who Wouldn't Share. Make a craft, win some killer door prizes and chow down on homemade fudge, just like in the book. Don't forget to nosh on plenty of pizza, too - I recommend the bacon cheeseburger pie. It's the best.

Chili Bowl: Chili Bowl Championship Feature Saturday

When: 9am-11pm

Where: Expo Square, QuikTrip Center, 4145 E. 21st Street

The nation's motorsports spectacle that is to the sport what the Super Bowl is to football is upon us, Tulsa. The 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals is closing in on a quarter-century of unforgettable racing action atop the QuikTrip Center's quarter-mile Tulsa Expo Raceway clay oval at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. It all kicked off Tuesday night, culminating with Saturday night's 50-lap championship main event. The entry list for the event is at 266, representing a worldwide field. Don't miss it.

Throwback to the '60s

When: 9am-5pm

Where: Jubilee Hall, Boston Avenue United Methodist Church at 13th and Boston

Head to this workshop if you'd like to spend this weekend enlightening the youth in your life about the era of Dr. King. It's going to be a fun, creative and interactive atmosphere, thanks to music, dance, skits and media footage. Lunch will be provided, and the workshop is free.

Tulsa Ballroom Grand Opening - Public Open House
When: 10am-2pm
Where: Tulsa Convention Center, 100 Civic Center
Christen the newly renovated and highly classy Convention Center, just by showing up. Don't miss the live music and giveaways.


OU Men's Basketball
When: Noon
Where: Norman
Watch the Sooners take on Missouri.

PAWS for Reading
When and Where: 1pm at Martin Regional Library; 2pm at Zarrow Regional Library
Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners, you know. Kids are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader gets a free book, provided by the Tulsa Library Trust and CITGO Petroleum. For ages 5-12.

Freestyle Cage Fighting
When: Doors at 6pm, event at 7pm
Where: Expo Square Pavilion, 1701 S. Louisville
How big is your belt? Compare and contrast at this fight event. The main event features two-time FCF Champion Joey "The Takedown Wizard" Gorzcynski against Chad "The Boss" Leonhardt. The co-Main event features Bixby native Ryan McClaim at Karl Knothe. In the true spirit of this wild prairie land, all ages are welcome to attend.

Girl Scout Sleepover
When: 6pm-8am Sunday morning
Where: Oklahoma Aquarium, 300 Aquarium Drive in Jenks
If you're the proud guardian of a Girl Scout, bring her to the Aquarium to enjoy a flashlight tour of the Aquarium, a scavenger hunt and more before drifting off to sleep alongside the peaceful Coral Reef Tank or underneath the Shark Adventure tunnel and dome. Wait - am I too old to join Girl Scouts? Because this sounds like serious good times. To register, call 918.745.5220.

Tulsa 66ers v. Erie BayHawks

When: 7pm

Where: Tulsa Convention Center, 100 Civic Center

Tickets start at $8.

OSU Women's Basketball

When: 7pm

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater

Watch the Cowgirls take on the girls from Kansas State.

TU Men's Basketball

When: 7pm

Where: Reynolds Center, 3208 E. Eighth Street

Watch the Hurricanes take on UCF.

Tulsa Symphony: The Music of England
When: 7:30pm
Where: Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Second Street
Close your eyes and think of England. Set sail across the pond with guest conductor Jose-Luis Novo. Tickets start at $10, with discounts for kids and seniors.

New Year's Revolution

When: Doors at 7pm, event at 8pm

Where: SpiritBank Event Center, 10441 S. Regal Boulevard

Xtreme Fighting League and 5150 Combat League presents this championship mixed martial arts show featuring Forrest Griffin. Tickets start at $20 in the risers, $55 on the floor. If you buy 10, you get two free. Smackdown!

The Televised

When: Doors at 7, show at 8pm

Where: Flytrap Music Hall, 514 E. Second Street

With Western Heritage, Apollo and ThePortrayl.

