Sip-N-Slide was not the only water-related fun that took place in Tulsa last weekend.
If you have been to the Gathering Place recently, you may have seen a construction crew hard at work for several months. Finally, the Gathering Place hosted a four-day event called the Big Dam Party from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 to reveal what they have been working on and celebrate the opening of the three-mile long Zink Lake, the Williams Crossing Pedestrian Bridge (the giant bridge spanning across the Arkansas River), and the Tulsa Wave Park. I was able to attend the first of the four-day festival.
The event was jam-packed with things to do throughout the four-day weekend. Visitors got the chance to meet The World’s Largest Rubber Duck — a whopping six stories tall — and his little 10-foot tall buddy Timmy. Right next to both ducks was a merchandise stand filled with overpriced shirts and hats with ducks designs. “Tulsa’s Top Duck Art Competition” was held during all four days inside the Activity Hall at the OneOK Boathouse. There, people can vote on their favorite rubber duck painted and decorated by artists all over the city with a winner expected to be announced on Sept. 6. A whopping 16 local Tulsan musicians were scheduled to grace stages at the Gathering Place over the course of the four days. TU’s own band, “Sound of the Golden Hurricane” made an appearance at the festival as well, marching halfway across the Williams Bridge. Some “dam good” food trucks were lined up and down the Gathering Place offering an array of different cuisines. Snow cones, fair food like funnel cake or corn dogs, mexican food, filipino food, african food and those cartoon popsicles with gumball eyes. On Aug. 31 (day 2) festival-goers were invited to partake in the “Big Dam Run” which was a race across the Williams Bridge. “The Outsiders Experience” (which happened on Sept. 1) offered a chance for fans of “The Outsiders” books and movies to meet the Ponyboy Curtis actor himself, C. Thomas Howell. Kayaking, rowing and sailing competitions took place during all four days of the festival. On the fourth day, Tulsa’s Great Raft Race took place, where racers can choose to raft down a calm river or white water flumes for a more challenging raft ride.
The only negative aspect of the event when I attended Friday was that it began storming around 4 p.m., so I promptly left when the storm hit. But a few TU students stayed after the storm cleared to partake in Friday’s festivities. Katie Wooldridge and Levi Todd were two TU band members who ended up marching at the Gathering Place on Friday. Wooldridge commented on the event saying, “It’s great that the Sound of the Golden Hurricane gets to be such a big part of the community. I am so glad [The Gathering Place] included The University of Tulsa’s marching band to open the bridge to show off to the community. I loved seeing the kids get so happy and excited when they would see us!”
Todd also had positive reviews of the time he spent at the Gathering place. “I would definitely say [the event] was pretty fun. [Seeing] the giant duck was amazing, and they had some nice merchandise that some band kids bought. I feel great that we got to do a parade. It was fun to march and I’m happy it stopped being so hot when we started playing music. Overall, from what I got to experience, it looked like a great event!”
Weekly Yak author Hannah Moua was also excited to see the World’s Largest Rubber Duck, commenting that seeing it in real life was a dream come true.
Math major Chloe Smith arrived to watch two of the performing artists: King Cabbage Brass Band and R&B singer Branjae. “They were good [performers] and the crowds were really into [them]. I liked that the tents and food trucks were spread throughout the park so there was room to walk and see without bumping into people. The famous rubber duck was deflated when we arrived due to the storm. But luckily they inflated it back up shortly after the storm ended.”
It is safe to say that everyone who attended the Big Dam Festival had a good “dam” time. In other Gathering Place news, starting Sept. 6, visitors will once again be able to take a kayak out on the pond next to the boathouse. I’m excited to see what future events the Gathering Place hosts for the community.
