Oklahoma State Fair

04/04/2025

The Mane Attraction takes place this weekend at the OKC Fairgrounds! This event features educational seminars, vendor booths, breed and discipline demonstrations, Kids Korner, great food, and live music! Get all the info here 🐎 https://bit.ly/42eDAQR

04/03/2025

🚨 COMING UP 🚨

04/03/2025

04/02/2025

As we prepare to decommission the Jim Norick Arena, we uncovered these historic pieces of rodeo history! These were the original bucking chutes that were used when the National Finals Rodeo started its 14-year run at the Jim Norick State Fair Arena in December of 1965. These exact chute gates were used until the early 1970s. They were subsequently covered by a newly constructed announcer’s platform and the position for a new set of chutes was moved to the north end of the arena.

The first NFR, also known as the world series of rodeo, had a seven-day run in 1965 and included the top fifteen cowboys in six events: saddle bronc, ba****ck, steer wrestling, calf roping, team roping, and the biggest crowd pleaser, bull riding. Few rodeo fans will ever forget competitors like Larry Mahan, Dean Oliver, Jim Shoulders, and Oklahoma’s own Freckles Brown. Missing chute gate #2 holds an incredible story. Freckles was 46 in 1967 and nearing the end of his hall-of-fame career when he drew the bull Tornado, a bull weighing close to 2,000 pounds, that had never been ridden before. Many on the circuit considered Tornado unrideable. Riding out of chute #2, Freckles took the challenge and proved them wrong on that fateful night by staying on the back of the twisting, turning, jumping Tornado for the full 8 seconds. Over 200 professional bull riders had tried but failed to make the buzzer while on the back of Tornado. This man versus beast match-up is considered one of the best in rodeo’s history and lives on known as “The Ride.” If you are a music fan, you might like to know this legendary ride was memorialized in song by Red Steagall and the Boys in the Bunkhouse titled, oddly enough, Freckles Brown. Give it a listen.

This historic chute gate was long ago removed and went to Jim Shoulders, the stock contractor who was the proud owner of the legendary Tornado. The remaining chute gates are currently being removed and will go to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (Oklahoma City), the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (Colorado Springs, CO) and the American Quarter Horse Association (Amarillo, TX). All three organizations plan to display these pieces of rodeo memorabilia in order to preserve rodeo history for generations to come. Long live the cowboy!

03/31/2025

The Festival of Trains is coming April 12 & 13! This event features:
🚂 Mini diorama building activity
🚂Wooden train play area
🚂Thomas the Tank Engine ride along
🚂Vendors
🚂and more!
Kids 12 and under are FREE! Get all the info online 👉 https://bit.ly/4j7rQWV

03/29/2025

Check out some amazing rides --- all for a good cause! Phi Kappa Psi and the Toby Keith Foundation have teamed up to bring you Motors for Miracles! More info here 🏎️ https://bit.ly/43ZPqRe

03/28/2025

Join us for the high-flying, breath-taking acts of the Shrine Circus - THIS WEEKEND in the Jim Norick Arena!

Attention circus enthusiasts! Just 7 hours to go until the festivities kick off! It's the second day of the India Shrine Circus, and the thrill is just beginning! 🎉 Come join us tonight at 7:30 PM for an extraordinary performance, and make sure to check out our weekend schedule!

📅 Performance Schedule:
- Friday, March 28th: 7:30 PM
- Saturday, March 29th: 10 AM, 2 PM, & 7:30 PM
- Sunday, March 30th: 2 PM & 6:30 PM

📍 Venue: Jim Norick Arena at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds

We can't wait to see each and every one of you for a weekend brimming with excitement and amazement! 🎠✨

https://indiashrinecircus.org/

03/25/2025

🤠🌾

03/22/2025

🦎🐍🦎

🆗 OKLAHOMA!

🦎 Get out and let us know how much you love reptiles today!🐸

We'll be here from 9am for VIP ticketholders and 10am-3:30pm for general admission.

Tickets and info at ShowMeReptileShow.com

3ShowMeReptileShow

03/21/2025

Spring has arrived just in time for the OKC Home & Outdoor Living Show this Fri-Sun! What projects will you be starting this weekend? 🌷🌻

03/20/2025

The DeafNation Expo is coming to OKC on April 12! This event is the largest traveling trade show for, by, and about deaf people. Visit our website for more details about this event 🤟 https://bit.ly/42etpwB

03/16/2025

The 80th annual Shrine Circus returns to Jim Norick Arena March 27 through 30! Tickets are on sale now 🎪🎟️ https://bit.ly/4hzawJi

03/15/2025

Take a trip back in time this weekend at Jurassic Quest! Now through Sunday 🦖🌿

03/13/2025

One last iconic Oklahoma Youth Expo in the Jim Norick Arena taking place NOW! Onto the OG&E Coliseum in 2026!

03/11/2025

🩵

A Note to the Norick-

As you know so well, Oklahoma is a special place, and Oklahomans are very special people. You’ve seen us at our highest of highs and lowest of lows. You know that we tend to be hardworking, diligent, caring folks who would give anyone who needed it the shirt off of our back, but, as you also know, we love to compete. You’ve watched so many of us grow up---learning the lessons that can only come from giving something your absolute all, whether competing in athletics or showing livestock.

You’re an icon in this state and have a way of making us remember some of the most fleeting, yet lasting, moments: who won the buzzer-beater game to send the small rural school team to a State Championship, who had the incredible barrow that was selected Grand decades ago, or even something as simple as a hug or a smile or a handshake. We recall when we saw coaches, Ag Teachers, 4-H Educators, family and friends come together to celebrate success or shed tears at that final basketball game, a wrestling match, or show of the season when it just didn’t sort out as everyone hoped.

For so many Oklahomans, you are a common thread throughout our most distinct memories. I remember my first spin through “The Big House” on my pole-bending horse “Joe” when I was just barely big enough to hang on. Within your walls, I have watched world champion equine events, national-level cattle shows and ball games where each second could mean a moment in time that would live with a competitor forever.

You’re an old friend who looked on as I watched my little sister find incredible success with her livestock projects, rewarding her for those hours and years spent in the barn washing, drying, exercising, and sometimes praying. You were there when my older sister won big with her horses on that national stage, and, more recently, I have watched my own children experience success, as well as disappointment, from your dirt floor.

As I think about all you’ve seen and heard, I know countless kids and families that have won under the comfort of your roof, and I realize that “win” often had nothing to do with the color of the ribbon.

So, thank you to Oklahoma City, thank you to all those who have ensured the events could take place to create lifelong memories for so many, and thank you, Jim Norick Arena. As the Beatles would say, “Yesterday came suddenly.” We will miss creating memories in the Jim Norick and will no doubt reflect on our “yesterdays” but are looking forward to new memories to celebrate for many years to come.

As you welcome the next and final class of Oklahoma Youth Expo participants over the next couple of weeks, I wish them each the best of luck and hope they will take a moment to look up and soak in a moment that I know they will be looking back on in yesterdays to come.

Sincerely,
Blayne Arthur

03/10/2025

The sun is out, serotonin is flowing, and the 2025 OK State Fair is only 184 days away 😇

03/09/2025

The OKC Home + Outdoor Show is coming March 21-23 and heroes will be honored on all three days of the show! All active & retired military personnel, veterans, police, fire, and first responders can attend the show free of charge - simply present a valid ID at the box office. Offer does not extend to family or friends.
Thank you for your service and sacrifice!
Sponsored by Christensen Media Group.