The only reason I know that Tulsa exists is because there's a character in
Gypsy named after this Oklahoma town. As we made our way across the OKLA I conducted my usual forty-six-open-tabs-of-Safari research to find festive things to do in the city. According to the internet, most of the Tulsa attractions are not in Tulsa. I'm finding this to be a new advertising trend for cities: they lure you into staying in them so you can leave. With the help of my tour friends, the time to wander around, and Google Map scrolling I found a number of wonderful Tulsa places.
The
Gathering Place is the type of recycled, modern, simple, imagination space that is perfect for kids to play but also adults to play before someone calls the police. I wanted to take photos of the castles, suspension bridges, and play places on the grounds, but they were occupied by children and I didn't want to take their picture. There are plenty of things for everyone to do here! Below the Patio by the Four Seasons Garden entrance there is a small collection of antiques. Items are sorted by hight and type, and each collection of things melds into another. The way the assortment sits against the clean white walls of the gallery made me think of
various depictions of the rabbit hole Alice falls down.
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| Four Seasons Garden |
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| Not pictured is a life sized child doll dressed as a nun. |
The Gathering Place has several fireplaces among a small ice cream shop, courtyard with a burger place, and a cozy modern wood lodge (above the ice cream.) If you're looking for more nom noms and a Christmas spectacle, stop by at night time. The street adjacent to the park is lined with food trucks, and Oklahoma vendors sell their art between the festive lights on the paths. There is also live music provided by Victorian singers, elves, and hipsters. And hot chocolate and decorate-your-own-sugar-cookies. And there is a giant Christmas goose mascot.
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| Look close |
After my daytime adventure at the Gathering Place I scooted over to
Woodward Park to see some more trees and a real life goose (not pictured.) And then I walked to
Utica Square (this shopping center reminded me of the major bougie shopping area I went to as a child (with my mom) called
Suburban Square.) You can meet Santa here, pose with several large nutcracker statues, and get your Secret Snowflake shopping done.
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| Woodward Park |
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| Utica Sqaure |
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| The Clara/Marie animatronic in pink on the left sits up and flops over. |
The
Botanic Garden lights up the night outside of the city center. Upon entering we purchased empanadas from the
Masa truck, sat on hay around a fire, and listened to "Gypsy Jazz with David Horne and Friends" play accordion and acoustic Christmas tunes. I asked if they had an album I could purchase and they laughed and said no. Then they asked for a singer to join them for a bit and Lizzie volunteered. After the singing we purchased Ghirardelli hot chocolate (you can have it spiked if you like) and walked into a winter light wonderland. The main gardens are adorned with red and green, and if you listen closely you can hear
The Nutcracker playing. The children's garden is blue and purple, and features a
Cave of Wonders looking sculpture; the inside of which looks like the setting of
Fraggle Rock. Beyond the gardens is an event lodge! Inside, you can purchase spiked cider, write a wish and hang it on one of the trees, and have a photoshoot.
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| The welcome center sells mugs with the cave of wonders face on them. |
I usually don't write about our venues on here, but the
BOK Center is really neat. It has a photo booth. A speakeasy dressing room for famous people.
Weekly breakfast with Santa. An outdoor ice rink. These things:
The
Brady Arts District was right behind the BOK. I took lunch at
Chimera Cafe and was served citrus water and a seasonal salad before wandering around. To the right of the cafe is the
Tulsa Violin Shop. The sign on the door read "out to lunch," but I wish they were open because the sight of cellos in the window made me miss playing in my high school orchestra, and I wanted to go in and ask to play something.
Glacier Fine Chocolate was a surprise I stumbled upon (also wow remember
stumbleupon.com) and I ended up sampling and purchasing Christmas gifts here. Just a few steps away sits
Shuffles Board Game Cafe. I walked in here thinking I would find games to purchase, my friend Ellen loves games, but this cafe is dedicated to supplying games to play while you eat. I'd go back to play. On the way back to the venue I crossed the
Center of the Universe. If you stand in the middle of it and speak/sing, the sound bounces right back in your ears as if you are wearing a
bucket on your head.
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| The center |
On my Tulsa adventure I learned from an Uber driver that all local radio stations this side of the Mississippi start with the letter K and the stations on the other side start with the letter W.
I went over to the
Boxyard to get my hair cut. This small shopping center is made out of shipping containers, and it's pretty neat. The door to the barber shop
Tonsorial read, "for tree huggers, right wingers, health nuts, cheap skates, Jesus freaks, science geeks, city slickers, rednecks, foodies, outsiders, and ever lawyers."
Sweet Boutique below is known for their chocolate covered cookie dough. I sampled a small bite of this (the confections are about the size and shape of a pencil eraser after you pull it out of that metal part which I just looked up the name of and found out it is called a "ferrule" and I hope you find that information useful) and a chocolate covered gummy bear.
Another one of my drivers told me that Tulsa is going to be a happening spot in five or ten years, but I think it's happening now. If the above isn't any proof, here is this final gem: the Tulsa court house and post office plays recordings of birds of prey to scare creatures away.
