Chalk the Walk
Join guest judges Michelle Coyne, Dusty Gilpin and Lance West at
“Chalk the Walk”
A Benefit Chalk Art Festival to Prevent Child Abuse, Neglect and Other Family Violence
Don’t miss this fun-filled, family-oriented event!
Food, music, and activities for all ages
Only $5 per family!
Judged showing of sidewalk chalk art created by artists of all ages and experience levels!
Create your own sidewalk chalk masterpiece for only $15
Saturday, June 16, 2012
(Father’s Day Weekend)
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
South Parking Lot, Bass Pro Shop, Bricktown OKC
For more information or to register as an artist, visit
www.pacok.org or call (405) 232-8226
Event proceeds benefit Parents Assistance Center whose mission is to strengthen families to prevent child abuse, neglect and other family violence.
Great City Video on NBA Finals and Parking Downtown
Guess what parking lots the city didn’t suggest in their video? 
Here’s a fun tidbit: the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is leasing this lot, along with the Santa Fe Depot, from Brewer Entertainment (with taxpayer dollars). And the deal allows the Brewers to continue operating the parking with no cap by ODOT.
Flashback: Oklahoma City ready for a boom….
City Due for Boom, Historian Says
By James Johnson
Sunday, April 26, 1992
Edition: CITY, Section: BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE, Page 01
Historically speaking, Oklahoma City may be due for another boom.
Bob Blackburn, deputy director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, says that’s what he sees in a review of Oklahoma City’s boom and bust economic cycles.
Blackburn says Oklahoma City has been enjoying a boom about every 10 years since its inception 103 years ago during the first Oklahoma land run.
“Oklahoma City’s boom and bust cycle is unique,” he said. “The Land Run of 1889 when it went from 200 people to 10,000 in one day was the biggest boom in history. And it set the pattern for Oklahoma City.
“It was followed by a depression in 1892 when the population dropped to 4,000. ” But then came the upswing in 1896 and 1897 – the city’s most active growth period – and by 1910 the population had shot up to 64,000, Blackburn said. “That would be like going to four million people today. ” Oklahoma City enjoyed a wartime boom in 1918 followed by a decline in 1920 and 1921 and then another boom in 1929 which was ruined by the stock market crash and worldwide depression.
The next boom began in 1939, as America began preparing for World War II. It lasted until the 1950s.
Blackburn says the next boom came between 1964 and 1969 followed in 1973 by another bust, marking the Arab oil embargo of that year.
The boom returned from 1978 until 1982 when the Penn Square Bank failure signaled a big economic slide, Blackburn said.
The 10-year pattern has been subject to breaks in cycle, as during the general era of prosperity of the 1950s, he said. But Blackburn noted that it has been 10 years since the last boom.
Can such predictions based on historical analysis stand up to predictions based on academic economics?
“I’m not in conflict with what he says if he’s saying we will be in for a period of better-than-average growth,” Robert C. Dauffenbach, director of the Center for Economic and Management Research at the University of Oklahoma, said in response to Blackburn’s historical analysis.
Dauffenbach said the statistics with which he deals cover a less sweeping period of state history – from the 1950s to the present – but better times do seem to be be coming, probably this summer, he said.
Dauffenbach shies from predicting a boom. “We’re more closely linked to the national economy than we’ve ever been,” he said.
“The story of the Oklahoma economy during the 1980s is the story of an economy under extreme pressure. ” The collapse of the energy market in 1982, which Dauffenbach likens to an explosion, “set Oklahoma on the path of throwing off its energy orientation and finding where the markets for Oklahoma goods are. ” Now Oklahoma’s economy no longer acts counter to national economic trends, he said.
“We were saved during the 1980s by the phenomenal rapid growth of the national economy,” Dauffenbach said.
But there was a price to pay. When the national economy declined, the Oklahoma economy went with it, he said.
Blackburn points out that boom times in Oklahoma City don’t necessarily mean boom times for all of Oklahoma, he notes.
Guthrie was founded on the same day and in the same land rush as Oklahoma City, and yet Guthrie missed the second boom in 1896, Blackburn noted.
Tulsa, which wasn’t founded by a land rush, doesn’t have the boom and bust mentality which has brought Oklahoma City greater boom cycles than cities of comparable size, he said.
Less free-wheeling than Oklahoma City, Tulsa doesn’t tend to win as big during boom periods, Blackburn said.
It also doesn’t lose as badly in declines, he noted.
The spirit of the boom mentality is characterized by the optimistic conviction that things are going to get better, he said.
Those who have it jump on the bandwagon – they’re willing to roll the dice and bet the works, Blackburn said.
He said the ingredients of boom times in Oklahoma City have been agriculture, oil, capitalization, easy credit around the country and population growth.
YEAH!
Good Morning
Another Foraging in Oklahoma Signing
Thanks for understanding my need for some time off. Now, one more moment where I hope I’m not abusing your patience…
Chef Andrew Black and I will be signing our new book, Foraging in Oklahoma, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, at Full Circle Bookstore, 50 Penn Place. Hoping some of you might drop by – it’s been a wonderful project with a dear friend who I consider to be one of our state’s top chefs. His life story is pretty incredible, and the tales he shared with me for this book of the farming and ranching families he met searching for locally produced food are a wonderful snapshot of our state. It’s as if you’re hanging out with a Jamaican Anthony Bourdain. And the recipes he created from these trips – recipes he shares at the end of each chapter – are amazing!
I’ve enjoyed writing about history and urban development – truly passions for me. This book, however, was a great opportunity to stretch my writing style (writing in someone else’s voice!) and on a topic very different from my normal specialty. I am very thankful to Chef Black for trusting me with his stories.
URGENT: You Can Help Change OKC’s National Image
Is this the image we want to leave with the national TNT audience Saturday night?
Don’t you hate all those shots of a sleepy Bricktown Canal taken eight years ago shown on TNT? You can help change everything. Here’s an alert from the Bricktown Association. I urge everyone to take time out from their day to stroll the Bricktown Canal. Devon Energy, Continental Resources, SandRidge, Sonic – here’s your chance to show your civic pride – give your employees a special break today to gather in Oklahoma’s premier urban entertainment district. This is a great step in the right direction for the association (I hope the association will consider placing a few extra patio seats on any of the empty balconies to help fill in any development gaps):
Are you all as happy as I am about the GREAT Thunder win last night?! WOW! On that note, Charles Barkley will be in Bricktown this afternoon, touring the Bricktown Canal on a Water Taxi around 1:30 p.m. I’m letting everyone know this because we would love for people to take that time to be out and about along the canal, maybe taking a walk or grabbing lunch on a patio. It’s a beautiful day and Bricktown always looks better when there is life in the streets and on the canal. We do ask that you show Mr. Barkley nothing but respect – despite anything he may have said about Oklahoma City prior to this visit, he is still a guest in our city and we should show him just how amazing this city really is!
