With two festivals and a major marathon, the Oklahoma City metro stays busy this weekend. Here are some things you may not want to miss.
The Norman Music Festival takes over downtown Main Street Thursday through Saturday. Thousands of people and over 300 bands flood the stages to deliver a free, family-friendly event. Steven White, co-chairman of the festival, says this year’s headliners like The Joy Formidable and JD McPherson are doing “incredible” things across the country.
The outdoor series of performances begins Thursday and Friday at 6:00 p.m. with film screenings, comedians, and several musical performances. The shows on Saturday start at noon and continue past midnight.
Oklahoma City also draws tourists this week with its Festival of the Arts. The annual event has taken place since 1967, and it brings culinary, visual, and performing arts to the Myriad Gardens area in downtown Oklahoma City. Tents line the streets to provide visitors a chance to explore everything the town offers. A Young-at-Art Mart even provides budding artists under age 12 to sell their works to art collectors (each piece affordably priced between 50 cents and $5).
And runners from across the country flock to Oklahoma City for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday. This run commemorates the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The event hosts nearly 23,000 runners and walkers from across the world. Marathon participants are asked to wear long, red socks in honor of the Bostonians. A health and fitness expo takes place in the Cox Convention Center on Friday from noon to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
A number of theatre performances occurs this weekend as well.
The Civic Center Music Hall brings West Side Story April 23 – 28. The Romeo and Juliet-inspired tale follows two New York City gangs in a blue-collar neighborhood. Show times vary.
The University of Central Oklahoma’s School of Music presents Dido and Aeneas April 25 – 28 at the university’s Mitchell Hall Theatre. This English-opera follows Dido, the Queen of Carthage, through her unrequited love for Trojan hero Aeneas.
The University of Oklahoma Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre and University Theatre debut their version of On the Town on April 26. The 1944 Broadway musical features pieces by Leonard Bernstein. Performances continue through May 5.
For more events in your area, visit our calendar page.
