Events for May 1, 2022 - May 27, 2022
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May 2022
Will to Win (2020) presentation by Jim Stovall
On Tuesday, May 3, from 7 to 8 p.m., award-winning author Jim Stovall will be discussing his latest book Will to Win and the efforts to bring it to the big screen. Stovall will be joined on stage with Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry, the great-granddaughter of Will Rogers. "Will to Win" is a part of the Homecoming Historical Series and features a tale of humor and perspective from Will Rogers High School. Stovall is an Oklahoma author whose novel The Ultimate Gift (2001)…
Find out more »Oklahoma National History Day contest
Oklahoma National History Day is more than an academic exercise for thousands of Oklahoma junior high and high school students; it is a tradition. On Wednesday, May 4, and Thursday, May 5, more than 200 6th through 12th grade students will present their exhibits, documentaries, performances, websites and papers at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City for the opportunity to advance to the National History Day® contest held each summer. Due to the size of the event, there will…
Find out more »Oklahoma National History Day contest
Oklahoma National History Day is more than an academic exercise for thousands of Oklahoma junior high and high school students; it is a tradition. On Wednesday, May 4, and Thursday, May 5, more than 200 6th through 12th grade students will present their exhibits, documentaries, performances, websites and papers at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City for the opportunity to advance to the National History Day® contest held each summer. Due to the size of the event, there will…
Find out more »Museum After Dark: Gaslight Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest
In May, the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will host five special performances in partnership with the Gaslight Theatre of Enid. Players will perform an adaption of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest using all of the buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village as their stage. Performances will be held on May 6, 7, 8, 13, and 14, 2022. Purchase tickets The Gaslight Theatre of Enid, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 under its original name of Enid Community Theatre. It…
Find out more »Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit closes
The Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition Crossroads: Change in Rural America will be on display at the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum until May 7, 2022 in the historic Big Barn of the property. Americans come together at the crossroads. They invest in places and build their futures where their paths cross. Small towns became centers of commerce, trade, local politics, and culture. For some, the crossroads affirmed a new life in a new place. For others,…
Find out more »Museum After Dark: Gaslight Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest
In May, the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will host five special performances in partnership with the Gaslight Theatre of Enid. Players will perform an adaption of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest using all of the buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village as their stage. Performances will be held on May 6, 7, 8, 13, and 14, 2022. Purchase tickets The Gaslight Theatre of Enid, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 under its original name of Enid Community Theatre. It…
Find out more »Birthday Bash and Archaeology Day
Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center will be having a Birthday Bash and Archaeology Day to celebrate the opening of the Spiro Mounds on Saturday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site will celebrate its 44th year of increasing awareness of Oklahoma archaeology on this free public day with no entrance fees, although donations are gratefully accepted. All day during the celebration birthday cake will be served. Along with the birthday celebration, demonstrations of flintknapping (stone tool making), lectures,…
Find out more »Blacksmithing and Wheel Setting Demonstrations with Tom Nelson
Visit the Cherokee Strip Museum in Perry on May 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a special blacksmithing demonstration in the art of wheel setting. In addition to activities held in the blacksmith shop, the museum's resident blacksmith, Tom Nelson, will be demonstrating the advanced art of setting of a wagon wheel and a buggy wheel. The wheel-setting demonstrations will be held at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The wheelwright's craft goes back thousands of years, and was…
Find out more »“Fleece to Fabric” Sheep-Shearing Event
Hunter’s Home in Park Hill will host the "Fleece to Fabric" sheep-shearing event on Saturday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors can observe the Hunter’s Home staff as they shear the site’s flock of heritage Merino sheep from 10 a.m. to noon. Other wool fiber arts activities like dyeing, spinning and the various techniques of processing wool also will be demonstrated throughout the day until 4:30 p.m. Hunter's Home is the only remaining antebellum plantation mansion in…
Find out more »Milliner (hat-making) class
Learn the history of Edwardian milliners and create your own hat in the Oklahoma History Center’s Milliner class on Saturday, May 7, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This class is recommended for ages twelve and up. Space is limited! Registration is $50 for OHS members and $70 for nonmembers; all supplies are included. Coffee and water will be provided. Participants should bring their own lunch. Register online Milliner class at the Oklahoma Historical Society. Photo by The Oklahoman.
