Bless This Fest

Oklahoma City’s Festival of the Arts is back at Bicentennial Park, and locals know what that means: It’s going to rain. Along with April showers, the festival also brings a bevy of food, entertainment, and—as you might have guessed—art. From April 25 through 28, more than 4,000 volunteers will execute the city’s largest annual art gathering featuring 144 artists and twenty-two food vendors.

Visitors probably will notice a few changes this year. The festival is now four days instead of six, and it is cashless. Only card payments will be accepted for purchases, but rare humans among us who only carry cash: fear not, there will be kiosks onsite that transfer cash into cards. Also, kids will have more activities to participate in with an expanded children’s area that includes face painting, pottery, and plenty more.

A tradition in Oklahoma City since 1967, the Festival of the Arts features an expanded children's area this year, making the event even more fun for all ages. Photo courtesy Arts Council Oklahoma City

From paintings, photography, and sculpture to jewelry, glass, and fiber arts, there will be a wide array of mediums and subjects to explore among the artist offerings. Of the 144 total artists, forty-three Oklahomans will display their work in this year’s marketplace, including Dorshak Blok, Tim Kenney, Kris Fairchild, Madeline Dillner, and J. Bryon Test.

While many of us cannot afford to invest much income into art purchases, we can afford to stuff our faces when the eatin’s good. International Food Row is the festival’s Great Equalizer, where art collectors and Dippin’ Dots enthusiasts stand side-by-side grasping sticks of deep-fried whatever. Last year’s Best in Show winner Lucky Lucky Dumpling Co. is back with its beloved Gochujang Korean fried chicken and other treats like dumplings, egg rolls, and roasted pumpkin seed tempura-fried bananas with brown sugar and caramel sauce. Big Biang Theory also will be back with its signature hand-pulled biang biang noodles—a traditional Chinese wheat flour noodle— topped with Goku steak, chicken, or veggies. Cutie Pies will be serving up its unique and legitimately addictive watermelon cream pie, plus other flavors like animal cracker, caramel apple, banana cheesecake, brownie, peanut butter chocolate chip, and savory taco. Other offerings include seafood, Cajun, African, Indian, Mexican, tamales, Indian tacos, gyros, Strawberries Newport, barbecue, frozen treats, foods on sticks, and, of course, Dippin Dots.

Rain or shine, the Festival of the Arts stands out as one of the favorite Oklahoma City food events of the year. Photo courtesy Arts Council Oklahoma City

Along with purchasing and eating, visitors can catch music and dance performances from three stages.

To check out the full lineup of artists, performers, and food vendors, head to artscouncilokc.com/festival-of-the-arts. You can also follow Arts Council Oklahoma City on social media for updates.

Written By

Megan Rossman

Megan Rossman is Oklahoma Today's photography editor.