Community Calendar

Staying Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) is a fitness program for older adults which can be done sitting or standing. Performing exercise that improves strength, balance and fitness is critical for staying active and reducing the risk of falls. Each class includes warm-up, stretching, cardio, balance, and strengthening exercise, as well as a cool down.

Registration required; walk-ins accepted if space permits. Library card required for all participants. Provided with support from the Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative (OHAI).

1 hour, twice a week, Mondays & Wednesdays August 18-December 17

Thanks to the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), Edmond Parks and Recreation is hosting a virtual BioBlitz this September in support of the Parks for Pollinators campaign.

The Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz is an event in which community members work with parks and rec staff to create a snapshot of the variety of wildlife that can be found in Mitch Park in September. We use a no-cost platform/app called iNaturalist to take pictures of plants, insects and animals to see what wildlife is present in the park during this month and provide us with more information about pollinators, which are essential to our ecosystem.

If you'd like to watch a tutorial on using iNaturalist, you can find that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xENz1xRu0wI

This information will help us understand how we can better protect pollinators and other important wildlife in our community.

Celebrate fall at the annual Pumpkin Festival at Shepherd's Cross. Enjoy a peaceful day filled with family-friendly fun at an authentic working sheep farm in Claremore. You'll find more than 60 free activities such as a pumpkin patch, hay maze and game area. You can also pet sweet farm animals like sheep, goats, donkeys and alpacas. Look around the farm for the QR code scavenger hunt and watch short videos about farming and shepherding.

Tractor-pulled wagon rides are available for a fee and loads of pumpkins will be available for purchase. Bundle your fall fun with a Pumpkin Package that includes a pumpkin, wagon ride and a take-home craft. Browse the Farm Store housed within an old Amish barn to shop for handmade decor, gifts and wares from more than 80 vendors. Pick up some local honey, meat, eggs, produce, baked goods, candy and snacks.

"Discovering Ansel Adams" features over 100 photographs that share Adams’s most celebrated works while revealing aspects of his development that are frequently overlooked. Together with original archival materials from the Center of Creative Photography’s Ansel Adams Archive, these photographs demonstrate how Adams transformed from a fourteen-year-old tourist with a camera into a renowned photographer between 1916 and the 1940s. Along the way, photographic prints from his early visits to the American Southwest, his mountaineering experiences as a young man, and his quest to photograph America’s national parks will enchant visitors.

We all have an inner artist, and some even act upon it. Join us in the beautiful, well-lit Conference Room to work on your project. Find support, ideas, and maybe make some friends as you all work on your projects.

Supplies are not provided, just bring what you are working on and everything you will need. [Registration Required.]

Check out all of SOKC Library’s upcoming events on our calendar.

Staying Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) is a fitness program for older adults which can be done sitting or standing. Performing exercise that improves strength, balance and fitness is critical for staying active and reducing the risk of falls. Each class includes warm-up, stretching, cardio, balance, and strengthening exercise, as well as a cool down.

Registration required; walk-ins accepted if space permits. Library card required for all participants. Provided with support from the Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative (OHAI).

1 hour, twice a week, Mondays & Wednesdays August 18-December 17

We are pleased to announce that the 2025 Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speaker will be Adam Bradley, a bestselling author, a professor of English and African American Studies at UCLA, and founding director of the Laboratory for Race & Popular Culture (aka, the RAP Lab). Mr. Bradley will visit the OCU campus on Tuesday, Sept. 23. His public talk will be titled, Hip Hop's Futures.

Adam pioneered the study of rap lyrics as poetry and has worked with some of the leading artists in popular music. As a curator, he has collaborated with museums across the country and the globe to launch exhibitions of art and culture. Most recently, he co-curated “Hip Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit” (2023-2025) at the GRAMMY Museum. As a writer at large for the New York Times’s T Magazine, Adam tells impactful stories in long-form essays. He is the author of six books, including Book of Rhymes, The Anthology of Rap, and the national bestseller One Day It’ll All Make Sense, a memoir he wrote with the rapper and actor Common. Adam lives in Los Angeles.

A book signing will immediately follow the public talk. Visit www.okcu.edu/lemonlecture for additional information.

Thanks to the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), Edmond Parks and Recreation is hosting a virtual BioBlitz this September in support of the Parks for Pollinators campaign.

The Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz is an event in which community members work with parks and rec staff to create a snapshot of the variety of wildlife that can be found in Mitch Park in September. We use a no-cost platform/app called iNaturalist to take pictures of plants, insects and animals to see what wildlife is present in the park during this month and provide us with more information about pollinators, which are essential to our ecosystem.

If you'd like to watch a tutorial on using iNaturalist, you can find that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xENz1xRu0wI

This information will help us understand how we can better protect pollinators and other important wildlife in our community.

Celebrate fall at the annual Pumpkin Festival at Shepherd's Cross. Enjoy a peaceful day filled with family-friendly fun at an authentic working sheep farm in Claremore. You'll find more than 60 free activities such as a pumpkin patch, hay maze and game area. You can also pet sweet farm animals like sheep, goats, donkeys and alpacas. Look around the farm for the QR code scavenger hunt and watch short videos about farming and shepherding.

Tractor-pulled wagon rides are available for a fee and loads of pumpkins will be available for purchase. Bundle your fall fun with a Pumpkin Package that includes a pumpkin, wagon ride and a take-home craft. Browse the Farm Store housed within an old Amish barn to shop for handmade decor, gifts and wares from more than 80 vendors. Pick up some local honey, meat, eggs, produce, baked goods, candy and snacks.

"Discovering Ansel Adams" features over 100 photographs that share Adams’s most celebrated works while revealing aspects of his development that are frequently overlooked. Together with original archival materials from the Center of Creative Photography’s Ansel Adams Archive, these photographs demonstrate how Adams transformed from a fourteen-year-old tourist with a camera into a renowned photographer between 1916 and the 1940s. Along the way, photographic prints from his early visits to the American Southwest, his mountaineering experiences as a young man, and his quest to photograph America’s national parks will enchant visitors.