Find out more »History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip
Step back in time and experience life in the Cherokee Outlet during History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center (CSRHC) in Enid. On the first and third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the historic buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village at CSRHC come alive with historical interpreters tending their shops and working their trades. There will be many new things to learn and experience. You can even file a…
Find out more »Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry exhibit closes
On Saturday, March 26, the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will have the exhibit Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry on display until Sunday, May 8, 2022.
The traveling exhibition features twenty colorful, illustrated panels about the Plains area before, during, and after the Dust Bowl occurred. The exhibit will use images and quotations from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, memories of the Dust Bowl from oral histories and writing, and recent scholarly analysis. QR codes on the panels lead to selections from the OSU oral histories, the writings of Caroline Henderson, and other primary sources.
Find out more »Museum After Dark: Gaslight Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest
In May, the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will host five special performances in partnership with the Gaslight Theatre of Enid. Players will perform an adaption of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest using all of the buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village as their stage. Performances will be held on May 6, 7, 8, 13, and 14, 2022. Purchase tickets The Gaslight Theatre of Enid, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 under its original name of Enid Community Theatre. It…
Find out more »Section 106: National Historic Preservation Act virtual workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a Section 106 virtual workshop series from May 9 to May 12. All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act provides that Federal agencies must consider the effect of their undertakings on archeological and historic properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Section 106 workshop series is designed for preservation professionals, government agency representatives, and concerned…
Find out more »Section 106: the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey virtual workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a Section 106 virtual workshop series from May 9 to May 12. All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act provides that Federal agencies must consider the effect of their undertakings on archeological and historic properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Section 106 workshop series is designed for preservation professionals, government agency representatives, and concerned…
Find out more »Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission meeting
The meeting of the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission will be held on Tuesday, May 10 at 2:15 p.m. Agendas will be posted at www.okhistory.org/commission twenty-four hours before the meeting. Unless otherwise indicated, meetings will be held in the Dr. LeRoy H. Fischer Boardroom at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, 73105.
Find out more »Section 106: Archaeological Documentation in Oklahoma virtual workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a Section 106 virtual workshop series from May 9 to May 12. All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act provides that Federal agencies must consider the effect of their undertakings on archeological and historic properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Section 106 workshop series is designed for preservation professionals, government agency representatives, and concerned…
Find out more »Section 106: Tribal Consultation virtual workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a Section 106 virtual workshop series from May 9 to May 12. All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act provides that Federal agencies must consider the effect of their undertakings on archeological and historic properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Section 106 workshop series is designed for preservation professionals, government agency representatives, and concerned…
Find out more »Museum After Dark: Gaslight Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest
In May, the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will host five special performances in partnership with the Gaslight Theatre of Enid. Players will perform an adaption of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest using all of the buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village as their stage. Performances will be held on May 6, 7, 8, 13, and 14, 2022. Purchase tickets The Gaslight Theatre of Enid, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 under its original name of Enid Community Theatre. It…
Find out more »Museum After Dark: Gaslight Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest
In May, the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will host five special performances in partnership with the Gaslight Theatre of Enid. Players will perform an adaption of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest using all of the buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village as their stage. Performances will be held on May 6, 7, 8, 13, and 14, 2022. Purchase tickets The Gaslight Theatre of Enid, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 under its original name of Enid Community Theatre. It…
Find out more »Quilting workshop with Martha Ray
Visit the Sod House Museum southeast of Aline for a quilting workshop on Saturday. The workshop will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. with instructor Martha Ray, and the cost is $5 per person. For more information, please contact Director Renee Trindle at 580-463-2441 or sodhouse@history.ok.gov.
