Weekly Events Calendar, October 11-17. 2021

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.

Pryor Engagement

It’s been a tough couple of years for events, but organizers are coming back wiser and wilier on ways to keep shows going without putting guests at undue risk. So while last year’s Northeast Oklahoma Area Artists Show was canceled because of the pandemic, this year it’s returning in all its glory to Mayes County Cultural Art Center in Pryor. Visitors can see paintings, sculptures, photography, and more from pros, amateurs, and students from the Green Country area. Organizers expect more than a hundred artists will enter the show, but you can see them all for free! Through October 15. Admission, free. pryorarts.com

The Baker Family performs at the Tallgrass Music Festival in Skiatook. This year's festival includes a kids area. Photo by Scott Neighbors

Grass Color Not Guaranteed

Head to Skiatook for the annual Tallgrass Music Festival, formerly known as the Skiatook Bluegrass Festival. It’s still a bluegrass festival and it’s still in Skiatook, so one must assume the name change came about because a few of the hundreds of visitors to the festival were dismayed to find the grass was its usual shade of green. Still, for lovers of banjos, mandolins, upright basses, and fiddles, the Tallgrass Music Festival is where it’s at. There’s also shopping, food vendors, and a kids area, which means even grass-color sticklers will have plenty of fun. October 15-16. Admission, $5-$10 per vehicle. skiatooktallgrassfestival.com

Fruity, With a Hint of Shriner

Taking wine via IV is a pain and nobody enjoys swallowing wine pills every night before bed, which is why the Bedouin Shrine Temple in Muskogee is going for something new at the Flying Fez Wine Tasting Festival. That’s right! Rather than rubbing wine on sore knees like a salve, guests to the festival can taste wines from nine Oklahoma wineries. Tickets for the event also include hors d'oeuvres, a commemorative wine glass, and a chance to ask if wearing a fez is good winter weather protection. October 16. Tickets, $30. (918) 682-2761 or bedouinshriners.com

Savor the flavor of Oklahoma's viniculture in Muskogee at the Flying Fez Wine Tasting Festival. Photo courtesy Bedouin Shrine Temple

Mounds of Fun

At a little over a century old, Oklahoma is one of the youngest states in the country, but the land we live on is much, much older. Learn about the ancient past of Oklahoma at the International Archaeology Day Celebration at the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center as Dennis Peterson takes visitors on a guided tour of the only prehistoric American Indian archaeological site in Oklahoma that is open to the public. Lectures about the history of the region begin at 11 a.m. and flint knappers will be there to show how ancient stone tools were made. October 16. Admission, $4-$7. okhistory.org

Learn about the Spiro Mounds from Dennis Peterson during the International Archaeology Day Celebration. Photo by Lori Duckworth

No Subtitles Necessary

Lovers of Japanese art, culture, food, and cartoons are sometimes called Japanophiles, but these days the term weeb is much more common. For more than a decade, Tulsa has welcomed nerds of the anime, ramen, cosplay, gaming, and manga varieties to Tokyo in Tulsa, a three-day celebration of all things Japan at the Hyatt Regency Tulsa Downtown hotel. Enjoy shopping, karaoke, cosplay contests, panels, and a lot more fun with other fans of Japanese culture. October 15-17. Tickets, $10-$70. tokyointulsa.com

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.