Arvest Winterfest to Bring Holiday Cheer
SEASONAL FUN: From left, CEO and President of Arvest Bank Don Walker, Mayor Kathy Taylor and General Manager of BOK Center John Bolton recently announced the exciting changes of this year’s Arvest Winterfest in Tulsa.
KELSY LORIN TAYLOR for GTR Newspapers
Families are invited to ice skate beneath the skyline again this year at Arvest Winterfest, the area’s largest outdoor holiday celebration in Downtown Tulsa. Over 100,000 visitors are expected to attend this year’s festival, open daily, weather permitting and excluding Christmas, from Nov. 27, 2009 through Jan. 4, 2010.
Arvest Winterfest will move from last year’s confined location on Frisco Avenue to an expansive site on Third Street in front of the Center between Denver and Frisco Avenues. The focal point will be a larger 60 by 150 foot ice rink that will be flanked by a warming tent on one end for parents and spectators to watch skaters in climate-controlled comfort.
Just steps from the rink will be Oklahoma’s tallest Christmas tree. The massive 44-foot tree will feature 35,700 glowing lights, 109,534 individual tips and a diameter at the base of nearly 30 feet.
A variety of outdoor live entertainment is slated for Fridays and Saturdays on the ONEOK Stage during Winterfest. Local nonprofit groups, school choirs and bands, and musicians from area churches will all share the stage.
Winterfest promises something for the entire family whether it’s delicious holiday concessions like gingerbread lattes, Polish sausage, eggnog, apple cider or an old-fashioned horse and carriage ride through the streets of downtown.
A variety of weekly promotions are scheduled during the festival. Every Monday, patrons can skate at half price with a donation of a non-perishable can of food to the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. On Tuesdays, visitors can skate for only $4 with the donation of a new unwrapped toy to the Salvation Army’s holiday toy drive. On Sundays, parents are invited to bring their children to meet “Segway Santa,” a jolly fellow who will make appearances around the plaza from 1 to 4 p.m. greeting guests, taking complimentary photographs and handing out candy canes.
The Tulsa Figure Skating Club, the region’s only organization sanctioned by the United States Figure Skating Association, is scheduled to perform ten exhibitions at the Arvest Ice Rink at Winterfest.
On Dec. 12, the annual Holiday Parade of Lights will take a brand new route through Downtown Tulsa and will proceed down Denver Avenue just in front of Arvest Winterfest. The parade will include a variety of spectacular floats, marching bands, dance teams and giant helium balloons. Spectators are encouraged to set up chairs on the sidewalks along Denver Avenue and on the front plaza of the Center.
A full Arvest Winterfest calendar with prices and daily hours of operation is available online at www.bokcenter.com. For more information, contact Jeff Nickler at (918) 894-4254. For group ice skating rates, call (918) 894-4242.
Updated 11-23-2009
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