Some of my favorite memories growing up are from going to the great festivals in OKC. They’re a great place for families to make memories without traveling far from home. If you live in Oklahoma, you should put these great Oklahoma City festivals on your calendar!
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The Best Oklahoma City Festivals
In no particular order…
The Festival of the Arts
Every spring, Oklahoma host the Festival of the Arts, which is also known as the “rite of spring.”
Spread over six days, the people of Oklahoma come together to celebrate the culinary, performance, and visual arts. Visit the famous international food row, where delicious international and local meals await your taste buds.
Browse through the unique artwork of the city’s artists, and also enjoy the amazing entertainment and performing arts. The Festival of the Arts is usually held in April every year.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Paseo Arts Festival
The Paseo Art District is a sprawling complex that hosts multiple art galleries and studios, as well as some cafes and boutiques.
Every Memorial Day Weekend, more than 60,000 people wander through the district, looking at and buying the original work of more than 90 visual artists, more than 50 performers and musicians, as well as a wide and delicious variety of foods thanks to the food courts on 29th Street and Paseo Drive.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Chuck Wagon Festival
The Chuck Wagon Festival is hosted every Memorial Day Weekend by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
For two days, come on down and taste samples of Chuck Wagon, learn to make your own butter, listen to live music, watch reenactors of old Westerns, learn how to make a rope, and more.
Children are definitely not left out, as there will be face painters, stations where kids can play arts and craft games, dress up, and more.
This was one of my favorite festivals to attend when I was a kid. We played with our homemade ropes in the backyard for days afterward.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Deadcenter Film Festival
The deadCenter Film Festival is the largest film festival in Oklahoma. According to MovieMaker Magazine, it is one of the “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” and also one of the “Top 20 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.”
Attendants of the festival will get the chance to watch some of the newest film productions from full-length documentaries, short films, horror movies, comedies, and other films that are made within Oklahoma and around the world.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Prix de West
The Prix de West is an annual invitational art exhibit held by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
A prestigious event that typically includes more than 300 paintings and sculptures created by some of the most respected contemporary Western artists and involves a number of seminars and receptions, as well as an awards dinner.
Artwork themes vary widely, including reflective pieces, contemporary, and impressionist pieces, as well as scenes featuring landscape and wildlife.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
An Affair of the Heart
An Affair of the Heart is the largest pop-up shopping event in Oklahoma City.
First organized in 1982 and held three times a year in OKC (and twice a year in Tulsa), this event welcomes shoppers to browse the wares of over 500 people from over 20 states including independent artists, craftsmen, and more established boutiques.
Shoppers who attend the festival will find all types of beautiful handmade items like apparel and furniture, gifts to buy for friends and family, delicious food to try out, and more.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
OKC Pride
Every year, the Oklahoma City Pride Festival & Parade attracts over 70,000 members of the LGBTQIA community to celebrate in the 39th St. District.
With the number of attendants and the wide variety of activities that take place, OKC Pride is the biggest LGBTQIA celebration held in Oklahoma City throughout the year.
Attendants can either join the parade or simply watch as it winds through 39th St. District with brightly colored floats, great music, delicious street food, and so much more.
For those who are not part of the LGBTQIA community, you can come out and show your support as an ally.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Red Earth Festival
The Red Earth Festival is a yearly celebration of Native American culture that takes place every June. It is hosted by Red Earth, Inc. which is a nonprofit organization that also maintains the Red Earth Art Center, a gallery where Native American art is exhibited in Oklahoma City.
The festival runs for two days, featuring a parade and an art market. Vendor participation is strictly for Native Americans who are members of tribes officially recognized by the state and the federal government.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Plaza District Festival
The Plaza District Festival is one of the most appealing annual art events in Oklahoma City.
It celebrates the comeback of the refurbished Plaza District and features a lot of local performers, visual artists, musicians, and more.
Attended by art lovers who wish to support local artists as well as the community, participants will enjoy the music, paintings, delicious food, as well as the popular Kidapalooza, an event organized to bring a ton of educational art activities to the children of Oklahoma City.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Oklahoma Regatta Festival
The Oklahoma Regatta Festival is a three-day watersport festival that includes dragon boating, kayaking, as well as whitewater rafting.
For those who do not wish to participate in the water races, the festival offers lots of family fun including the OGE NightSprints and more relaxed attractions such as the beer gardens and the food trucks where families can eat and drink as the river sports adventures rage on.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Downtown in December
Downtown in December is a wintertime festival produced by the Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership along with Devon Energy and other organizations.
The festival features various holiday-based events that take place in the heart of the city.
Some of the winter events include outdoor ice-skating, visits with Santa for the kids, a tree lighting ceremony, snow tubing, a winter run, parties, concerts, and more.
Attendance for most of the events is free and all are invited.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Opening Night
Set right after the Christmas festivities, Opening Night is a festival for families to celebrate the coming of the new year while enjoying performances, delicious festive food, many family activities, and other attractions.
Hosted since 1987, this festival is the most popular way for OKC citizens to ring in the new year.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
Oklahoma State Fair
The Oklahoma State Fair takes place every year in the middle of September.
It is one of the largest fairs in the state, running for eleven days and attracting almost a million people.
It showcases the best of OKC’s agriculture, commerce, and culture and is one of the two State fairs hosted in Oklahoma every year.
Check the festival’s website for information on the next event.
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Stephanie Craig is a born-and-bred Oklahoma mom and travel expert who has been to over fifty countries. After traveling all over the world, Stephanie moved back to Oklahoma to explore more of her own backyard. Her favorite things to do in Oklahoma include visiting the Blue Whale of Catoosa, the Arcadia Round Barn, and the Talimena Scenic Byway.