Tulsa: November 2009 Archives

Santa Claus returns to Tulsa's Philbrook Art Museum for the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Trees. Today (November 21, 2009) is the members' opening of the Festival; the Festival opens to the public on Sunday.

Santa will be at Philbrook each weekend of the festival (including the Friday after Thanksgiving) to meet children of all ages and for professional photos. Visit SantaTulsa.com to see Santa's schedule of appearances at this year's festival.

Later on Saturday afternoon, at 3 p.m., Philbrook will host children's illustrator Lane Smith, whose works include The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and Hooray for Diffendoofer Day. Reservations are required, and tickets are $15 for non-members.

(Full disclosure: Philbrook's Santa Claus is my dad.)

I've noticed a surge of interest among Tulsa's young adults in arts and crafts. You'll find their creations on sale at local boutiques and coffeehouses and at special events like last month's Indie Emporium, which featured handmade knitwear, jewelry, clothing, accessories, toys, art prints, photographs, greeting cards, and much, much more. Buying locally made, handcrafted gifts is a great way to encourage local artists, to keep money circulating in the local economy, and to find one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones.

Lindsay Neal and Erin Fore, two young Tulsa entrepreneurs, are holding an open house this Friday and Saturday to display their collection of beautiful handmade necklaces, bracelets, and earrings:

Lindsey Neal and Erin Fore have collaborated to create necklaces, bracelets and earrings from turquoise, amethyst, lava rocks, copper, sterling silver and other yummy materials.

We're holding a holiday open house for anyone who wants to buy locally hand-crafted jewelry for loved ones in a cozy, relaxing atmosphere. Please stop by and take a look. Bring your friends/folks/siblings. All are welcome.

Avoid mall/retail madness! Support Tulsa artists!

Prices range from $15-$80. Plus, you can create customized pieces and they'll be ready by mid-December. Heck, we'll take care of your whole shopping list!

The specifics:

When:

Friday, November 20, 2009, 9 am - 1 pm, and
Saturday, November 21, 2009, 2 pm - 6 pm.

Where:

1630 E. 35th Street

Click the picture above to see a larger image of one of their necklaces, or click this link to go to the Facebook page for the event and see many more creations by Lindsay and Erin.

A note from Joe Kelley, KRMG Morning Show host and chairman of Oklahoma's Make-A-Wish Foundation:

My Friends,

Six weeks ago, I accepted the call to become Chairman of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oklahoma. As a two-time childhood cancer survivor, the mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is very personal to me.

With three small, beautiful children in my home, I am very sensitive to the painful reality that all our children are potentially one doctor's appointment away from having their worlds turned upside down in a dizzying array of hospital visits, needle-sticks and surgeries.

During a family's darkest hour, the Make-A-Wish Foundation provides a shining beacon of light; a chance to escape the bonds of sickness, if even for just a moment.

Yet, these are extraordinary times.

Kids don't understand the economics of a recession. Their cancers don't share our sense of bad timing. While some charities can scale back their non-essential services, MAWFO has no non-essential services. We don't have multiple functions and departments. We only do one thing: We grant wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.

The average Wish costs $7000 and at this moment, there are 94 Oklahoma children waiting to have their Wishes granted. Many of these children don't have the luxury of patience.

Please take a moment of your time right now and help make Wishes come true with a donation to Oklahoma's Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Please call 5 friends and ask them to do the same. Forward this email. Pass a hat at your office. Call a generous friend or relative. Clean out coins from your car and home. Take a tax deduction. Call 918-492-WISH.

Donate online right now at: http://bit.ly/OSdWW

Or, come see me in person November 17th, 18th, or 19th at LaFortune Park in Tulsa as KRMG hosts our 4th Annual Stories of Light broadcast to benefit Make-A-Wish. All money raised goes to Oklahoma children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

To put my money where my 'ask' is, I'm personally committing $1,000 to the Stories of Light campaign this year (which is only $83/month or less than $3/day).

Thank you very kindly for your generosity,

Joe Kelley

Make-A-Wish Foundation "grants wishes to children who have been diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions to enhance the human experience with hope, strength and joy." You can hear stories about Oklahoma's wish kids on the KRMG Morning Show tomorrow and Thursday. Stories about some of the children who benefited from last year's Stories of Light online at KRMG.com. You can also read stories about wish kids on the Oklahoma Make-A-Wish Foundation website.