Weekly Events Calendar: May 19-25, 2025

Each week, Oklahoma Today staffers comb through their calendars to find a handful of great events happening across the state. Get out! See Oklahoma! And be sure to let us know what you find, either here or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @oklahomatoday.

We see your future, and it’s got disco balls, teddy bears, and plenty of wonder. Factory Obscura’s Future of Sound Sessions returns to Automobile Alley, where local musicians and artists blur the line between concert and creative experiment. Catch Bucktooth’s noise rock and Nataly Perez’s stand-up at 8:30 p.m., then Compost Adjacent’s folk rock with Liz Dueck’s live painting at 9:25 p.m. Show tickets and Mix-Tape admission are separate, but bundling saves five bucks and includes the interactive art exhibit for the full Mix Tape effect. All ages welcome . . . curiosity encouraged.
May 23. Tickets, $15-$17. factoryobscura.com

Each Memorial Day weekend, Boley, Oklahoma, saddles up for something special. The Boley Rodeo, the oldest African-American rodeo in the nation, has been kicking up dust since 1903. This open rodeo honors the town’s deep legacy as one of many all-black communities founded after slavery, while roping in new generations for bronc-bustin’, barrel-racin’, and bull-ridin’ thrills, plus crowd favorites like mutton bustin’ and the pony express. Outside the arena, horsepower takes a different meaning at the car show, while the annual parade and all-ages entertainment make a full day of experiencing Boley, Oklahoma at full gallop.
May 24. Tickets, $20. thetownofboley.org

The community of Boley is home to the oldest historically black rodeo in the country, and all are invited to the festivities of the Boley Rodeo this Saturday. Photo courtesy Project 2020 Foundation

History lovers and cake enthusiasts, mark your calendars for a once-in-150-years birthday party. The Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library in Guthrie are hosting Cake with Kate: Kate Barnard’s 150th Anniversary Celebration. Enjoy a slice of cake and honor Barnard, the first woman elected to statewide office in Oklahoma back in 1907, before women could even vote. She championed child labor laws, compulsory education, and prison reform, helping create a juvenile justice system and a three-tier state prison. It’s a rare chance to celebrate a key figure in Oklahoma history . . . with icing on top.
May 24. Tickets, free. okhistory.org

Celebrate the 150th birthday of Kate Barnard, the state's first women elected to a statewide office, the way any good birthday is celebrated: with dessert. The Cake with Kate anniversary celebration is this Saturday at the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library in Guthrie. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society

Saddle up for the Chuck Wagon Festival at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The chuck wagon, the cattle trail’s “mobile kitchen” and social hub, was sacred to cowboys who didn’t dare upset the cook. Sample classics like biscuits and stew, and good ole Dutch oven cookin’, while enjoying leather stamping, rope making, fiddling, Seminole stories, Native regalia lessons, a petting zoo, live music from Oklahoma Opry, and sarsaparilla for the full cowboy experience. Family fun and museum access are included. No wagon needed, but feel free to dust off those old cowboy boots!
May 24-25. Tickets, $25-$30. nationalcowboymuseum.org

One of Oklahoma’s largest and most beloved art parties returns as the Paseo Arts Festival takes over the colorful and historic Paseo Arts District in Oklahoma City. With more than ninety artists slinging everything from sculpture to spin art, this three-day celebration is a stroll-through gallery of paintings, photography, jewelry, ceramics, and woodworks. Live music fills two stages sith singer-songwriters and folk acts up north and dancers, spoken word performers, and returning favorites down south . . . because not all art hangs on walls. Bring the kids, explore the local galleries and shops, and grab a bite of either artisan eats or classic festival fries for Memorial Day Weekend.
May 24-26. Admission, free.
thepaseo.org

One of Oklahoma City's favorite Memorial Day weekend traditions, the Paseo Arts Festival, returns once again with sights, sounds, and delicious eats under May skies. Photo by Lori Duckworth

Written By

Zoe Elrod