Dennis Spielman

The real and imaginative adventures of Dennis Spielman

Tag: Adventure Page 5 of 8

A Solo Day in OKC

By

On December 6, 2017

In Real

Want to have an adventure in Oklahoma City by yourself without feeling awkward? In this “A Solo Day in OKC” episode of Uncovering Oklahoma, I highlight a full day of activities from morning to night one can enjoy during the winter months. Special guests include Greg Elwell of I Ate Oklahoma, Brett Dickerson of Oklahoma City Free Press, and freelance writer, Heide Brandes, in this packed episode!

The video does clock in at 15-minutes, but there are about a dozen places featured.

Selfie at Elemental Coffee

I filmed the majority of this video last Wednesday where I went from one place to the next on the top of every hour from 9 am to 6 pm. The schedule worked rather well, and I was never late to anything. I had 30 minutes to film and 30 minutes to travel. The part with Danielle talking about the lights I did record at an earlier date, and I did a few pick-up shots the next day, which were the art gallery shout-outs and my introduction – shout to Cayla Lewis for filming me! Other than that, this was pretty much done all in one day.

Originally, for the art spaces shout-outs, I was going to do the various mentions. However, on the day of shooting, I decided to let them express themselves because I wanted to make it more about them and less about me, and they know their mission statements best. Everyone was pretty cool with me showing up asking them to say half a sentence without warning.

When I was discussing the idea with some friends, they took to it. If this video does well, which I think it will, I’ll do the same thing for other cities and another one in OKC, but in the Spring/Summer to include outdoor activities.

Greg Elwell wrote a companion article titled, How To Eat Alone, which includes more suggestions on places to eat.

I hope that whatever you do by yourself in Oklahoma City, that you have a great time! If you became a patron, you’ll get early access to future solo day videos and other content. Thank you for watching!

Wizards on Western

Wizards on Western 2017

By

On November 15, 2017

In Real

Wizards on Western is a non-profit, volunteer ran community festival celebrating Harry Potter and the adventures of reading in Oklahoma City. Previously known as the Harry Potter Festival, Wizards on Western is a free, family-friendly event with wizard related activities and games, along with food trucks and vendors.

Wizards on Western

Wizards on Western

I went to this once a year event on Sunday, November 12, 2017, which was held along the streets of Western Avenue from 39th Street to 44th Street. Last year, festival organizers only planned for about 5,000 people turning up and got over 20,000. They received feedback for improvement and greatly improved things for this year. The second year of this festival not only promised to be fun for all ages but also looked to make a meaningful difference in the community. They had more than 16 non-profits that participated this year and hosted their magical activities. Many of these booths had ‘make-and-take’ craft stations.

Wizards on Western

Wizards on Western

Wizards on Western

In my vlog, I talked with Aaron and Maddie about what they thought of the festival. I captured a ton of footage, which I’ve included some of it throughout the video. I plan to make a video next year for Uncovering Oklahoma that will feature interviews with event organizers.

Wizards on Western was a magical festival worth visiting for Harry Potter fans.

Wizards on Western

Wizards on Western

OKC Outlets, Factory Obscura, and Hieroglyphics

By

On November 10, 2017

In Real

Last night was a bus with so much good stuff happening in Oklahoma City. The first thing I went to was a Media Event for OKC Outlets to celebrate their new look. OKC Outlets is Oklahoma’s only outlet shopping experience. The event was part of their relaunch with an unveiling celebration with property representatives, civic leaders, and honored veterans. Since their relaunch was just two days before Veterans Day, they made a donation to the YMCA’s Military Welcome Center at the airport.

Next on my list was the Abstract Passages Opening Celebration, which is a new underpass mural by Kris Kanaly. However, I tried to make my way to the event, but due to traffic and getting light bulbs, I knew I was going to miss the artist talk and I ended up going straight to Factory Obscura’s Shift opening. There, I was first in line!

I filmed this video of my experience of Factory Obscura last night, which sums up how amazing it is. Later today I’m going back to do interviews for Uncovering Oklahoma.

Then after Factory Obscura, I went to Ginna Dowling’s Hieroglyphics 2017: The Spirit of our People art opening at Oklahoma Contemporary’s Showroom, which is really cool to see at night. Ginna Dowling’s hieroglyphs are contemporary versions of ancient symbols. Using the simplest of methods — tearing construction paper by hand — she constructs visual symbols for important aspects of her own life, as well as the lives of people around her. These forms are translated into vinyl, which she develops into site-specific installations. In addition to creating her own forms, Ginna works with members of the community to add onto her installations. She finds that the simplicity of the process allows everyone to explore their own creativity. Ginna will be conducting workshops while her pieces are installed at the Showroom, the results of which will eventually become part of this exhibition. In addition, visitors can drop in during Showroom hours to create their own “hieroglyphics.”

When I was done for the night, I stopped at Target for some night cold medicine. While I’m here, I want to make a quick public service announcement: sometimes people aren’t talkative this time of the year because their voice hurts. They aren’t being rude. They may just don’t want to talk. Anyway, I’m feeling better this morning.

Five80 Coffeehouse - photo by Dennis Spielman

Enid and the Oklahoma Arts Conference

By

On November 1, 2017

In Real

My personal travel vlog about my trip to Enid, Oklahoma for the Oklahoma Arts Conference. While in Enid, I visited local places such as Simpson’s Old Time Museum, Leonardo’s Children’s Museum, Creative Arts Enid, and Five80 Coffeehouse.

For the trip, I came a day early to spend some quality time in Enid, which was a first. In the past, I had only passed through the town a few times. I managed to film two videos for Uncovering Oklahoma on Tuesday when I arrived. The arts conference itself kept me busy the rest of the time as you can see from my schedule below.

Tuesday, October 24:
– Lunch
– Check-in for Conference
– Tour Under Her Wing was the Universe Site
– Interview at Simpson’s Old Time Museum
– Interview at Leonardo’s Children’s Museum
– Explore Enid

Wednesday, October 25:
– Good Morning, Enid! at 9 am
– The Fundraisers’ Forum
 9:45am – 11:15am

– General Session Luncheon 
11:30am – 1:00pm
– Strategic Planning Workshop for Artists
 1:15pm – 2:45pm
– Break
 2:45 – 3:15
– About Amber Art & Design 
3:15pm – 4:45pm

– Opening Reception 
5 to 7
– Edit Under Her Wing video

Thursday, October 26:
– Coffee at Five80 Coffeehouse 
8 to 9:30
– The Artist as Entrepreneur: Business Model Canvas 
9:45am – 11:15am

– General Session Luncheon
 11:30am – 1:00pm
– Connecting Communities through Film
 1:15pm – 2:45pm

– The Life of the Party 
3:15pm – 4:45pm
– Go Home

I had a great time at the Oklahoma Arts Conference. The one next year will be in Oklahoma City, so I am considerating going to it again next year. I would recommend it to any professional in the arts field.

That’s it for this update! Stay tuned for the video on Simpson’s Old Time Museum (coming tomorrow) and Leonardo’s Children’s Museum (next week).

Norman Flea Market

Market Adventures on Oct. 14, 2017

By

On October 18, 2017

In Real

Follow us on an October Saturday as we visited several antique, flea, and farmers markets in Norman and Oklahoma City. This montage video highlights only a small fraction of the many types of markets in the metro area. We visited Norman Farm Market, Farmers Public Market, The Antique Mall, Urban Agrarian, Pam’s Plants, The Basement, and Toy Base 10. Since this was filmed in October, there are shots of various interesting Halloween items and lots of pumpkins in farmers markets.

Page 5 of 8

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén