Oklahoma Folklife Festival
June 21, 2008
Hours 10:00AM - 4:00PM
Oklahoma History Center
Free Admission to the Oklahoma History Center and Museum
Contact: Rodger Harris
405-522-5207
rharris@okhistory.org
Click here to View Festival Poster
The Oklahoma Folklife Festival will host music, dance, crafts, and other Oklahoma traditions. Crafts will include Mexican paper flower making, piņata making, and more. American Indian crafts will include basket making, stickball stick making, corn husk dolls, and the making of Dream Catchers. Traditional European-American crafts will include lace making and woodcarving. This year's poster uses Dorothy Sullivan's dancing turtles and accounts for this year's title, "Dance On Down to the Oklahoma Folklife Festival."
Dancing traditions will include Norahua, a local group that proudly performs traditional dances from many parts of Mexico. Jean Hill's School of Irish Dancers will demonstrate the contest dancing traditions that originated in Ireland. The Northern Plains Indian Club of Pawnee will demonstrate various dances common at Oklahoma's most lively tradition, the Pow Wow. Asian traditions celebrate new beginings with Lion Dancers. This ancient tradition is loud, funny, and wonderfully colorful.
Mariachi Orgullo will celebrate the day with music and song from Mexico while the Norman Flute Circle will present the Plains Indian Flute music. The Pendleton Family Fiddlers will play traditional, Western Swing, and cowboy music that features twin fiddling by two sisters and an all-family band. Truly sacred music will also be presented by a Muscogee (Creek) Church from eastern Oklahoma. Marty Tipton, AKA The Oklahoma Kid, will present Oklahoma's cow-culture traditions with the spin of a trick roper. One of Oklahoma's favorite storytellers, DWe Williams, will spin a story or two and be the MC for the day. A video documentary of Oklahoma folklife will play several times during the day and it features the talents, or lack of them, of Sky Shivers, the official cowboy goat roper of Lincoln County, Oklahoma.
The event is sponsored by the Oklahoma Folklife Council, The Oklahoma Humanities Council, The Oklahoma Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts Folklife Programs, and our host, the Oklahoma History Center. For more information please call Rodger Harris at 405/522-5207 rharris@okhistory.org.
Schedule
Festival Kick-Off Events - Friday, June 20
Dome Dance Demos - 5:30pm to 7pm, at the historic Gold Dome at NW 23rd and Classen Blvd.
Blue Grass on Red Dirt - 8pm to midnight at Sauced in the Paseo.
Oklahoma Folklife Festival - Saturday, June 21
The Devon Great Hall
DWe Williams, storytelling / host (10-4)
10:00-10:50 Norman Flute Circle
11:00-11:50 Mariachi Orgullo
12:00-12:45 Northern Plains Indian Club
1:00-1:50 Jean Hills School of Irish Dance
2:00-2:50 Pendleton Family Fiddlers Twin Fiddling Sisters
3:00-3:50 Norahua, Folklorico, Traditional Dancing of Mexico
In The Chesapeake Event Center
10:30 Showing of "Old Ways" folklife video
11:00 Showing of "Old Ways" folklife video
1:45 - 2:30 PM Muscogee (Creek) Hymn singing,
Muscogee (Creek) Hymn Workshop
3:00 Showing of "Old Ways" folklife video
Craft Demonstrators - Outdoor Fountain
Victor Wildcat (Cherokee/Creek) Basket Making (10-4)
Matt Wilson Stickball Stick Making (10-4)
Craft Demonstrators - Atrium
Matt Settlemeyer (Creek) Dreamcatchers (10-4)
Tracy Pepiakitah Settlemeyer ( Kickapoo) Cornhusk Dolls (10-4)
Feather Smith - Clay Bead Necklaces clay bead necklaces. (10-4)
Oklahoma Native American Basket Weavers Association (10-4)
Mexican Traditions - Piņata Making and Paper Flower Making (10-4)
Scott Roberts Muscogee (Creek) Coil Potter (10-4)
Deborah Beever European styled lace making (10-4)
Roaming the History Center Marty Tipton, The Oklahoma Kid 11:00-1:30
