Free for all

The best things in life (and in Tulsa) don't cost a dime. We present 100+ cost-free things to see and do in Tulsa from now until the beginning of summer.

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MAY

May 1 // Go to a Tulsa City Council Meeting. They’re open to the public, and each Tulsa citizen is encouraged to attend. Items to be discussed are posted with the City Clerk at least 48 hours ahead of time; agendas are also available at the Council Office or on the Council website. (The meetings are televised, too, on Cox Digital Cable channel 24). More, plus a list of when to expect committee meetings, at tulsacouncil.org.

May 2 // The German-American Society of Tulsa welcomes the community every year to its Germanfest event, held on the lawn and in the GAST Center building at 1429 Terrace Drive. Live, authentic German entertainment from the GAST choir, folk dancers, polka music, kids’ activities, and Blaskapelle is free for the taking, and so is the ceremony at which GAST’s official Maikönigin (May Queen) is crowned. May 2-3, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; May 4, noon-5 p.m. More at gastulsa.org.

May 3 // Remember the zine? The form, known for its appropriated imagery, original artwork, and provocative text, has enjoyed resurgence as of late. AHHA wants to help you get your hands dirty with its free and open-to-the-public workshop (tailored especially for high school and college students, though all ages are welcome) at which Maggie Lyn Young and Violet Rush – makers of the Tulsa-based “SHE GOD” zine, will discuss what and why is a zine, the origins of the form and its history, and its cultural relevance then and now. Maggie and Violet will provide a “how to” zine for students to take home. Noon-3 p.m. at AHHA, 101 E. Archer St. Later, head to Guthrie Green to celebrate the first birthday of the Woody Guthrie Center with a free concert from John Fullbright (5:30 p.m.) and Jimmy Webb (7 p.m.).

May 4 // When no area of Tulsa is neglected, the entire city benefits. That’s the motto you’ll hear at Street CReD, an free, annual event by the Urbanist Crew of Tulsa Young Professionals that showcases the potential of what revitalization of some of our city’s historic-but-neglected neighborhoods can do. Each year, TYPros selects a different area of the city to revitalize, even if it’s just for a few hours; this year, it’s south downtown, which the group believes that, if it could be a walkable, bikable community full of entrepreneurs, it would strengthen the city’s urban core for the benefit of all. Don’t miss the design challenge that asks participants to reimagine a parking lot at the southeast corner of 10th and Boston. 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

May 5 // What goes better with chips, salsa, and margaritas than poetry? Booksmart Tulsa hosts its free Poetry Night, featuring Tulsan and poet Nicole Callihan, M.F.A. in poetry holder Lorraine Doran,  and James Tolan, whose poems have appeared in the American Literary Review and Ploughshares. Lucky’s on the Green, 7 p.m.

May 6 // Admission is free at Gilcrease Museum for TU Tuesday, the first Tuesday of each month.

May 7 // New issue of The Tulsa Voice! Read it under the Meadow Gold sign, one of many of our city’s treasured historic neon signs along our 24 miles of Route 66, back from the dead at 11th and Lewis.

May 8 // Oklahoma author Molly Wizenberg (she’s the creator of the blog Orangette, declared the best food blog in the world by The London Times, and author of “A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table”) returns to Tulsa for an evening of pizza and to chat about her new memoir, “Delancey,” in which she recounts how opening a pizza restaurant sparked the first crisis of her young marriage. 7 p.m., at FIFTEENTH AND HOME.

May 9 // Weather in Tulsa this time of year is delicious, arguably best enjoyed on the disc-golf course. Find our favorite ones at Chandler, McClure, Haikey Creek, Hunter, and Reed Parks.

May 10 // Nearly a dozen local music groups have collaborated to bring a new neighborhood festival to Tulsa: it’s called Savor the Sounds, and it’s a two-day food and music event complete with over 40 live-performance acts spread across downtown’s Brady Arts District. Too chicken? Head east to Broken Arrow for the Rooster Days Festival, which claims to be the state’s longest continuously running fair, complete with all the trimmings of a traditional, small-town festival, including a Miss Chick pageant. Dates are May 9-11.

May 11 // There’s nothing more free than the wind. Invite it to play at the Tulsa Wind Riders Kite Club 21st Annual Festival of Kites, a free event held May 10-11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at 43rd and Garnett, the unassuming, multi-purpose field that was once home to the 1995 American Kitefliers Association National Convention. Kite buggy and fighter kite demonstrations are part of the deal, and your own kites are included in the showcase. Hungry? Head to the Tabouleh Festival in Bristow, just south a bit on Route 66 from Sapulpa, where both of Oklahoma’s tabouleh factories are open for tours.

May 12 // Ever wonder about all those horse shows that go in and out of Expo Square – who goes to them, and what happens inside? Satisfy your curiosity at Breeder’s Invitational, a traditional ranch, roping, and riding competition, complete with an open-derby event, starting daily at 8 a.m. May 10-24. It’s all free and open to the public – as are many of the agricultural and livestock events at Expo Square.

May 13 // A whole herd of flowers. Take a stroll through the Tulsa Municipal Rose Garden at Woodward Park, a riot of blooms this time of year. Admission to the garden, like each and every whiff, is free.

