15 Labor Day events across Oklahoma where you can celebrate the end of summer
The unofficial end of summer is almost here, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep the Oklahoma event calendar somewhat scrambled. h With Labor Day coming up Sept. 6, the holiday weekend festivities include two big events — the Paseo Arts Festival in Oklahoma City and the Rocklahoma music and camping festival in Pryor — that normally help kick off the summer season in the Sooner State. But organizers this year opted to shift these Memorial Day staples to Labor Day in response to the pandemic. h But with COVID-19 cases surging because of the highly contagious Delta variant, a few large Labor Day favorites have been scrapped for this year. The Choctaw Nation of recently announced the cancellation of its 2021 Labor Day Festival in Tuskahoma. And several events planned for the Cherokee National Holiday in Tahlequah have been canceled, while other festivities have been moved to virtual or drive-in formats. h Plus, Tulsa’s Great Raft Race has been canceled for 2021 due to the construction of the Gilcrease Expressway extension, following last year’s cancellation in response to the pandemic. h In these uncertain times, it’s even more important to check online or call before you go and make sure your favorite event is still happening. h For those who are eager for one more summertime outing before autumn takes over, here are 15 events happening across Oklahoma during Labor Day weekend.
1. Paseo Arts Festival
When: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 4-5 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 6
Where: Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District, between NW 28 and Walker and NW 30 and Dewey
Information: thepaseo.org. Traditionally a Memorial Day weekend highlight, 44th Annual Paseo Arts Festival will feature almost 100 visiting artists, plus dozens of neighborhood artists, along with 50-plus Oklahoma entertainers, 20 food vendors and more.
Plus, the Paseo’s monthly First Friday art walk for September will be the same weekend as the festival, with activities planned from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 3.
Attendees are encouraged to follow COVID-19 safety protocols like wearing masks, frequent sanitizing or washing their hands and social distancing.
Although admission is free, the festival is the largest annual fundraiser for the Paseo Arts Association, with beverage and merchandise sales supporting the nonprofit organization’s year-round programs.
2. Cherokee National Holiday
When: Sept. 2-5
Where: Various Tahlequah venues and online
Information: https://thecherokeeholiday.com
The Cherokee National Holiday commemorates the signing of the Cherokee Nation Constitution in 1839, which reestablished the tribe’s government in Indian Territory after forced removal from the Cherokees’ original homelands in the Southeast.
Due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, tribal leaders have canceled the intertribal powwow, softball tournament, golf tournament, stickball exhibition, traditional games, car show and downtown artisan markets that are traditionally a part of the Labor Day festivities.
The Cherokee Nation will host drivein movie nights at 8 p.m. Sept. 2-4 at One Fire Field west of the Cherokee Nation W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex, and a drive-in fireworks show will light up Cherokee Springs Plaza at 8 p.m. Sept. 5.
Plus, the holiday quilt and art shows and the Miss Cherokee competition will be broadcast virtually, while video demonstrations of traditional Cherokee culture and language will be offered online.
3. Rocklahoma
When: Sept. 3-5. Gates open at 2 p.m. daily.
Where: Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds, 1421 W 450 Road, off U.S. 69 north of Pryor
Information: www.rocklahoma.com Typically a popular Memorial Day weekend bash, the 15th annual Rocklahoma will again offer three days of camping and raucous live music. This year’s lineup features more than 40 current and classic rock acts, including Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Chevelle, Halestorm, Anthrax and more.
Planned headliner Limp Bizkit has canceled its festival dates due to the pandemic, so Fred Durst and Company will not be making the trip to Rocklahoma.
The Sept. 2 pre-party feature performances from Stephen Pearcy The Voice Of Ratt, BulletBoys, Liliac and Dead Metal Society at The Roadhouse, a festival hang-out spot with food trucks and a full-service bar. Doors for The Roadhouse will open at 11 a.m. daily during the fest.
4. Henryetta Labor Day Celebration
When: Sept. 4-5
Where: Various venues in Henryetta
Information: www.facebook.com/ Henryettachamber
One of the biggest Labor Day events in the state, Henryetta Labor Day Celebration boasts festivities all over town. Activities include a parade, car and bike show, barbecue competition and the Jim Shoulders Living Legends Rodeo.
5. Jana Jae Fiddle Camp and Music Festival
When: Sept. 3-5
Where: On Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in Grove
Information: www.grandlakefestivals.com
This year’s Jana Jae Fiddle Camp and
Music Festival, hosted by the country music instrumentalist and former “Hee Haw” standout, will feature Western music standard-bearer Cowboy Jim Garling, well-known bones player Barry Patton, fiddle champion Junior Marriott and more.
The festival will offer daytime small group music instruction at the Grove Civic Center, followed by free public evening events featuring live music and downhome dinners at Snider’s Camp.
6. Rentiesville Dusk ‘til Dawn Blues Festival
When: 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sept. 3-5 Where: Rentiesville
Information: dcminnerblues.com The Rentiesville Dusk ‘til Dawn Blues Festival annually lives up to its name, with opportunities to hear the blues all night long over three days on three stages in Rentiesville, one of Oklahoma’s historically Black towns.
The event will feature 30 musical acts, including Selby Minner, Watermelon Slim and Johnny Rawls, plus children’s activities.
