Weekly Events Calendar, August 9-15, 2021

Events are subject to change or cancellation. Please call or contact the event organizers before going.

Each week, Oklahoma Today staffers comb through their calendars to find a handful of great events happening across the state. Get out! See Oklahoma! And be sure to let us know what you find, either here or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @oklahomatoday.

Live music is back at OKC's Tower Theatre and this week Shakey Graves takes the historic stage for a 10th anniversary show. Photo by Lori Duckworth

Rock Steady

Despite the name, audience members don't need to worry that Alejandro Rose-Garcia, also known by his stage name Shakey Graves, is ready to collapse. If anything, this genre-spanning wunderkind is proving his ability to endure as he celebrates the tenth anniversary of his debut album with a show at another enduring classic: Oklahoma City's Tower Theatre. **August 12. Tickets, $30-$39. (405) 708-6937 or eventbrite.com

Spandex Ballet

There is something magical about seeing athletes gracefully flitting across the stage, moving in perfect harmony, gently lifting one another to the sky for an aerial display that is quite simply breathtaking. And then when they slam the other person to the mat and scream toward the heavens, it's pretty cool too. Get your fill of combat-gymnastics when WWE Smackdown wrestles its way into Tulsa's BOK Center for an evening of pyrotechnics, entrance music, and extremely fit athletes pretending they don't like each other so much that they must come to blows. **August 13. Tickets, $20-$500. (918) 894-4200 or bokcenter.com

Drone Sweet Drone

Sorry apiary enthusiasts, but any bees you might find at the Thunderbird Drone Festival in Woodward are incidental. Instead, this two-day event is a celebration of all those tiny, remote-controlled aircrafts that have become extremely useful in capturing stunning footage of hard-to-reach locations without calling in a helicopter. Guests can watch an international drone film festival, compete against a worldwide audience in a drone-based scavenger hunt, and listen to a panel of drone experts as they talk quickly and concisely about their hobby so as not to drone on and on. **August 13 & 14. Tickets, $10-$50. thunderbirddronefestival.com

Matilda, played by Gigi Jenkins, with Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood (Travis Guillory and Claire Schroepfer) take the stage in Theatre Tulsa's show "Matilda the Musical." Photo by Josh New Photography

But Will There Be Cake?

To the best of our knowledge, generational researchers have not yet coined the term "The Umbridge/Trunchbull Line" to denote the tipping point between a generation of kids who think Professor Umbridge of the Harry Potter universe was the very worst teacher of all time and the much wiser and better-looking generation who know that Miss Trunchbull is the undisputed worst educator in perpetuity. See for yourself when Theatre Tulsa's Matilda The Musical comes to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll wish Danny DeVito would accept your invitation to sit next to you at your third or fourth viewing. **August 13-29. Tickets, $29.25-$47.50 (918) 596-7111 or tulsapac.com

Let the sweet taste of summer trickle down your chin when you go face first into the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival. Photo by Lori Duckworth

Spittin' Time

How many pounds of watermelon can you eat? Yes, the usual serving is measure in slices, but the fine folks at the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival aren't messing around with such trace amounts. The organizers claim about 20,000 visitors come out to the festival each year and are served roughly 50,000 pounds of watermelon in total. Which means we're looking at an average of 2.5 pound of watermelon per person. Take out the babies in attendance and it's clear each able-mouthed participant should be packing in a minimum of three pounds of sweet, juicy watermelon when they visit. Come hungry and bring a napkin. **August 14. Admission, free. facebook.com/rushspringswatermelonfestival

Written By

Greg Elwell

Greg Elwell served as research editor and web editor of Oklahoma Today from 2018-2023. He also has worked for newspapers, medical research organizations, and government institutions.