Roman Nose Hills Trail Ride

April 20, 2016
This weekend is the spring Roman Nose Hills Trail Ride and the Kiwanis club members have been working with Jeff Fritz to get this one off the ground.  It looks like the weather is going to be sunny and dry.  We've had some rain off and on over the past couple of weeks, so it's been touch and go. Fritz reported today that he thought we could have as many as 150+ registered riders, plus their family members who come to camp out, enjoy the park, and eat the delicious meals provided.  This is the oldest horse trail ride in the state of Oklahoma.  Andy discovered two film reels while helping a friend clean out their building, and he took them to the Oklahoma Historical Society to see if they could be watched.  One was from 1949 Round-up Club, and the other was from 1953.  The Society was able to restore about 15 minutes from one reel and 11 minutes from the other.  The footage is now in digital format.  We watched today at the weekly Kiwanis meeting and it was fascinating. It was a page out of history come to life.

It's been a busy month so far at the Chaparral Retreat.  We had a house concert one weekend, and have served pizza dinners on two weekends as fundraisers for Phoenix Circle Foundation.  The Retreat is booked for the next two weekends.  Then, on May 1, we have local talent Katie Ballew and her friend Kelly performing a house concert. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to sit outside.  It is such a different atmosphere than sitting in a theatre, a different experience.  We also have a group called My Politic booked for May 16. 

In the planning stages are a community garden at the First United Methodist Church, thanks to a grant from the OSU Extension Service;  and the Scissortail Arts Day scheduled for May 28, that will provide a half day of fun activities for kids (and adults) on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.  Watonga used to have a "Pioneer Day" festival over Memorial Day weekend every year, but that faded away in the last few years.  Our economic development advisor tells us that it is a good idea  for a small town like ours to have more than one festival a year, to bring tourism.  So, a couple of local businesses and a couple of arts supporters are putting on the first annual Scissortail Arts Day this year.  It will only be one-half day, but will dovetail with a couple of Vacation Bible School activities.  Watch for details.......

Today is "Dog Farting Awareness Day"

From THATMUTT.COM -- April 8 is Dog Farting Awareness Day.

Ah, finally, a day we can unabashedly talk about dog farting!!
Our estate hound Skeeter has had this problem since he began taking steroids after having two blood transfusions. We thought it would be a temporary situation, but no, we have had to tolerate his random and uncontrollable "outbursts" daily for the past two years. BUT it is worth it-- he's an old boy and still active and we are thankful for every day he is still with us. Today I will not give him any s**t about his smelly emissons.

I'm still trying to catch up on the news!

Sometimes I post on the "chaparrallbb.blogspot.com" blog, and sometimes I post here.
I just want to give a shout out to the musicians and special friends who have come out to the Chaparral Retreat, just north of the town of Watonga and one mile from Roman Nose State Park, and supported my passion and pet project, the Phoenix Circle Foundation [in no particular order (but remember these names!!)]
Merry  Ellen Kirk
Gentry Counce
Vernon Brickman
Katie Ballew-Lyle
Nathan Brown (former Oklahoma poet laureate)
Caroline Cotter
Stephen Hunley (and his lovely wife Elizabeth)
Brian Pounds

The Oven (wood-fired pizza dinners) is now open, and the next scheduled dinner is for April 16.
On May 1, the singing duo Katie Ballew and Kelly will give a House Concert, and My Politic is scheduled to play on May 16. 

We are working on the plans for a community garden, the Scissortail Arts Day festival, and looking forward to the upcoming Roman Nose Hills Trail Ride.  It's a busy time of year!!
/Linda

The Oven is Open

The Chaparral Retreat hosted a pizza dinner fundraiser for Phoenix Circle Foundation on Saturday, April 2.  It was a "full house", with some returning guests to the B&B, visitors to Roman Nose State Park, visitors to Whirlwind Winery, and locals who had not been out to The Oven before. One couple was celebrating their 22nd anniversary.

Saturday was the first of what will be a full spring and summer (and maybe fall) of events at the Chaparral Retreat, including live music programs. The evening was cool but not cold. We sat on the patio and ate, visited, laughed, told stories; some stayed later and relaxed in front of a roaring outdoor fireplace.  Ah, the scent of a wood fire brings back memories of camping with the kids, Boy Scout outings, and hiking trips in New Mexico. At my age now, I am glad I can enjoy a fire outside and sleep indoors on a nice bed!