Find out more »Second Saturday Demo: Herb Gardening
Fort Towson Historic Site will host the next program in its Second Saturday Demo series to teach about the practice of growing an herb garden on Saturday, May 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. This program will be led by master gardeners Jean Maninger and Billie Paskin. Fort Towson had three main gardens from 1824 to 1854: the hospital garden, the officers’ garden, and the company garden. Growing herbs and fresh vegetables at the fort provided soldiers with important vitamins and…
Find out more »Becoming Fearless exhibit opens
On Monday, May 16, a new photography exhibit, Becoming Fearless is opening in the Chesapeake Event Center and Gallery at the Oklahoma History Center.
Becoming Fearless explores 70 years of firefighting in Oklahoma. 25 black and white images trace the evolution of the profession from the early days of acrobatics, antics, and volunteerism in the 1900s, to the sophisticated fire safety systems in place today. Photographs from the early days of firefighting often depicted feats of agility—along with a bit of humor. Some of the images are great examples of the firehouses, equipment, and uniforms from across the state. Guthrie established their fire department in 1889, the same year as Oklahoma City. Tulsa followed in 1900, Enid in 1902, and Edmond in 1903. Most started with volunteers only, as is still the case in some rural areas today. Horse-drawn fire equipment was common from 1889, when the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OCFD) was originally established, until 1910 when the first motorized firefighting vehicle was introduced.
Find out more »OU and OAS Summer Archaeological Research begins
On May 16, 2022, students and faculty of the University of Oklahoma and staff of the Oklahoma Archeological Survey began a month of excavations at Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center. Visitors are welcome to observe the research and ask questions at this unique learning experience until June 17. Under the direction of Dr. Scott Hammerstedt, Dr. Amanda Regnier and Dr. Patrick Livingood, students will be excavating areas of interest from recent remote sensing projects. This is the first excavation at the…
Find out more »Working with the National Register of Historic Places workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a two-session workshop series on May 16 and 17. Both sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.
The National Register of Historic Places is the foundation of the SHPO's programs, and a basic understanding of the register is essential for those involved in historic preservation at all levels of government and in the private sector. The workshop provides detailed information about the National Register criteria, what listing means, the rights of property owners in the nomination process, tips for preparing successful nominations, and much more.
Find out more »Working with the National Register of Historic Places workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a two-session workshop series on May 16 and 17. Both sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.
The National Register of Historic Places is the foundation of the SHPO's programs, and a basic understanding of the register is essential for those involved in historic preservation at all levels of government and in the private sector. The workshop provides detailed information about the National Register criteria, what listing means, the rights of property owners in the nomination process, tips for preparing successful nominations, and much more.
Find out more »Tax Credits for Certified Rehabilitation of Historic Structures virtual workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a virtual three-session Tax Credit workshop series from May 18 to May 20. All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.
Participants will learn about the federal and state investment tax credits for certified rehabilitation of a certified historic structure.
Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meeting
Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Agendas will be available online 24 hours prior to the meeting at www.okhistory.org/board. This meeting will be held in-person at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
Find out more »Tax Credits for Certified Rehabilitation of Historic Structures virtual workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a virtual three-session Tax Credit workshop series from May 18 to May 20. All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.
Participants will learn about the federal and state investment tax credits for certified rehabilitation of a certified historic structure.
Tax Credits for Certified Rehabilitation of Historic Structures virtual workshop
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will host a virtual three-session Tax Credit workshop series from May 18 to May 20. All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.
Participants will learn about the federal and state investment tax credits for certified rehabilitation of a certified historic structure.
