Allied Arts

It's that time of year again when the kids start bringing home a whole array of creative holiday arts and crafts. From hand turkeys to pumpkin paintings and everything in between, we want to see what your little artists have created!

Send us photos of these masterpieces, and we'll post some of our favorites to our blog and social media!

You can submit photos to info@alliedartsokc.com, or tag us with @alliedartsokc in photos on Twitter and Facebook.

Here are a couple of examples from some of our staff’s kids to get things started, and we can't wait to see your artistic examples of Thanksgiving creativity! Happy Thanksgiving!

Allied Arts is proud to be the beneficiary of 10% of sales at The Shoppes at Northpark for Big Night Out on September 6^th.  That's right, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm, your favorite Northpark stores and restaurants are staying open late AND giving a portion of their sales to Allied Arts.  

That same night, Catalyst is hosting an art supply drive and giving you the chance to make an even bigger impact while you shop and dine.  All you have to do is bring an art supply to donate to the classes, camps and after school programs of Allied Arts member organizations.

The first 80 people to bring supplies will receive a free ticket to Science Museum Oklahoma OR a token for a free cookie at City Bites. How fun is that?  Plus, Science Museum Oklahoma will be there live doing some crazy cool activities with kids.  You won't want to miss it!

Here's a list of the items that are needed.  Please share the list with your friends and bring a crowd with you for this exciting Big Night Out!

• Clay
• Paint
• Brushes
• Canvas panels
• Papers of all sorts
• watercolor sets
• oil pastels
• markers
• pencils
• crayons
• Cups
• Napkins
• Lemonade mix
• Cookies
• Granola bars... Any food that is packaged
• Construction paper
• Crepe paper
• Rolls of colored plastic
• Colored foam sheets
• Assorted foam stickers
• Beads
• Feathers
• Pipe cleaners
• Glue
• String
• Straws
• Sharpies
• Scissors
• Sidewalk chalk
• Poster board 
• Highlighters
• Scotch Tape
• Butcher Paper
• India Ink
• Ribbon
• Disposable camera
• Djembe drums/rhythm instruments
• Art supply caddies
• Folders

Join the Facebook event here and follow Allied Arts at @AlliedArtsOKC and The Shoppes at Northpark at @NorthparkOKC for event updates.

We've got some exciting news for our OKCityCard holders! We are thrilled to introduce our newest OKCityCard partners.  They are Closet Moxie, Firelake Bowling Center and the Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain.  Here's a little bit more about them:

Closet Moxie is a women's boutique located at The Shoppes at Northpark whose passion is helping you find your unique fashion style. You can take a peek at closetmoxie.com to see that their clothes, jewelry and accessories are fun and fashionable and will help you make a statement.  Closet Moxie is offering 10% off regularly priced merchandise to OKCityCard holders.  Give them a visit the next time you need something new to wear or just a little retail therapy!

Firelake Bowling Center has 24 lanes for tons of family fun.  Take the trip to Shawnee where you can buy 1 bowling game and get 1 free with your OKCityCard!  With restaurants, a lounge, and an arcade, Firelake Bowling Center is the place to "let the good times bowl." To find their location and more information, visit firelakebowl.com.

The Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain is offering 20% off tuition for the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute. The Fall Arts Institute is a series of weekend retreats for adults with classes in photography, drawing, painting, dance, writing, music, theater and more. Plus, participants will stay at the beautiful Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma. Registration begins soon, so visit their web site at oaiquartz.org to choose your workshop!

Like I said, we are excited to have these three new partners and hope you'll join us in welcoming them by paying them a visit. If you don't have an OKCityCard yet, visit OKCityCard.com or call 278-8944.  Your $50 donation will make a big impact in your arts community and you'll love saving money with your OKCityCard!

We're always talking about how much we love our OKCityCard partners, and now we've got proof of why they're so great... 61 of our awesome partners were nominated in The Gazette's "Best of OKC!"  If that doesn't grab your attention, I'm not sure what will!

As you cast your vote, remember our member agencies and OKCityCard partners. We've included a list so that you can know who to look for (member agencies are marked in red):

1492 New World Latin Cuisine
Blue Seven
Bricktown Brewery
Bruce Rinehart, Rococo
Café Evoke
Cheever’s Café
Collected Thread
Coolgreens
Corey Dolezel, Pelican’s
Coriander Café
Cuppies and Joe
Deep Fork Grill
Earl’s Rib Palace
Eric Smith, Sara Sara Cupcakes
Festival of the Arts (Arts Council of Oklahoma City)
Flip’s Wine Bar and Trattoria
Grand House China Bistro
IAO Gallery
Iguana Mexican Grill
Irma’s Burger Shack
Iron Starr Urban Barbeque
James E. McNellie’s Public House
Jimmy’s Egg
Joey’s Pizzeria
JRB Art at the Elms
Kurt Fleischfresser, Western Concepts, Irma’s
Lyric Theatre
Matthew Kenney OKC
Musashi’s Japanese Steakhouse
Myriad Botanical Gardens
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
Nonna’s Euro-American Ristorante & Bar
Oklahoma Children’s Theatre
Oklahoma City Ballet
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Oklahoma History Center
Paseo Grill
Pearl’s Restaurant Group
Pollard Theatre
Pops
Prairie Thunder Baking Company
Red Primesteak
Republic Gastropub
Robin Caldwell, Mickey Mantle
Rococo Restaurant and Fine Wine
Saii Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar
Sam Noble Museum of Natural History
Samuel Gordon Jewelers
Sauced
Schlegel Bicycles
Science Museum Oklahoma
Shop Good
Spencer Stone Company
Stella Modern Italian Cuisine
Sunday Twilight Concerts (Arts Council of Oklahoma City)
Sushi Neko
The Wedge
Tokyo Japanese Restaurant
Tucker’s Onion Burgers
Zarate’s Latin Mexican Grill

