Description

Kay County is home to the largest County Free Fair in Oklahoma located in Blackwell. Kay County is also home to Northern Oklahoma College located in Tonkawa.

See the latest news from Kay County

Events

JANUARY
15	Ultimate Eagle Watch @Kaw City Community Ctr	Kaw City	580-762-9494
APRIL
8	Redbud Jazz Festival	Tonkawa	580-628-2220
MAY
14-15	Camp McFadden Outdoor Expo	Kaw Lake	580-762-9494
JUNE
3	12th Annual Draggin’ Grand Nostalgia Cruise	Ponca City	580-762-1929
4	Cherokee Strip Corvette Show	Ponca City	580-762-1929
4	Ponca City Herb Festival at LA Cann Gardens	Ponca City	580-718-0027
18	4th Annual Multicultural Rodeo at 101 Rodeo Grounds	Ponca City	580-762-2499
24-26	Tonkawa Tribal Pow-Wow	Tonkawa	580-628-2220
JULY
9	Christmas in July/Kaw Fest @ Pioneer Beach	Kaw Lake	580-762-9494
24-30	Grand National Moto-Cross Races@Ambuc PK	Ponca City	580-762-3635
AUGUST
11-13	101 Ranch Wild West’s 50th PRCA Rodeo	Ponca City	580-765-5549
SEPTEMBER
10	Charlie Adams Day	Newkirk	580-362-2377
17	Cherokee Strip Barbecue and Chili cook-off	Ponca City	580-762-6225
23-34	18th Annual Standing Bear Pow Wow	Ponca City	580-762-1514
TBA	36th Annual Fine Arts Festival	Ponca City	580-765-9746
OCTOBER
1-2	Oktoberfest	Ponca City	580-767-0420
15	“Good Vibrations” Car Show	Tonkawa	580-628-2200
22	Kaw Lake Fall Festival @ Camp McFadden	Ponca City	580-762-9494
23-24	18th Annual Standing Bear Pos Wow	Ponca City	581-762-1514
NOVEMBER
23-12/30	Kingfisher in Lights	Kingfisher	580-375-4445
DECEMBER
1-31	Festival of Angels Lighting Displays	Ponca City	580-762-2273

Blackwell Events

April: Spring Festival and Farm & Ranch Expo
April: Spring’s-A-Bloom Festival
April: Kay Day
May: Nardin Heritage Days
July: July Fourth Celebration
Sept. Kay County Free Fair
Oct. Blackwell High School and Homecoming Celebration
Dec. Hometown Holidays and Downtown Lighting Contest
Dec. Children’s Christmas Store

For more information contact
Blackwell Chamber of Commerce
120 South Main Street
580-363-4195
info@blackwellchamber.org
www.blackwellchamber.org

Ponca Events

January
Martin Luther King Jr Celebration
Eagle Watch
An Affair at the Mansion

February
Black History Month
Chocolate, Champagne & Candlelight

March
Arbor Day Celebration

April
Taste & Tasteless
Blessin of the Vines/Fiesta of the Vines

May
Crappie USA Qualifier Tournament

June
Draggin’ Grand Nostalgia Cruise
Herb Festival
Multicultural Rodeo
Kaw Fest
Juneteenth Celebration

July
Freedom Festival
Grand National Moto-Cross Races

August
Rodeo Parade
101 Ranch Wild West PRCA Rodeo

September
Fine Arts Festival
Cherokee Strip Cook-Off
Standing Bear Pow Wow

October
Oktoberfest
Kaw Lake Fall Fest

November
Veteran’s Day Parade
Festival of Angels Lighting Displays

December
Festival of Angels Lighting Displays
Downtown Lighted Christmas Parade

Cities

Blackwell

Gateway to Oklahoma – It’s a Great Stop on I-35!