We raised some money for Phoenix Circle Foundation and brought awareness of the need and benefit of the arts in rural Oklahoma.  Thanks to all who came and shared the evening with us.  If you can't make it to one of our fundraisers but want to make a tax-deductible donation, you can send a check to Phoenix Circle Foundation at PO Box 427, Watonga, OK 73772 [as I write this, I realize I've been listening to the KOSU radio pledge drive for the past four days!].  We will be glad to send you a receipt.  PCF is listed with the IRS, the State of Oklahoma, and Guidestar as a qualified 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization. 

We welcome comments or reviews by visitors, on our facebook pages, by private message, on TravelOK, TripAdvisor, Yelp, or Air bnb, and Red Carpet Country Travel Guide website.  We appreciate your support and feel so blessed to meet new people and make new friends.  I am thankful that we get to share the beautiful property owned by Andy's family, and am especially happy that the property has been kept in the Barrett family.  Come see us sometime!   /Linda

Tourist season in northwest Oklahoma.

Who remembers swimming in this spring-fed pool at Roman Nose State Park? 

My husband grew up one mile from this park, on Hwy 8A outside of Watonga, OK. The first time he brought me from Texas to meet his family, we went out to Roman Nose State Park and I saw this swimming hole. It was beautiful. Now I live in that family home and we call it the Chaparral Retreat, a Bed & Breakfast. The swimming hole has been "updated" but the park is still a natural wonder. The swimming pool opens on Memorial Day weekend.

The B&B is open year'round. We serve wood-fired pizza dinners, host Oklahoma House Concerts, and have fundraisers for charitable and educational causes. The property is also available for rental for private parties, reunions, etc.  Check us out at www.chaparralbb.com or any of our Facebook pages. 

Community Calendar

March 28, 2016
With all of today's communication technology, doesn't anyone wish there was a central "Community Calendar" for Watonga ?   I was told this weekend that there is a sports-related activity on the same day and time as a church activity.   I don't have a child in school, nor did my children go to school here.  I don't read the sports section of any newspaper -- I barely know who Kevin Durant is!  I am always happy to hear of our local youth sports successes but I don't keep up on their calendars.  I'm not on the mailing list or contact list for sports-related activities or local school activities.  I don't hear about fundraisers or other activities unless I happen across a flyer on a business door or see it in the newspaper.  The Chamber of Commerce community calendar hasn't been maintained or updated for months.  The City of Watonga website and their "information line" is not kept up to date other than to post city council agendas.   SO, there is no one place where ALL things going on in Watonga can be posted.  I suddenly understand the reason communities of long ago had a "town crier".  

I administer at least three  (Watonga Events, Watonga Community Events, Blaine Co. Community Events)  facebook pages that I've set up to share information about events in our community and Blaine County,  tourism, arts, music, theatre, restaurants, and other things I think are interesting and people might want to know about.  As a local business owner, I sure do want people to know where we are and when we're having a special event. 
 I administer Facebook pages for the Chaparral Retreat & Guesthouse, Oklahoma House Concerts, Liquid ART, Phoenix Circle Foundation, ART for FUNd$$, and Watonga Arts Center.   If I see a post on the newsfeed pages of any of these facebook pages, I will share them -- fundraisers, concerts, special activities.......  This takes up a lot of time, but I am a person that wants to know what is going on around me.  I am on the board of directors of Red Carpet Country Tourism and can post tourism events on their facebook page.  I am connected to a dozen different "groups" on facebook and share information with those groups. 
I can only share information about these activities if I know about them.  Not everyone reads the newspaper, and not everyone can afford to advertise in the newspaper.   BUT, there is a place where any event or activity can be listed --and that is the WATONGA COMMUNITY EVENTS page.  All you have to do is "Like" the page, and you will receive anything that is posted there (it will show up on your Facebook Newsfeed, not your Timeline).  Anyone who "likes" the page can post their event there.  or you can send the information for your event or activity via the "Message" button on that page and I will post it. 
/Linda 

Phoenix Circle Foundation End of Year Report

December 1, 2015   END OF YEAR REPORT for Phoenix Circle Foundation

 

In 2014 we held Liquid ART fundraisers and a “matching funds” campaign.  We donated $1,000 to Watonga Elementary School for their music program, and provided art classes for children at a number of venues. 

