Onward to Tulsa and Stillwater!

What's up everyone! Thank you for the compliments on the last post, and I'll TRY to get this written and done with earlier so please forgive the less than perfect sentences (I normally try to be a grammar perfectionist). Thanks for the concern. =)

This morning we partook of the DELICIOUS breakfast Embassy Suites in Norman has to offer. This was the first day the students wore business casual attire since Sunday evening. Then after promptly loading luggage back on the bus, we rolled on out to Tulsa - a nice two hour drive that I'm pretty sure I saw maybe 10 minutes of. See, I am getting sleep! I'm sure by this time next week I'll be seeing a photo of me sleeping pop up on Facebook. Silly kiddos.

Upon waking up - um, I mean...arriving -we drove up to this beautiful masterpiece, the Harweldon Mansion, home to the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa. We were welcomed by Ken Busby, Executive Director & CEO. Mr. Busby told us about the crucial role the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa plays in the Tulsa community, reaching more than 110,000 youths and thousands of adults each year. Check out their website for more info.

We then began an arts experience, which has never been done with the youth program. The students split into four equal groups and headed to four different areas of the mansion, where they would participate in either visual arts, dancing, acting, or drumming. Each group was led by a certain professional in their respective field, who graciously showed us the best techniques for the tasks given to the students. Each group would then present what they learned to the rest of the group. This was easily my favorite part of the day.

 Visual Arts

 Drumming

 Dancing

The artists showing off their masterpieces.

 

One of the more humorous activities was the improv acting workshop.

Check out this video of the drumming presentation!

The idea of this experience was to show the importance and appreciation of the fine arts, and that more action needs to be taken to promote the existence and welfare of fine arts in Oklahoma. Following lunch at the mansion, the group headed to the Williams Energy headquarters in downtown Tulsa.

 The One Williams Center is the tallest building in Oklahoma. Check out this view from the top floor.

 There we took a tour and saw a presentation about what Williams actually does. We even ran into YLOK Class VII graduate, Katie Fielding, who is currently interning with Williams.

I never knew that we had another company as large as Devon or Chesapeake until we toured Williams energy today. - Imad Riazuddin

 Then it was off to Stillwater to the Eskimo Joe's screen printing headquarters! There we were welcomed by Stan Clark, President and Founder of Eskimo Joe's, who told us the story of how a little boy eskimo and his dog came to be an Oklahoma icon that is now recognized worldwide. We then toured the facility and the current clothing in production.

 A half-made Eskimo Joe's t-shirt.

For dinner we headed over to the Eskimo Joe's restaurant that started the phenomenon, and we had the best cheese fries in the world as an appetizer, and some of the best food in Oklahoma for the entree. Many had been there before, but how could we go through Stillwater and not eat at "Stillwater's Jumpin Little Juke Joint"? It was a very enjoyable dinner, and the mayor of Stillwater, Nathan Bates, even dropped by to talk to tables individually.

Then it was off to the hotel, where we gave them a bit more free time than usual before curfew. Everyone had a blast in the pool and hanging out in the lobby after the pool closed.

This is where I would normally like to finish with a bit more wit and humor, but my eyelids weigh as much as the BOK Center, so I sign out wishing you a fantastic night! Tomorrow it's off to Enid then back to OKC!