Blackwell is right at the top of Oklahoma, located on I-35,. Many visitors stay over and see the Top of Oklahoma Museum or the many antique malls and downtown shops. The museum is located in a uniquely beautiful and historic building, the Historic Electric Park Pavilion. Blackwell is home to the largest County Free Fair in Oklahoma. The annual Kay County Free Fair attracts thousands of visitors and more than 100 exhibitors. Blackwell hosts some of Oklahoma’s best festivals the Spring’s-A-Bloom Spring Festival in April, the Streeter’s Rod Run Car Show in June, an outstanding Independence Day celebration, homecoming events like no other and Hometown Holidays/activities and displays the entire month of December.

April: Spring Festival and Farm & Ranch Expo
April: Spring’s-A-Bloom Festival
April: Kay Day
May: Nardin Heritage Days
July: July Fourth Celebration
Sept. Kay County Free Fair
Oct. Blackwell High School and Homecoming Celebration
Dec. Hometown Holidays and Downtown Lighting Contest
Dec. Children’s Christmas Store

For more information contact
Blackwell Chamber of Commerce
120 South Main Street
580-363-4195
info@blackwellchamber.org
www.blackwellchamber.org

Kaw City

Kaw Lake’s 11,000-foot dam and spillway rise 121 feet above the riverbed, creating a 38-mile-long lake with more than 170 miles of shoreline. It’s a recreation paradise with boating, skiing, hunting and fishing, picnicking, and camping. Kaw Lake’s beauty urges you to romp and play in nature’s playground.

You won’t find wall-to-wall houses there, you’ll find welldesigned public campgrounds tucked into the many coves and inlets. You won’t find traffic jams or hear screeching tires, but you will find roads that take you where you need to go and trails for hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. You won’t find polluted air or acres of parking lots, but you will find clean fresh air, sparkling water, the earth beneath your feet and a clear sky— give or take a cloud or two—above your head. It’s an ideal vantage point to view nesting eagles in winter.

Kaw Lake and the Arkansas River have long been known for blue cats as well as bass, crappie, walleye, stripers and even a spoonbill or two. The lake has several man-made fish-attraction areas that are clearly marked on maps available at bait shops, restaurants and stores throughout the area.

There are seven public use areas, two swim beaches and 13 boat ramps located around the lake for visitors to enjoy. Campers can select from 268 family campsites, many of which are equipped with water and electric hookups. Groups of all types enjoy two group camping areas at Osage Cove and Sarge Creek. Reserved use of the group camping areas is recommended from May through September.

Hikers and horseback riders are attracted to the beautiful trails along Kaw Lake’s eastern shore. The Eagle View Hiking Trail is about 12 miles long and runs between Osage Cove and Burbank Landing.

Contact the Kaw Lake Association for information on all Kaw Lake activities: (877) 671-6985.

For a FREE Kaw Lake area Visitor’s Guide call: 580.762.9494 or 877.671.6985 and visit KawLake.com

Ponca City

Ponca City, west of Kaw Lake, combines the past with the future, the Native American with the cowboy, the fine and performing arts with oil and cattle, all with lots of fun and recreation! You will find plenty to do and see while travelling through Ponca City.

This diverse community provides events galore such as the Herb Festival, KawFest, Nostalgic Car Cruise, Chili & BBQ Cook-off, PRCA 101 Ranch Rodeo, Standing Bear Pow-Wow and Oktoberfest.

Lake Ponca and Kaw Lake provide opportunities to boat, water ski, swim, fish or camp. Nature lovers can enjoy beautiful scenery, hiking and quiet bird watching. Kids and “kids at heart” will enjoy family fun at the Sun ‘n Fun Waterpark. If you prefer golf, Ponca City has the Lew Wentz Memorial Golf Course. You won’t want to miss the Conoco Museum. Immerse yourself in the history of the wildcat days of the Cherokee Outlet and the birth of this premier oil and gas empire founded in 1875.

Standing Bear Museum and Education Center is a unique building designed to honor the Native American culture in the Ponca City community. This park is home to a 22-foot bronze statue of Ponca Chief Standing Bear, viewing courts honoring the six area tribes, and a permanent powwow arbor and arena. This unusual outdoor center has been recognized nationally for its excellence in the preservation and interpretation of local history.

