Nellie Clay Band plays the Oklahoma Room Feb. 20 during Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, Mo. (Doug Hill)
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or only having one extra day, February was especially packed with music and culture events this year.
In the midst of national politics, Norman’s city council races include Ashley Nicole McRay, candidate for Ward 6. The month kicked off with a launch party for her campaign, featuring poetry readings and music. During second Friday in Norman, the Art Walk brought out the usual crowds, and mild weather made conditions ideal for music on Main Street.
On Valentine’s Day, Norman Public Library hosted its annual African-American Read-In, featuring College Football Hall of Famer Joe Washington. Further north in Kansas City, the Folk Alliance International conference, which bills itself as “the world’s largest gathering of the Folk music industry and community,” hosted performers from near and far, including Tulsa’s Susan Herndon and England’s Rosie Hood.
A poet named Jesse reads a piece during the campaign-launch party for Ashley Nicole’s Ward 6 city council bid Feb. 7 in Norman. (Doug Hill)
Crowds form on the sidewalk outside Bison Witches Feb. 12 during Norman’s second-Friday art walk. (Doug Hill)
Outside his Puebla Tacos Y Tequileria, Armando Rivera mans the bongos Feb. 12 during Norman’s Art Walk. (Doug Hill)
A bike rack pulls double duty as public art in downtown Norman. (Doug Hill)
Friendly food truck dude waves Feb. 12 during Norman’s Art Walk. (Doug hill)
A busker sings in Spanish during Norman’s second-Friday art walk. (Doug Hill)
Graffiti as seen in a Norman alley. (Doug Hill)
Norman public school children perform a reading Feb. 14 during Norman Public Library’s African-American Read-In. (Doug Hill)
OU and NFL great Joe Washington reads Feb. 14 at the Norman Public Library’s African-American Read-In. (Doug Hill)
Jefferson Hamer and Rosie Hood perform in the United Kingdom Room Feb. 20 during Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, Mo. (Doug Hill)
Nellie Clay Band plays the Oklahoma Room Feb. 20 during Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, Mo. (Doug Hill)
Stylish attendee poses in the Westin Hotel lobby during Folk Alliance International Feb. 20 in Kansas City, Mo. (Doug Hill)
Tulsa singer-songwriter Susan Herndon played the Oklahoma Room Feb. 20 during Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, Mo. (Doug Hill)
The Flint Hills bask under a blue sky in south-central Kansas between El Dorado and Wichita. (Doug Hill)
Doug Hill earned a double-major undergraduate degree in English and East Asian Studies from the University of Kansas and a master's in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. He's been a freelance journalist and photographer in central Oklahoma since 1997.
