TULSA, OKLA. – For the past eight years, we have tirelessly promoted and produced Dfest Music Conference & Festival. We have experienced some amazing performances, made friendships that will last a lifetime, and created a special event that made Tulsa a very exciting place each July. Those of you who truly know us understand we do this out of sheer passion, our unending love of music and to empower and create a better place for hardworking, independent musicians.

In 2010, we have to make the difficult decision to put Dfest on hiatus. A tough economy, rising production costs and a decline in lower level corporate sponsorships and support have caused us to take pause. These factors have made us unable to produce the kind of event we are known for, so we are unable to move forward with the festival this year. At the point we knew that we had exhausted any and all options and head into July 2010 with full steam, we decided to postpone the event on our own terms. The integrity and quality of Dfest is of the utmost importance to us as the creators of the event.

We know that Dfest is a very special event and so much more than just a festival. We are not willing to compromise the quality of the event in any way that might cause it to be less of a festival than the people of Tulsa and our fans have come to know and love. In light of these events, we would like to give a very special thanks to the fans who have bought tickets to Dfest in the past, told your friends, Facebooked, tweeted, blogged and let everyone you knew know about how much you love Dfest. We would also like to thank our loyal sponsors, media partners, team members, emerging artists, and volunteers who have supported Dfest year after year. A very special thanks and appreciation goes to State Farm, who shared our vision for this event and stood by our side throughout this difficult decision.

With love and respect,

Tom and Angie Green and the Dfest Team

The two-day multi-genre music festival fused with a music industry conference was established in 2002 to help emerging artists gain exposure and connect with the music industry. The conference consisted of music panels, a tradeshow, music clinics and artist mentoring. Each night, national recording artists performed on large outdoor festival stages while top local, regional and national emerging artists performed on a multitude of outdoor stages, indoor venues and club stages. Dfest has quickly become one of the top independent music conferences in the nation as well as the Midwest’s largest music festival of its type, and a hot bed for showcasing exciting new diverse music talent.

If you’re driving around Tulsa lately, you’ve seen them. Orange cones, orange signs…lots of reflective orange and white…our semi-permanent state colors. It seems that we’re always under construction.

Yesterday, several major projects started in and around Tulsa. From work on the inner-dispersal loop around downtown to construction project that has blocked off 101st street near Memorial along with other construction along Memorial — Tulsa better be prepared with patience for these oncomming projects.

Our streets are bad, they really are. They’re full of pot holes, cracks and in dire need of repair/replacing. We’re spending $75 million on these projects that will be split up in three different phases. We’re in phase one right now.

During this phase, construction workers are working on the east and south legs of the IDL. This is required first since it will be the major detour route when the “actual” construction begins which should take around two years to complete. During this and the next phase, be prepared for lane changes, lane closures, as well as motorists filled with road rage. It’s going to happen, so just be ready and try to keep a positive attitude.

Remember, all of us are inconvenienced by our own growth and needs as a city.

The BOK Center declared that Rod Stewart will be performing on 9/20 as part of a “limited” tour this summer. Tickets will be on sale 10 AM on May 11th.

McKinney, Texas based Liberty National Life Insurance is opening a branch in Tulsa and plans to hire more than a hundred sales agents and sales management employees. Take that recession!

That’s right. Tulsa has now claimed the top spot on the 2009 Relocate America’s top 100 cities to relocate to.

OK State higher education regents approved a “School of Rock” degree program Thursday for the University of Central Oklahoma. Now only if Jack Black taught there…

Many of the Tulsa crime rates were down in 2008 including auto theft, rape (-15.7%), homicide (-14.5%), burglaries (-1.7%). Unfortunately, a few actually rose this past year: aggravated assaults (+11%), robberies (+7.1%), and larcenies (+1.7%).

At least the more violent crimes were down for the Tulsa metro.

Looks like Dippin’ Dots is expanding in Tulsa.
“Our goal is to do as many outside sales as possible – fundraisers, catering, corporate events … anything fun,” said Ryan Hausher, a franchise industry and corporate American veteran. “I’d like to take the three franchise locations that I have now and develop an attraction in each area where Dippin’ Dots is the go-to company when you want to raise money.”

We all know that this holiday puts a lot of pressure on guys to make it a fabulous and memorable day for the special women in their lives. The problem is that many guys lack either the funds or imagination to come up with the perfect Valentine that will have her gushing to all of her friends the next day. Let’s face it, this holiday was created for women, so in an effort to help out everyone here are some tips for guys from a woman (categorized by price).

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Think ahead! Many of the nicer restaurants offer reservations. Getting on that list shows your forethought and she will be thrilled that you did it! Ti Amo’s is a classic Valentine’s Day spot, their intimate booths and delicious Italian food will wow her for sure. The Melting Pot and Mahogany’s are also great pics for a romantic meal.