For the art enthusiast, the historic Poncan Theatre offers a number of surprising performances as well as it’s one of a kind lobby art exhibit, hand-painted 1930s movie posters are a must see. You’ll enjoy the Ponca City Art Center, featuring many exhibits and an annual outdoor art show. If you are a history buff, you must see the famous Pioneer Woman Statue. The Pioneer Woman Museum showcases the dedication of the pioneer women who crossed this area and who refused to be limited by boundaries.

Let’s not forget the Oklahoma cowboys who were a big part of the area history. The 101 Ranch Museum, located in Marland’s Grand Home, tells many stories about cowboys and rodeo greats that lived at the 101 Ranch just south west of Ponca City. In addition, there are numerous memorials like the Louise Fluke Flag Plaza, D.A.R. Museum, POW-MIA Memorial and Ponca Military Academy Park.

2011 Events

January
Martin Luther King Jr Celebration
Eagle Watch
An Affair at the Mansion

February
Black History Month
Chocolate, Champagne & Candlelight

March
Arbor Day Celebration

April
Taste & Tasteless
Blessin of the Vines/Fiesta of the Vines

May
Crappie USA Qualifier Tournament

June
Draggin’ Grand Nostalgia Cruise
Herb Festival
Multicultural Rodeo
Kaw Fest
Juneteenth Celebration

July
Freedom Festival
Grand National Moto-Cross Races

August
Rodeo Parade
101 Ranch Wild West PRCA Rodeo

September
Fine Arts Festival
Cherokee Strip Cook-Off
Standing Bear Pow Wow

October
Oktoberfest
Kaw Lake Fall Fest

November
Veteran’s Day Parade
Festival of Angels Lighting Displays

December
Festival of Angels Lighting Displays
Downtown Lighted Christmas Parade

Ponca City Tourism
866.763.8092
www.poncacitytourism.com

Tonkawa

The Small Town with a BIG Heart!Home to Northern Oklahoma College and the McCarter Museum of Tonkawa History, Tonkawa has an interesting history.

The heroic Nez Perce of Idaho were rounded up by the U.S. Army in 1879 and brought to Indian Territory as prisoners and exiles. For several unhappy years Chief Joseph and his band lived on the Oakland Reserve near the confluence of the Salt Fork and Chickaskia rivers, a mile and a half east of modern Tonkawa. One mile west, Chief Yellow Bull and his band lived along the Salt Fork river at Yellow Bull Crossing and Springs. In 1885, the Nez Perce were removed to reservations in Idaho and Washington. The fate of the Tonkawa tribe was more tragic. Suspected of cannibalism, they were almost exterminated by other plains Indians during the Civil War. The 92 remaining tribal members arrived at the Oakland Reserve a month after the removal of the Nez Perce. Today there are no full blood Tonkawas. Ironically, the word Tonkawa is a Waco (Indian tribe) name meaning “they all stay together.” There are several museums in Tonkawa: the A.D. Buck Museum of Science and History (on the campus) and the Tonkawa Tribal Museum (located southeast of town).

Tour the McCarter Museum of Tonkawa History
220 E. Grand Ave.
Open Mon-Sat 1 to 3

With about 1,800 students on the Tonkawa campus, Northern Oklahoma College, a future-oriented, learning-focused, connected and distinctive institution, offers 68 associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science.

Annual Events:
April (TBA) – Redbud Jazz Festival
June 22-24 – Tonkawa Tribal Pow-wow
July 4 – Fourth of July Celebration
Oct. 13 – Wheatheart Festival Classic Car Show
Nov. 29 – Olde Tyme Christmas

Tonkawa Chamber of Commerce
“The Wheatheart of Oklahoma”
102 E. Grand, 580-628-2220
tonkawacofc@cableone.net
www.tonkawachamber.org

Attractions