Under The Canopy

April 26, 2009

The April sky is heavy and gray with rain clouds and the wind is blowing fiercely. Trees are thick and green with spring but the branches thrash wildly in the wind. The wind and the clouds mean rain will come soon. Typical for this time of year. Tornado season has begun.

It’s called the Rite of Spring in Oklahoma City. No, not tornado season! Although I wouldn’t argue with that assessment either. I’m talking about the annual Festival of the Arts! We don’t miss the Arts Fest. It’s my favorite event and a big part of what I love about downtown OKC. Football – Sooners, Cowboys, Bedlam, Red River Shootout – is what excites most people here in the state. Not Joe and me! It’s the Arts Festival we look forward to each year.

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m writing this from a table on the 2nd floor of the library in Downtown OKC, overlooking Park and Hudson Avenues. I can see the Museum of Art from where I’m sitting. Leadership Square is behind us. Downtown Oklahoma City is a community all its own. Tall grey buildings. Concrete sidewalks. The Conncourse. Denizens scurrying back and forth between buildings and cars. Government buildings, office buildings. Parking garages, parking meters. And each spring the Festival of the Arts brings new life and excitement to it all.

Probably the main draw at the Arts Fest is International Food Row. It’s always the first place we visit, as we did yesterday. 25 or so local restaurants host food booths; each booth partners with an art venue in town. The kids were each allowed to get one “real” food, and one dessert. And there’s so much to choose from! Nathan got a slice of cheese pizza from Sammy’s Pizza & Prairie Dance Theater; Jodie got smoked ribs from Brewer Entertainment & [Artspace] at Untitled; John got a gyro from PaPa’s Greek Foods and Allied Arts Foundation; Joe got a bratwurst from Made 2 Grill & OKC Zoological Park and Botanical Garden; and I got a brisket baked potato from Sweet Corn Express & Oklahoma History Center.

The place is crowded and the lines can be long. Seriously, the 6-day festival boasts 750,000 visitors in all. That’s over 100,000 on any given day, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there were 500 or more festival-goers in the food court at any given time. But the food is always worth the wait.

The day was warm and muggy, but we hardly noticed it as spring breezes filtered the air. The five of us found a shady patch of soft grass among the trees at the Botanical Gardens to sit and eat. John and Nathan, having already finished their lunches, skimmed back by the food booths in quest for funnel cakes for dessert. I kept seeing other festival-goers nibbling on fruit kabobs. Chunks of pineapple, banana, and strawberry were skewered on a stick and drizzled with chocolate sauce. They looked scrumptious! I mean really, how can you go wrong with FRUIT and CHOCOLATE, two of nature’s most delectable offerings? As soon as I finished my brisket potato I had to have one!

Hmm, ahh, um, actually, it wasn’t as good as it looked. That’s OK; you never know til ya try, right? Joe and Jodie each picked up a Strawberries Newport for their dessert. Flaky pastries are covered with a rich vanilla pudding, then topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Yum. No wonder it’s a perennial favorite.

After filling our tummies with that awesome festival food, Joe, the kids, and I walked around to look at the 100 or so art booths. Artisans from around the country proudly displayed their paintings, pottery, sculptures. Artwork of every design and genre could be found. I bought one this year, a print of a painting by Keith Andry from Baton Rouge, LA. I’ve admired his work for many years, but during most of that time I was a single mom living on a solitary income and paying off debts. I couldn’t afford to spend $50 on such a luxury as a painting or sculpture or ceramic work. Thankfully now I’m in a much better place and can appreciate and support the Arts.

Music of all tunes and tempos floated through the air as bands played on the sound stages throughout the park. We strolled around the pond at the Botanical Gardens. Once at the top, Joe and I let the kiddos join other kids in rolling down the hill back toward the pond. Down, down, down they rolled! It always seems to be the kids’ favorite part.

Meanwhile Joe and I lay in the soft, thick grass under the shade of the trees, gazing up at the blue spring sky. It was peaceful. The smells of roast brisket and deep-fried funnel cakes floated through the air. Young children giggled and yelped with playful excitement against the background of music playing on the Water Stage.

Food, art, and music, all under the canopy of springtime in Oklahoma. So much excitement, so much to see and do at the Festival of the Arts!