Mayfest 2017!
Yippee...a travel blog! \(^_^)/ Wes and I recently went to Tulsa, OK for their annual Mayfest and Blue Dome festivals. I thought it was a little weird that the city would hold two large outdoor arts festivals on the same weekend only blocks away from each other, but it made for a good mini-vacation so I can't complain. We completely disregarded the weather and drove to Tulsa in the middle of a thunderstorm. The drive was stressful but the lightning show was spectacular. (I wish I could have taken some photos or video!) We arrived mid-evening Friday, navigated through the scary parking garage of the downtown Holiday Inn, grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel's restaurant and hit the hay. An event filled day was ahead of us tomorrow!
The awful parking garage; the ceiling was held up by buckling wooden support beams and there were no arrows directing traffic.
Our first stop Saturday was Mayfest. We got there a little after the festival started so we beat the afternoon crowds. It was nice getting to stop by all of the booths, view the artwork and talk to the artists before they got too busy. I thought Mayfest had a nice variety of art mediums. There were oil paintings and glass sculptures, as to be expected, but there was also a nice mix of clocks & toys, antique jewelry and paper crafts thrown in. I liked how there was both fine art and more purchasable artwork. I preferred Mayfest to both the Blue Dome festival and the Festival of the Arts in Oklahoma City.
Highlights from Mayfest were this clipboard that I purchased (top left picture). Artist, Jeff Duerksen, creates and cuts paper silhouettes. He spray painted some onto clipboards; there were many fantastical designs to choose from and I ultimately chose a mermaid walking her pet octopus. Jeff's booth was a fortress. He had it specially designed with an office-like space in the back for him and his wife, an awning over the front and very sturdy support beams. I also noticed many booths with literal weights holding them down (bottom picture). I think that is a much safer idea than using water jugs or sand bags. I love talking to other artists who are seasoned show experts. They're always really friendly, supportive and full of good advice. We also got to participate in a artists' contest (top right picture). Four artists were allotted an hour to paint a common theme picture--something incorporating Tulsa and Mayfest--and the audience participated by casting votes for their favorite painting.
Blue Dome Festival 2017!
After a quick break, we headed to the Blue Dome Festival. The first thing we saw was a car show with whimsically decorated vehicles. My favorite was a life-size replica of a wooden toy car (top right picture). The rest of the festival wasn't anything to swoon over. My favorite part of it was the dog area. There was a section of AstroTurf (mimicking a mini dog park), local pet rescues and booths hosting spay & neuter programs and passing out flyers. There was even a food truck for dogs (selling mostly treats). We should have brought Sadie & Athena! The Blue Dome Festival was more like a craft show/vendor event than an arts festival. There were way too many similar vendors (mostly clothing/t-shirts, every other booth was jewelry and there was some wooden home decor sprinkled in the mix). It had mostly crafty and boutique items and was geared toward a younger hipper crowd. I don't have a problem with that since I own a small business that makes its living off craft shows and vendor events but I didn't find the vendors to be all that great. I saw a few things that I might have purchased but nothing that I couldn't live without. In my opinion, I think Wanderlust Pop-up Shops and the Indie Trunk Show in Oklahoma City host much more talented vendors.
Because I love to eat, we have to include a paragraph about food. Before we went to the Blue Dome Festival, we stopped at Hurts Donuts for lunch... yes, donuts for lunch! They were ginormous donuts! After the festival, we went to Seoul Bistro for dinner. It was a very authentic Korean restaurant. We were among the few non-Korean patrons. I'm not a fan of Korean cuisine but Wes is and he said the food was very very good. After dinner, we headed back to Mayfest and saw a few local bands. I also got a chocolate dipped cheesecake for dessert (I warned you that this paragraph would be all about food!) I enjoyed the convenience of both of the festivals being held in downtown Tulsa (and walking distance from our hotel). It made our time manageable and we were able to experience both festivals in one day. It was also great that both festivals were dog friendly. I saw so many adorable pups! After going to both festivals, I can understand why they were hosted on the same weekend. They were different enough that the same crowd would not likely visit both events. And if you did visit both events, you would have completely different experiences at each one. One art filled day down, another one to come on Sunday! (As a preview, here are my three favorite things about the Philbrook Museum of Art.)
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