We've gotten some great photos of they way you Thunder up! With the series tied, our team needs us more than ever. Keep sending those photos to us via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by tagging @AlliedArtsOKC or #heARTthunder!

Here are a few of our favorites from this week:

Dig It! @jujugallery painted their window to create a bearded photo op!

Our friends at Lyric Theatre (@LyricTheatre) posed in their Thunder gear with this awesome chalk drawing by Bobby Marsee!

@astro_knott sent us this pic from OCU's Hall of Queens. Even bearded, these former Miss Oklahoma's are beauties!

Keep those photos coming and Thunder UP! #heARTthunder

Do you know a talented high school visual artist who would love to have their artwork displayed at the US Capitol?

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. The competition provides an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents.

The 5th Congressional Distrcit of Oklahoma is excited to be participating in this contest to help promote the arts in central Oklahoma.  The contest is open to high school students in Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District*, and the district's theme for this year's contest is "Oklahoma".  Submissions must be original work and two-demensional, and all submissions must be received along with the form by Friday, April 27.

The winning entry will be displayed at the US Capitol for one year, and the winner will be recognized at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. with airfare provided for the student artist and one guest.

Click here for more information on the contest and more detailed rules and guidelines.

Good luck!

*Exceptions are made where 7th and 8th grade are in teh same building as 9th and 10th.

Well, we're at it again!  We kicked off our annual fundraising efforts on Tuesday night with 350 of our great donors, volunteers and friends.  This year our goal is to raise $3 MILLION - more than EVER - for the arts in Central Oklahoma, and we're really excited about what those funds could mean for our cultural community.  Think about it...

• $25 admits FIVE high school students to see a play.
• $50 exposes TEN elementary students to their first orchestra concert.
• $180 provides as at-risk student with TWO semesters of dance instruction.
• $250 offsets the costs for an ENTIRE classroom to tour an art museum.

Even $5 goes a long way, and your ONE gift supports TWENTY of Central Oklahoma's oustanding arts organizations ensuring an exciting and thriving cultural community for all of us.

Our theme this year is "I Heart the Arts" and we're encouraging everyone to think of all the ways and reasons you love the arts.  Do you love listening to the radio on your way to work each day?...Seeing the masterpieces your kids create at school taped to the refrigerator door?... Dancing to the music at a Thunder game?  Or maybe it's your favorite movie, video game, dress, building, book or play.  ALL of these things are impacted by the arts.  So...Why do you "Heart the Arts"?  Tell us! Or join us on Twitter @AlliedArtsOKC and use #HeartTheArts. Or visit us at www.AlliedArtsOKC.com to make a donation.

We're so thankful. Thanks to everyone that joined us for the celebration on Tuesday! Thanks to the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the OK City Chorus, Campell Walker Fields and Eddie Walker, and Oklahoma Children's Theater for your beautiful performances! And thanks to everyone that is working hard to make this year a success!  This isn't possible without you.

Campaign co-chairs, Tricia Everest and James Pickel, with 2012 Honorary Chairs Bob & Jeaneen Naifeh and Barry & Becky Switzer.  Great campaign leadership for 2012!

Check back here for more on this fella's performance.  Outstanding job by Campbell Walker Fields!

Are you online looking for some great Cyber Monday deals today?  Well, you should skip over to the Allied Arts web site and check out the best deal in town - the OKCityCard!  You can give online and, in return, you'll receive savings that are good for an entire year.

The OKCityCard is Central Oklahoma's premier entertainment discount card.  With more than 200 locally-owned businesses participating, the OKCityCard helps you save hundreds on all kinds of things. Whether you're eating out, heading to the theater, taking in a museum, shopping your favorite boutique or cheering on your beloved OKC Thunder (the season's starting soon - hooray!), you'll save money with your OKCityCard.  You get all of this for a donation of only $50.  

What does your donation do?  It makes a big impact in the lives of thousands of Oklahomans.  Your one gift reaches a variety of arts and cultural organizations in Central Oklahoma, and we all benefit from the programs they provide to enhance our quality of life.  Now that's getting some bang for your buck!

I hope you'll make the OKCityCard your best Cyber Monday find.  Treat yourself to savings, or spread the love and give one as a gift this holiday season.  You'll save big and make an even bigger difference. 

See a complete list of OKCityCard partners and discounts or make your donation now at www.OKCityCard.com.