Oktoberfest 2009- Tulsa, OK

This is the flagpole at Oktoberfest in Tulsa that stands in the middle of all the tents. The American and German flags symbolize the event.

The ticket lines at Oktoberfest were long and everyone in line was discussing the wait.


Staple carnival foods such as caramel apples were popular at Oktoberfest.


Carnival rides and food kiosks lit up the sky in Tulsa on Friday night.


Bright, spinning rides were common but this ride was empty- possibly because Oktoberfest's infamous beer pitchers do not mix well with such fast spinning rides.



The director of Oktoberfest's Mardi Gras house stands on the front porch inviting event goers.

The Mardi Gras house director awaits participants.

Litter from the event is picked up by the Oktoberfest staff "garbologist."



Colin Shoun and his friends hang out at the picnic tables between tents with their pitchers of German beer.


A man gets down to "Blister in the Sun" in an Oktoberfest tent.


Happy Oktoberfest attendees dance to a live band at the end of the night.

"Homecoming 2009" (box)

The house decorations are completed and on display starting Friday night of homecoming walkarounds. They are left up for the football game the next day for fans and alumni to see. As you can see, houses will often enhance their dec’s with special lighting to illuminate their work.


The OSU emblem in the middle of the recently renovated Eddie Sutton Court in Gallagher Iba Arena was in the spotlight at a Homecoming celebration on Friday night in Stillwater.


During the assembly on Eddie Sutton Court in Gallagher Iba Arena on Friday night of Homecoming Walkarounds, Mike Gundy and four football players spoke to the crowd about the football game on Saturday.


This year, OSU recognized the graduating class of 1949, as a part of their Homecoming festivities on Friday night. The graduates were seated together inside Gallagher Iba Arena, on Eddie Sutton Court.


Many houses will incorporate the team that the home football team will play against during the homecoming game. Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Kappa Kappa Gamma chose to include “Beat Missouri,” as a part of their theme for the University.


Two Greeks work on the welding of their steel house dec frame on thursday night before Friday Walkarounds. Each team holds an “All-Night Pomp,” in order to finish their outdoor house decoration by the official finish time on Friday.


Some of the welding involved in building a steel structure that will eventually be the shell to an elaborate, colorful house decoration. Some of the dec’s even involve parts that move by hydraulics.


“Old Central” is was the first building to ever be built on the Oklahoma A&M campus. Since homecoming attracts many OSU alumni, these Greek houses chose to incorporate the building as a part of their house decoration.

As Sigma Phi Epsilon and Kappa Alpha Theta work on putting their house decoration together for the Homecoming weekend, we see how they chose to incorporate the ever-popular “OSU” as a part of their house decoration.

Many people never see how the large decoration of beautiful color and design are actually made. Here we can see the detail of the chicken wire, and how the tissue paper is held in each square.


As a part of the annual celebration of Homecoming at Oklahoma State University, the Greek community spends months, and countless hours preparing a “house-dec” for the Friday night before the football game. This involves welding of a steel frame that in the end, holds sheets of chicken wire with tissue pomps inside.

Live Field Production

I spent most of Homecoming week and game day preparing material for my Live Field Production class. For this class, we broadcast the Homecoming parade and material pre-parade. I ordered my photos from preparing before the parade to packing up equipment.My TA, Jory Burson, is helping a fellow student Anabel Mendoza by hooking up cables and making sure the equipment is running properly. We unloaded a moving truck load of equipment into the Board of Education building to set up.
Two students, Raya Greenbaum and Ashley Grinols, are climbing up to the roof to make sure the equipment is working properly up there. They are also helping run cables and extension cords to power equipment on the roof.
The equipment had to be assembly lined up onto the roof. Matt Hames is standing on the only means to get on and off the roof.
We did several practice runs, which made things seem easy. Tiera Alexander and sister Ivory are cheerful during practice before the broadcast begins and stress sets in.
We're minutes away from the broadcast, as people move to their stations. Professors Marc Krein and Jack Hodgson are instructing students on what to do.
As I was at my post for the broadcast, I couldn't get any photos of the stress levels showing, like I wish I could've. This is a photo after the broadcast is over. I liked this photo, though, because their expressions have drastically changed. This is the beginning shot of breaking down the equipment.

Homecoming Walkarounds 2009

This is a picture of the traffic on Friday October 16, 2009. Walkarounds gets very crowded and parking has always been an issue. This is a good example of the bad parking, the sign gives an adress.
Many people start and/or end on Washington Street (the strip).
These little girls are some of the first to enjoy the Zeta/AGR house deck on Washington Street. It hasn't quite gotten busy yet.
This is a really good example of how the house decks look on both sides. There is a lot going in front and behind the scenes.
This is a man who chose to switch his electric wheelchair into saddle. He had to get the chair after he was diagnosed with cancer. The license plate says "I'd rather be walking". He was quite a character.
This is a little boy on his grandfathers shoulders in front of the SAE house deck. It really captures the atmosphere of walk arounds, him on his grandpa's shoulders with a balloon in his hands.
A couple getting their picture taken, again, in front of the SAE house deck.
Many people choose to grill out during walk arounds. This is in the parking lot at SAE.
A look at the Fiji house deck. The light shows that the houses have more to do than just finish the welding and pomping, they also have to put up equipment to make sure people can see everything when it gets dark out.
Again, outside of the Fiji house deck. A couple friends enjoying the night and able to relax after all night pomp.
This is in front of the Lambda Chi/Alpha Chi house deck. There are thousands of people that come to look at the house decks, a few of them border the frame.
The many people that fill the streets later on in the night to enjoy walk arounds and the house decks. It remains busy late in the night. This is back where we started at the Zeta/AGR house deck.

Homecoming Photo Essay

This is a nutrition facts sign with interesting facts about OSU. This was gone by Sigma Nu and Gamma Phi Beta.
This is the Pistol Pete Clock. Done by Alpha Chi Omega and Lambda Chi Alpha. Theme "Our Brand Withstands the stand of Time."
The theme of the house deck done by Alpha Chi Omega and Lambda Chi Alpha.
Theme: "Our brand withstands the stand of time". Alpha Chi Omega/Lambda Chi Alpha.
Go State Graffitied sign done by Sigma Chi and Chi Omega. Theme: "Making your Mark"
Making your Mark theme with signs done by Sigma Chi and Chi Omega.
Legends never die sign done by Kappa Alpha Theta and Sigma Phi Epsilon.
"Memories that Brand us for life" done by Kappa Sigma and Alpha Delta Pi
Beat Missouri sign with pond done by Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
This was a remake of downtown stillwater. Orange Power sign done by Kappa Delta and Phi Kappa Alpha.
"When you are branded a cowboy for life, you will remain forever young" done by Zeta Tau Alpha and Alpha Gamma Rho. Their "Forever Young" theme won the house deck competition.