Gathering Place

BIG NEWS! 🏆 Gathering Place is officially USA TODAY's Best City Park for 2024! After being chosen by an expert panel and USA TODAY 10Best editors, Gathering Place was featured in a readers’ choice contest along with 19 other city parks across the United States before being voted #1 by the public. This USA TODAY reader’s choice recognition marks the third win for Gathering Place in five years, following its prior recognition as USA TODAY’s Best New Attraction in 2019 and Best City Park in 2021.   The Gathering Place team is so grateful for the incredible support we have received from the Tulsa community, and we are blown away by how Tulsans rallied around the vote to boost the park to the number one spot. Thank you for making Gathering Place America’s Best City Park this year! 💚🌳 Learn more about the award: https://lnkd.in/g6mPbNrw

After nearly a decade in the making, the transformation of Zink Dam is complete! Starting this Friday, join us for #BigDamParty —a four-day celebration featuring the grand opening of Zink Lake, Williams Crossing, and Tulsa Wave Park. Catch the full story on the future of the Arkansas River and Gathering Place's new waterfront at Tulsa World Media Company: https://lnkd.in/gNDnJK3V 📸 👆 Plus, check out photos of a Black Hawk helicopter installing a 45 foot light pole at Gathering Place on Friday!

We are so excited to welcome this new generation of Tulsans to the city! Gathering Place makes the perfect study spot. 💻🌳#NYUTulsa

Exciting news! 🌊 Yesterday, the City of Tulsa Gov announced "Tulsa Wave Park," a new name for Zink Lake's whitewater recreational area! Tulsa Wave Park will officially open during Labor Day Weekend as a part of the Big Dam Party celebration. Following Labor Day Weekend, Tulsa Wave Park is anticipated to be open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. River Parks Authority will manage the operations. We are so excited to welcome Tulsa Wave Park to the neighborhood in just one week! For more information about Tulsa Wave Park and Zink Lake, visit tulsazinklake.com. Plus, float over to bigdamparty.com to learn more about the grand opening celebration!

Best of luck to our friends at Guthrie Green as they kick off the ninth annual Blue Whale Comedy Festival tonight in the Tulsa Arts District! 🐳 🎟 Tickets are selling fast, and some shows are sold out! Head to https://lnkd.in/g7dZuKEa to learn more, view the full festival schedule, and buy your tickets now.

"Gathering Place brings together the best of outdoor family fun combined with horticulture highlighting the beauty of Oklahoma’s natural plants." Check out the "Local’s Guide to USA Today’s Best City Park of 2024: The Gathering Place" featured in Rovology Travel to learn more about the park's lush gardens and recreation opportunities. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/g6iT8keB

The CarShield Drive On team recently made a pitstop in Tulsa to explore some of the city's most iconic attractions—including Gathering Place! Watch along as they catch up with executive director Julio Badin and race down the slides at Slide Vale. Plus, watch them discover other Tulsa gems like the Center of the Universe, Ike's Chili, and Buck Atom's Cosmic Curios on 66. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gbmPpCBB

In less than two weeks, Gathering Place will host #BigDamParty and we couldn't be more excited! Big Dam Party is a free, four day festival during Labor Day Weekend that celebrates the opening of Zink Lake and it's Whitewater Flume, Williams Crossing, Gathering Place's new expanded riverfront lawn, the return of Tulsa's Great Raft Race and more! 💡 Here's a few things you can look forward to during Labor Day Weekend 🦆 Standing at 6 stories tall, you won't be able to miss the World's Largest Rubber Duck on the park's North Land Bridge Lawn. 🎬 A showing of "The Outsiders" like you've never seen before featuring live, behind-the-scenes commentary from C. Thomas Howell, the original actor who plays Pony Boy. You might recognize a few other familiar faces at the event, too! 🎸 18 local bands and musicians will take the Big Dam Party Stage, including a free Hanson concert on Saturday, August 31. This lineup of Tulsa's best was curated by Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts and Culture (#TulsaFMAC), and many of the performers traveled to Austin to represent Tulsa's bustling music scene during this year's SXSW. Float over to bigdamparty.com for more information and mark your calendars for a long weekend full of fun from Friday, August 30 to Monday, September 2!

SISTER PARK SHOUTOUT! 🌳🌟 Did you know that every summer Gathering Place's sister park, Guthrie Green, hosts Blue Whale Comedy Festival at iconic venues around the Tulsa Arts District? 🐳 With over 75 comedians, headlining acts, improv showcases and workshops, and afterparties, there's something for everyone—whether you're a seasoned comedy lover or new to the scene. This year, enjoy headlining performances from some of today's leading comics such as SNL's Michael Longfellow, Reggie Watts, Beth Stelling, Irene Tu, and Oklahoma's own Josh Fadem! Tickets are selling fast and some shows are already sold out! To learn more, view the full festival schedule, and buy tickets, visit https://lnkd.in/g7dZuKEa!

A huge shoutout to our education team for spearheading the second year of Global Gatherings! This year's program was bigger and better than ever, offering guests a chance to experience the world without leaving Tulsa. Each week, participants collected stamps in a Global Gatherings-branded passport that symbolized their journey through different world regions and sent postcards to friends and family to share their global adventures. As a grand finale, the team planned the Global Gatherings World Festival, a cultural celebration featuring representation from 16 cultures, international entertainment, global cuisine, a vendor market, and countless activities and games. This summer series and festival created special memories for many families across the region. We couldn't have accomplished this without the dedication and hard work of the entire Gathering Place team! Every department and each employee played a crucial role in bringing these experiences to life. Plus, a big thank you to our sponsors for their generous support of this program! Global Gatherings is a part of the Explore & Imagine program at Gathering Place, which is sponsored by the AEP Foundation on behalf of Public Service Company of Oklahoma.