 During 2015 our foundation and individual board members were very active in our community.  We received a community grant from Walmart and were able to provide art projects as part of the middle school summer school program and coordinated the creative projects with the middle school summer curriculum.  We provided art classes as part of the Methodist Church VBS program in June.  We also held  art classes for children at the Watonga Public Library and the Methodist Church allowed us to use a room in their building for a community art class. For the second year we were asked to lead an art project by the County 4-H coordinator.   Several of the children entered their paintings in the Blaine Co. Free Fair and several received ribbons!  The smiles on their faces were priceless.    

 We continue to promote the arts, music, and wellness education. We began an “ART FOR FUNDS” program to help other organizations or causes raise funds.  PCF held art fundraisers for Relay for Life and for Watonga High School After-Prom Party.    During the past year we sponsored numerous arts, music, and storytelling events, bringing independent and upcoming musicians to our rural area from Nashville, TN, Oklahoma City, and Austin, TX, including the former Oklahoma Poet Laureate Nathan Brown and local musician Katie Ballew, along with Brian Pounds (a former contestant on American Idol);  Merry Ellen Kirk; Gentry Counce, Vernon Brickman.  We made sponsorship donations to “Live at the Liberty” shows and promoted those shows on our facebook page.    

 In August, we organized our third school supply give-away, and obtained buy-in (partnership) with First United Methodist Church Watonga to provide backpacks and additional school supplies, serving over 100 children. This is a growing program and we look forward to continuing this partnership.  

In support of literacy and Language Arts, we began a “Let Me Read a Story to You” program, where we have adults read classic short stories to children, their parents and grandparents, to encourage the love of reading and parent involvement.  Though designed for school-aged children and their teachers and adult guardians, our audience has included children from age 3 to adults 65 years of age.  We started with a reading of “Rikki-tikki-tavi” from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.  We  read the Bradbury short story “All Summer in a Day” and poems from “Beasts by the Bunches” and selections from TS Elliot’s “Old Possums’ Book of Practical Cats”.   We plan on continuing this reading program.  

Our board members are involved with the Kiwanis club, and participated in their fundraisers, with donations, selling tickets, and helping with the events, including the Roman Nose Hills Trail Ride.   We held six Liquid ART events in partnership with Whirlwind Winery, with the intent of not only raising funds in order to provide free art classes to children, but also to draw visitors to Watonga and support a local business and the local economy. 

 In the coming year we are looking toward to the opening of an arts center in Watonga (next to the Liberty Theater) that will include studio space for children and adult students and an Art Gallery where students and established artists can display their work.   We hope to attract artists and musicians from across the state to display their art and perform at the Arts Center.  We are also seeking a grant that will allow us to set up a community garden.  Our PRIMARY goal is to supplement our children’s education through programs focusing on the arts, wellness, and community.  Although some may regard arts education as a luxury, many studies have shown that exposure to the Arts is more important than ever to the development of the next generation of children as they grow up.   The arts are also a powerful economic development tool for small towns.  We hope that in the coming year, more people will be able to experience first-hand the pride we take in furthering the education of our children and promoting Watonga as a tourism destination.

 In order to meet our mission and provide these services in our community, we rely on the generosity of individuals, businesses, and organizations.   Because we are a 501(c) (3) organizations all donations to Phoenix Circle Foundation are tax-deductible (not only for businesses but also individuals). We need the financial support of the entire community in order to continue to offer the programs we have in the past and expand on the services we provide in the future to our community.  As your organization is dedicated to the support of our community and programs for young people, at this time we ask that you help support our efforts by making a donation which will allow us to continue to provide art supplies and classes for children at no charge, bring in guest teaching artists, and give us matching funds as needed for grant applications.  Your individual members can also support our efforts by attending monthly Liquid ART events, Wood-fired pizza dinners, and Oklahoma House Concerts held throughout the year.  Remember too that your donations STAY IN WATONGA!  Keep posted on our activities by visiting our facebook page – PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION. 

 Thank you for your support!

  Linda Barrett, Managing Director