“Beans to Bullets: Frontier Foodways” living history program
On May 20 and 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Fort Gibson Historic Site will host a living history program titled “Beans to Bullets: Frontier Foodways.” Soldiers, settlers, and pioneers of Oklahoma had to gather, hunt, grow, and prepare food to sustain their lives on the frontier. Visitors will see Fort Gibson’s hunting equipment and hear about various methods of food preparation, including how to make items that were easy to preserve such as salted meats and hardtack.…
Find out more »Family Album: Photographs by Pierre Tartoue exhibit opens
On Saturday, May 21, the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will open the OHS traveling exhibit Family Album: Photographs by Pierre Tartoue. Pierre Tartoue (1885–1976) was born in the harbor town of Saint-Nazaire on the western shores of France and, in his lifetime, made his way across most of the continental United States. From the late 1930s to the early 1950s he spent most of his time in Oklahoma, painting and producing photographs that bore witness to a tremendous renaissance…
Find out more »Will’s Cowboy Trader Days at the Ranch
On the third Saturday of the month from April to October, make the trip to the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch in Oologah to take part in Will's Cowboy Trader Days. See locally handcrafted and homemade items, saddles, cowboy hats, tack, boots, and a variety of work created by local artisans from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is FREE. To learn more about events and programs at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum and Birthplace Ranch, visit www.willrogers.com, contact wrinfo@willrogers.com, or call 918-341-0719.…
Find out more »“Beans to Bullets: Frontier Foodways” living history program
On May 20 and 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Fort Gibson Historic Site will host a living history program titled “Beans to Bullets: Frontier Foodways.” Soldiers, settlers, and pioneers of Oklahoma had to gather, hunt, grow, and prepare food to sustain their lives on the frontier. Visitors will see Fort Gibson’s hunting equipment and hear about various methods of food preparation, including how to make items that were easy to preserve such as salted meats and hardtack.…
Find out more »Volunteer Training Day
The Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, in partnership with Preservation Oklahoma, will host a volunteer training day on Saturday, May 21, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Have you ever wanted to give tours of a historic house museum? Maybe giving tours is not your cup of tea, but helping with maintaining the splendor of a historic home is more your speed. Or perhaps you would prefer to volunteer for events. This program will cover a number of options…
Find out more »History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip
Step back in time and experience life in the Cherokee Outlet during History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center (CSRHC) in Enid. On the first and third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the historic buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village at CSRHC come alive with historical interpreters tending their shops and working their trades. There will be many new things to learn and experience. You can even file a…
Find out more »Make and Take Workshop: Haymaker’s Punch
Join us for History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip on Saturday, May 21 for a special Make & Take Workshop! We are making switchel, or "haymaker's punch" in the historic Humphrey Heritage Village. By the 19th century, switchel was a popular drink among farmers. The beverage was often drank during hot, summer days while working out in the fields so laborers would stay hydrated and refreshed while they worked. Tickets are $20 per person and availability is limited. So, sign…
Find out more »Family Day at the Birthplace Ranch
Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch will host Family Day at the Ranch from 1 to 3 p.m. Through 19th-century hands-on activities, crafts, games, and demonstrations, visitors will get a glimpse of what life was like in the early days of the ranch during Will Rogers’s childhood! Families can also enjoy hayride tours and mini hikes at the Birthplace Ranch. Family Day at the Ranch is free and open to the public, and donations are appreciated.
Find out more »“Leather Footwear” living history program
On May 27 and 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fort Gibson Historic Site will hold a living history program to show visitors how leather footwear was made in the 19th-century. Staff members will also show examples of other leather goods that were gathered through trade at the site. This program is free with paid admission, which can be purchased at the commissary located at 907 N. Garrison Ave. or at the office located within the palisade grounds. Please…
Find out more »Movie Night featuring Field of Dreams (1989)
Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore will host a Movie Night featuring the film Field of Dreams (1989) in its theater on Friday, May 27, at 7 p.m. Prior to the movie, "Horsing Around with Will" will take place from 6 to 7 p.m., during which families can enjoy activities and crafts relating to the movie's theme. Guests can enjoy free admission, popcorn, and drinks while watching the film. Seating is limited, so early arrival is suggested. This event is…
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