What the Butler Saw

When: 8pm

Where: Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Second Street

If you like Oscar Wilde (a little Earnest, anyone?), you'll love this final play written by Joe Orton, a master of macabre and known for his sharp sociosexual commentary that tests the boundaries of traditional theatre. Leave the kids at home for this one. Tickets are $15.

The Grace Project

When: 8pm

Where: Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth Street

A production commissioned by Grace Hospice, The Grace Project is comprised of short pieces about death from the 50swats writers' collective. Tickets are $8.

Panic! Dance Party

When: 10pm

Where: Electric Circus, 222 E. First Street

There's nothing quite like a good dance party to unwind from a long week. Get DJs, sound, lights and a full liquor bar.

Sunday, January 17

Tasha's Pick: Immersive Music

When: 8pm

Where: Living ArtSpace, 307 E. Brady Street

Who doesn't love them some solid marimba music? Get it in a blend with electronics that is then manipulated by how the speakers are placed around the audience. Plus, the audience helps in sculpting the music. Tickets are $10, or $7 for members.

Singular Impressions
When: Starting Sunday and going through April 4, 2010
Where: Philbrook Museum, 2727 S. Rockford Ave.
Celebrate the legacy of Herbert and Roseline Gussman with a selection of prints by major European artists - you know, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault and Joan Miro, those types of folks. Dating from 1890-1960, these works reflect the rapid and dramatic artistic developments that marked the rise of modern art.

TU Women's Basketball
When: 1pm
Where: Reynolds Center, 3208 E. Eighth Street
Watch the lady Hurricanes take on the girls from UTEP.


Emerson String Quartet
When: 3pm
Where: Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Second Street
Love brooding, brawny musicians? Me, too. Let's go see this quartet, which has produced 30 recordings and earned eight Grammy awards, three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize during its 31 years of touring and recording, together. Tickets are $25.

Tulsa 66ers v. Erie BayHawks
When: 4pm
Where: Tulsa Convention Center, 100 Civic Center
Tickets start at $8.

Modern Tulsa's Mod of the Moment
When: 4-6pm
Where: 3576 S. Winston Ave.
Modern Tulsa is excited to announce its first-ever mod of the moment, an effort to showcase modern homes on the market in T-Town. Grab a drink, chill to some music and immerse yourself in modern design at the 1954 Cecil Stanfield, mid-century modern home at the corner of 36th Street and Winston Avenue.

OU Women's Basketball
When: 4:30pm
Where: Norman
Watch the Sooners take on the girls from Texas A&M.

Girl Scout Sleepover

When: 6pm-8am Monday morning

Where: Oklahoma Aquarium, 300 Aquarium Drive in Jenks

If you're the proud guardian of a Girl Scout, bring her to the Aquarium to enjoy a flashlight tour of the Aquarium, a scavenger hunt and more before drifting off to sleep alongside the peaceful Coral Reef Tank or underneath the Shark Adventure tunnel and dome. To register, call 918.745.5220.

Metal Showcase
When: Doors at 7pm show at 8pm
Where: Flytrap Music Hall, 514 E. Second Street
You can't kill the metal - the metal will live on. Featuring Joint Effect, Social Genosyde and more.




Movies


The Book of Eli
When: Opens Friday
From Yahoo! Movies: Denzel Washington fights his way across a post-apocalyptic wasteland to protect a book that holds the key to humanity's future. Rated R.

The Spy Next Door
When: Opens Friday
From Yahoo! Movies: Jackie Chan is an undercover superspy who must protect his family next door when one of the kids downloads a top-secret code. Rated PG.

A Single Man
When: Opens Friday
Where: Circle Cinema, 12 S. Lewis Ave.
Colin Firth plays an English professor who, after the sudden death of his partner, tries to go about his life in L.A. Also starring Julianne Moore. A film by Tom Ford and winner of three Golden Globe Award nominations.


So. What are YOU doing this weekend?