May 14 // Call (918) 549-7323 (or text 66746 or email askus@tulsalibrary.org) and feel free to wonder. Librarians in Tulsa Library’s research department are standing by for your burning questions, ready and waiting to satisfy your every (well, almost every) curiosity. So, ask away. Bonus points for asking from the Center of the Universe, the sonic phenomenon on downtown Tulsa’s Boston Avenue bridge that’ll broadcast your quandary in surround sound free of charge.

May 15 // Not only is it free to join in our city’s largest annual tribute to art and music, but there are more free things to do once you get to Tulsa International Mayfest than you can count on two hands. Just a few: the more than 100 artists on display both indoors and out; the Kidzone on the Centennial Green Park; and free live music on multiple stages and street corners. Hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

May 16 // While downtown for Tulsa’s biggest arts weekend of the year, don’t miss the Scissortail Street Competition, a celebration of street art, live music, DJ battles, and action sports, free and open to the public both Friday and Saturday, May 16-17.

May 17 // The art party continues with Tulsa ArtCar Weekend, when various vehicles – anything from a bicycle to a 4X4 – are transformed into works of art. After a tour of our local schools and cruise strips, the ArtCars make their way to Blue Dome Arts Festival (more about that next), where a parade of Art Box Cars created by Tulsa-area students begins at 3:30 p.m. (Had quite enough of downtown? Check out the free Spring in the Square event at Utica Square, complete with face painting, a photo contest, and a flower-bed tour in Tulsa’s park-like shopping center.)

May 18 // While a throng makes its way through the art festival up the street, Blue Dome Art Festival offers a grassroots event with a bohemian feel, a party centered on 2nd and Elgin that’s complementary to all the hullaballoo on Main. Festival hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.

May 19 // Free. Pizza. Every Monday at Enso Bar, 104 S. Detroit Ave., 6-8 p.m. Need we say more?

May 20 // Tom Nissley is an eight-time champion on Jeopardy!; a former Amazon books editor; a Ph.D. in English lit. Pretty soon, he’ll be on Tulsa Time. Thanks to Booksmart Tulsa, Nissley will be on his way here for a wild night of trivia and to discuss his new book, "A Reader's Book of Days: True Tales from the Lives and Works of Writers for Every Day of the Year." Free and open to the public, as are all Booksmart Tulsa events.

May 21 // New issue of The Tulsa Voice! Read it before you head to BOK Center to see We The Ghost, a free show as part of the ONEOK Concert Series.

May 22 // Hit the road for Catoosa to visit The Blue Whale, one of northeastern Oklahoma’s most popular Route 66 roadside attractions. The gift Hugh Davis built for his wife, Zelta, back in the 70s as an anniversary gift is still open for tours, and she’s always down for photo opps.

May 23 // Grab your best (furry) friend and go for a game of catch at one of Tulsa’s dog parks. Find them at 5804 E. 91st Street – that’s Biscuit Acres at Hunter Park – and at 2279 Charles Page Boulevard, also known as Joe Station.

May 24 // The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra is back to its rockin’ ways for Tulsa Music Festival, when the group will perform a Symphonic Rock Show at Guthrie Green. On tap will be music from Scorpions, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Rush, and Boston, plus music from Adele, Elton John, Lorde, and A Great Big World. Such a feat will require the help of guest singers and musicians from all over Tulsa, including special performances from We The Ghost, Steve Liddell, and Christine Jude. All free and open to the public. More at tulsanightout.com.

May 25 // Iron Gate, at 5th St. and Cincinnati Ave., stands on the front lines of Tulsa’s fight against hunger, food insecurity, and homelessness, providing a hot meal to Tulsa’s hungry and homeless every day. On any day of the week, there are volunteer opportunities for all ages at the downtown soup kitchen and grocery pantry – all it costs is time. More at irongatetulsa.org.

May 26 // The humble beginnings of Tulsa’s art deco museum is free and open to the public in the lobby of downtown’s Philcade Building, the gilded heart of our city’s Deco District. Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m

May 27 // At The Maxx Retropub in downtown Tulsa’s Blue Dome District, it’s Free Play Tuesday, when it’s free tokens all the day long.

May 28 // Wander through the network of tunnels that connect several Tulsa buildings, parking garages, and cafes just beneath the skin of the city. Get started on your tour of these underground thoroughfares – originally conceived in the ‘20s, the current network makes it possible to walk from 5th and Boston to 1st and Main without stepping foot outside – at the parking garage adjacent to the Hyatt Hotel, at 100 E. Second St.

May 29 // It’s opening night of Summer’s Fifth Night at Utica Square, which brings a new local music act to the stage for a free concert every Thursday night during summer, 7-9 p.m. To kick off the season, it’s Mid-Life Crisis with its own brand of classic rock.

May 30 // Tour Greenwood Cultural Center and Mabel B. Little Heritage House – both on Greenwood, also known as historic Black Wall Street, the heart of the area burned to the ground by a white mob during the Tulsa Race Riot, called the worst civic disturbance in American history, which began 93 years ago on May 31 and blazed into the following day. Neither charges admission. End with a visit to the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, open daily 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at 321 N. Detroit. The park aims to shed light on the aspects of Oklahoma’s history kept in shadow, showing the black community’s role in building the state as well as serving as a memorial to what happened that dark summer day.

May 31 // Oilhouse’s Tulsa Race Riot Memorial at Guthrie Green, 7 p.m.