Tulsa, it takes you in – it is a city that surprises visitors with a feeling that is Southern, Eastern and Western all at once. Experience its cosmopolitan flavor, and be delighted in its small-town friendliness.  Big enough to have everything, but small enough to make everyone feel right at home. In Tulsa, visitors find everything from cowboys and classical ballet to art deco and arena football, rodeos, religion and rolling hills. A visit to Tulsa is a great opportunity to experience a delightful mix of rich culture, colorful history, terrific shopping, and lively nightlife.

If art is of interest, explore some of Tulsa’s nationally recognized museums such as the Gilcrease, which contains one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of fine art, artifacts, and archives of the American West. Or stroll through an Italian-style villa that was once home to a millionaire oilman and is now the renowned Philbrook Museum, filled with Italian renaissance art, ancient and classical pieces, and extensive Native American collections. When the sun goes down in Tulsa, the city lights up with virtually any activity the visitor could image. Whether it’s a night at the opera, or a visit to one or more of the trendy bars of Brookside and the Brady District, there’s something for everyone.  Get lucky at bingo or the horse races, laugh it up at a comedy club, cheer on a ball team, ride a roller coaster, feast at a four-star restaurant, or get messy at a barbecue joint. The choices are endless, and whatever the choice, the result is an experience to remember. What gives Tulsa its distinctive flavor?  Its distinctive mix of true southern charm, eastern elegance, and  western flair.  The city’s unique history plays a major role. Some of our native American ancestors, forced in the 1800s along a “trail of tears” from the southeastern United States to what is now eastern Oklahoma, brought Southern traditions along with their native culture.  Visit the Creek Council Oak Tree, Tulsa’s birthplace, which still lives as a symbol of the settlers’ strong spirit. Under the tree, in 1836, the Lochapoka Creek Indians kindled a ceremonial fire using live coals they had carried from their Alabama homeland. It was there that they gathered to start a new life and to establish Tulsee Town. African-Americans also brought Southern culture when they came to Tulsa to start new lives. Oklahoma was one of the first places in which they had a fair shot at the American dream. Land runs and freedmen allotments offered blacks the opportunity to quickly become land owners, farmers and businessmen. Tulsa’s Greenwood became known as the “Black Wall Street,” with shops bustling by day and clubs wailing blues and jazz by night. In 1921, Greenwood was also the site of one of the most infamous race riots in American history. Today, the Greenwood Cultural Center, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, and the Mabel B. Little Heritage Center attest to the  history of the district. Two major music festivals:  Juneteenth on Greenwood and the Greenwood Jazz Festival in August fill the streets with food, people and soul.