Temperature checks will be conducted at the gate as a COVID-19 precaution. All shows will be outdoors, with the option for social distancing.
7. Oklahoma City Dodgers
When: 7:05 p.m. Sept. 2-4, 2:05 p.m. Sept. 5, 12:05 p.m. Sept. 6 and 7:05 p.m. Sept. 7
Where: Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S Mickey Mantle Drive Information: www.okcdodgers.com What’s summer without a little baseball? Cheer on the OKC Dodgers as they take on the Albuquerque Isotopes, one of their division rivals.
8. The Blues Ball in Medicine Park
When: 7 p.m. Sept. 3 and 3 p.m. Sept. 4-5
Where: Medicine Park Town Center
Information: www.medicinepark.com
Hear Dirty Red & The Soulshakers, Cecil Gray’s Native Blues, Vibro Kings and more at The Blues Ball in the historic resort town of Medicine Park. Admission is free.
9. Beats & Bites Festival featuring Randy Houser
When: 4 p.m. Sept. 6. Gates open at 3 p.m.
Where: Riverwind Casino, 1544 State Highway 9, Norman
Information: https://www.riverwind.com/entertain/beats-and-bites
Norman’s Riverwind Casino is wrapping up the fifth year of its popular COOP Ale Works Beats & Bites Festival summer series Labor Day with country music star Randy Houser and opening act Time Machine. (Houser was originally scheduled to play the series’ first installment in June, but the event was postponed due to inclement weather.)
Beats & Bites brings local food trucks and live music to the casino’s grounds on select summer days. Admission is $5, and attendees can partake of an array of local vendors offering craft beer and summer cuisine ranging from barbecue and Greek to wine and desserts. Face painting, clothing and jewelry vendors also be onsite along with the OG&E ThunderBolt and the Goldsby Fire Department.
10. Elk City’s PRCA Rodeo of Champions
When: 8 p.m. Sept. 3-5
Where: Beutler Brothers Rodeo Arena in Elk City
Information: www.elkcityrodeo.com
A Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event, the 83rd annual Elk City Rodeo of Champions includes bull riding, barrel racing, tie-down roping, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping and saddle bronc riding.
The rodeo parade is slated for 10 a.m. Sept. 4 in downtown Elk City.
11. ‘Sherlock Holmes: The Exhibition’ and ‘ The Worst Case Scenario’ at Science Museum Oklahoma
When: Through Sept. 6
Where: Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place
Information: https://www.sciencemuseumok.org
Labor Day will be the last chance to see two big traveling exhibitions that have been entertaining folks this summer at Science Museum Oklahoma.
“Sherlock Holmes: The Exhibition” offers an encompassing interactive experience based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic fictional detective. Aspiring sleuths who want to check out this special traveling attraction will pay an additional charge beyond museum admission.
Adapted from a popular book series, “The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience” features a variety of activities designed to help people become better prepared for the worst. This exhibit is free with museum admission.
12. 90th Rooster Days in Broken Arrow
When: Sept. 2-5
Where: Central Park, 1500 S Main in Broken Arrow
Information: https://roosterdays.com
One of the oldest continually running festivals in Oklahoma, Broken Ar
row’s Rooster Days was established in 1931 and is celebrating its 90th year in 2021. The event usually takes place in May but has shifted this year to Labor Day weekend.
The festivities include live entertainment, a parade, carnival, wine garden, marketplace and more. Admission is free.
13. VIBES in downtown Edmond
When: 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 2
Where: Downtown Edmond Information: EdmondFineArts.com Get an early start on your holiday weekend at Edmond Fine Arts Institute’s monthly open-air art walk, VIBES. More than 40 visual artists will be set up throughout downtown Edmond, showing and selling their work in 36 businesses, including 18 restaurants, that stay open late and offer specials.
Organized on the first Thursday of each month, the September installment of VIBES will feature local plein air artists painting outdoors, allowing attendees to observe their techniques and ask questions.
Performers from NrityaArpan Dance School will be dancing from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the driveaway of the Citizens Bank ATM. Other entertainers planned for this month’s VIBES included local guitarist Edgar Cruz, who will be at the corner of First and Broadway in front of Citizens Bank; blues-rockers The Bottom of the Barrel Band at Hurd and
Broadway; and violinist Joseph Messick at Main and Broadway.
14. Soul Music Festival
When: Sept. 2-6
Where: 10301 NE 23 in Oklahoma City
Information: https://www.soulmusicfestival.org
The Oklahoma Black Music Commission is presenting the inaugural Soul Music Festival, which will include live music, food trucks, camping and more.
Part of the festival, the first Independent Soul Music Awards will honor Lonzo Williams, Kurtis Blow and local legend Jahruba Sept. 8 at the Auditorium at Douglass.
15. Rock the Route in Yukon
When: 6 to 11 p.m. Sept. 2
Where: Along Main Street in Yukon
Information: www.yukonok.gov/RocktheRoute
Another way to get a jump on the holiday weekend: Check out the return of downtown Yukon’s Rock the Route festival, featuring live music from Texas country star Kevin Fowler and Oklahoma band Cross Rags and Young.
The festivities will include food trucks, face painting, a rock-climbing wall, face painting and more. Plus, some businesses will stay open later than usual and offer special sales.