If you live in Oklahoma, you’ve heard of Cattlemen’s. The Stockyard City staple’s prime cuts have long been a draw for visitors and locals alike. Folks come for the nostalgia as much as the steak and a visit to Cattlemen’s is hardly complete without some nervous soul gingerly taking a bite of, then being pleasantly surprised by the chewy texture of a lamb fry. It is an experience as authentically Oklahoma as they come.
What most folks don’t know, however, is that if you really want a peak behind the curtain, head down to Stockyard City for a live cattle auction. Every Monday at 8am, as the sun rises over dozens of pins swelling with nervous steer, in a small auditorium, cattle are herded into a small holding pin as cattlemen look on, somehow following the auctioneer’s frenzied chatter. That’s right… Think “old guy in a cowboy hat” at fever pitch… monotonously calling out “one-dollar-one-dollar one-dollar-can-i-get-two-two-dollars-two-dollars-can-I-get-three SOLD for three dollars…” to a room of stone faced buyers. These auctions have been taking place in the state for more than a century and are nothing short of fascinating, exemplifying the cowboy culture so many affiliate with the sooner state and visitors are welcome to observe to age old event….
A Gospel Brunch on a Sunday sounds about as Oklahoma as you can get. After all, it is the bible belt but Gospel Brunch Sunday at The Boom is just a little different. On Sunday mornings, not five miles away from cow town where stone faced cattlemen bid on steer, the bleary-eyed pack into The Boom on 39thstreet for Sunday brunch. There is no shortage of brunch spots where a Bloody Mary can roll a hangover on into Monday, but this little gay gem offers something a little more. The show features “Kitty” and “Norma,” to cross-dressing gospel “singers” whose raunchy performances are so sidesplitting that they will leave you rolling in your omelet.
From gay drag Gospel Brunches to live cattle auctions, Oklahoma City is exploding with unique opportunities not only for Oklahoma newcomers but also for those of us who have lived here for years. Across the city are experiences we never knew existed, have forgotten existed or we things that we can experience again but in a new manner. For instance, you have been to the Oklahoma City bombing memorial, but have you ever been there just after sunset when the lights of the chairs go on? Maybe you’d finally like to take that art class you’ve been thinking about in the back of your mind.
Co-written with Christine Eddington, here is a brief history of OKC and thirty amazing experiences big and small that you must try this summer to make it the best summer ever. http://www.405magazine.com/June-2018/Welcome-to-OKC/
Here is my cover shot of Mayor David Holt that goes with this story.