Diamonds are forever. This is a fail safe gift that will make any woman’s eye’s light up with surprise and excitement. Israel Diamond is wonderful if you have a little extra to spend, but watch for deals at other stores and you can find a beautiful sparkle that is moderately priced. Macy’s sells fine jewelry and has a great selection, plus they always have sales going on and you get extra discounts for using your Macy’s card. Sam’s Club also has some quality jewelry at reasonable prices. Don’t be scared that it’s WalMart’s big cousin…sparkle is sparkle.

Flowers always bring a smile. Most women love fresh cut flowers and a beautiful arrangement will have her blushing all day. Toni’s is one of the nicest places in town for a beautiful bouquet; just make sure you order in advance!

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Looking for jewelry but don’t have a fortune to spend? James Avery is located in Woodland Hills Mall (lower level by Macy’s) and offers a wide variety of jewelry with lots of sterling silver. From rings to necklaces and earrings you can’t go wrong with a gift from this unique shop.

Eat your heart out! Everyone does Valentine’s Day dinner out but who wants to deal with crowded restaurants and long waiting times? To try something a little different, go to the Marriott at Southern Hills and enjoy their delicious breakfast buffet. For around $20 (not including tip) the two of you can enjoy a buffet of muffins, assorted pastry, fresh fruit, hash brows, sausage, bacon, made-to-order omelets and many other tasty treats. To add even more romance get a room package that includes a super comfy bed and buffet breakfast the next morning.

Play games! Since the only Dave & Buster’s in the State just opened in Tulsa, why not go have some fun? Just be sure that she is into this kind of thing before planning a date around it. Have some food and a couple of drinks and relish in some childhood delights by playing everything from skee ball to trivia games.

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Flowers for less. Go to Sam’s Club or Reasor’s and you can pick and choose from several bundles of flowers to make your own arrangement. Buy an inexpensive vase to go with it and viola! you just did something thoughtful and creative!

Want to scare her into your arms? If you enjoy horror flicks and don’t mind crowded theaters, check out My Bloody Valentine which will be opening on (what else) Valentine’s Day. Added bonus: 3-D flick.

Funky food and fun. Cosmo’s is one of my favorite places to go to grab a drink or eat a whole meal and I enjoy they kooky atmosphere and fun staff. You can sit at a regular table or grab a seat in a plush chair and pick one of their many board games to play while you hang out. It is different and fun, my husband and I are regulars!

Want something inexpensive and low key? Here are a few ideas that always work… Stay at home, get a bottle of wine and make her dinner. Get some massage oil and make her literally melt in your hands. Have a picnic dinner in your living room and watch a romantic movie that you would never watch otherwise but know she will love. Make a Valentine’s Day card for her and be creative. My favorite V-day gift is the “love box” my husband made me with “I Love You” written in 100 languages!

Whatever you do, make it special in your own way and hopefully you will get some good lovin’ in return!

DO NOT: Buy her a gift card, forget to get (or make) a card or leave everything up to her! This only spells disaster.

Hopefully some of these ides will help you guys out and keep you in the arms of the one you love this Valentine’s Day. Have any other great ideas? Leave them in the comments.

Watch with shock n awe, as the top Baristas from Green Country’s best cafés compete until one drops from a caffeine overdose. Not really, but you can catch the aromas, tastes and talent as Baristas challenge each other in a coffee contest that is a first for Tulsa and hosted by Café Topéca. Proprietor of
Café Topéca, John Gaberino III (Chip) says, “This will be an interactional event.” “Our (coffee) culture is at the right time for this (type of event)”.

So what is a “Barista”? A “barista” is a person who is a expertise in the making a espresso-based coffee drink. You know how cool those “art forms” on the top of the crème of your latte are and how quick you like your tasty beverage to be in your hands. Now is your chance to see artists at work during a day long competition against the best in Oklahoma right here in your own T-town.

The competition will be taken on by one representative from each participating café. They will get 10 minutes to perfect a espresso, cappuccino, and a personal “signature” drink (in the epitome of the Iron Chef”) for two USBC certified sensorial judges using manual grounding, dosing and tamping of the coffee beans. How serious is this? Besides the 2 sensory judges (one flying in from Nashville),
there will be 1 Technical judge and 1 head judge in the mix. The two sensory judges will judge
timeliness, consistency, cleanliness, quality, taste and presentation. 1st place gets $100, 1/2
day roasting class on a Detrich IR-12 Roaster., 2nd place-$50, 3rd place-$25 and 4th place a
can of Folders.

Participating cafés will be: Jews Coffee & Health, Coffee House on 15th Street, Café Topeca, DoubleShot, Shades of Brown, and Coffee Slingers.

All the details

Where Café Topéca, 115 West 5th Street (south-east side of the historic Mayo Hotel)
When Saturday, December 6th, 2008 at 10:00AM