Scissortail Park

[Pete]

That temporary musical swings exhibit in Centennial Park was a smashing success.

Seems something similar could be built here or in the Myriad Gardens.

[PaddyShack]

Our 4 year prefers swings over most playground stuff, coming in close at 2nd are slides.

[Zuplar]

Our 4 year prefers swings over most playground stuff, coming in close at 2nd are slides.

My kid is a little older, but same. Swings are easy to add, maybe it's possible to get a couple added somewhere.

[catcherinthewry]

Small thing but sort of crazy that in all of this giant new park, theres not one swing or swing set for kids. Yes, theres lots of simple parks with one but cant find a spot for one in all of scissortail park?

Honestly, I go back and forth on this issue.

[mugofbeer]

Out of curiosity, why?

[ShadowStrings]

I think it's a swing pun.

[catcherinthewry]

I think it's a swing pun.

Yeah, just a bad joke.

[Teo9969]

Yeah, just a bad joke.

Yep....swing and a miss.

[catcherinthewry]

Yep....swing and a miss.

And I thought mine was bad.

[mugofbeer]

Out of curiosity, why?

I should have caught that......

[catch22]

Well at least we don't have to go round and round on the Merry Go-Round proposal again.

[Canoe]

The gathering place in Tulsa has little side areas with a piece of playground equipment along the way. This encourages young families to ise the whole park instead of just one area.

This allows the whole park to fill activate and in use and this allows more development becuase more people are in onw area.

I would really like to see this idea used in the lower park.

[RickOKC]

Four questions now that the lower park is done:

1) Is the pedestrian bridge to Wiley Post already funded through an existing revenue source?

2) What is the next property adjoining the park to be developed?

3) What is the current status of the Cusack Meats property? As in, are their efforts on anyone’s part for the situation to be different than it is?

4) What efforts are in place to make additional investments in the lower park (additional planting on the far south side), additional programming or equipment, etc.?

[Pete]

Four questions now that the lower park is done:

1) Is the pedestrian bridge to Wiley Post already funded through an existing revenue source?

2) What is the next property adjoining the park to be developed?

3) What is the current status of the Cusack Meats property? As in, are their efforts on anyone’s part for the situation to be different than it is?

4) What efforts are in place to make additional investments in the lower park (additional planting on the far south side), additional programming or equipment, etc.?

1. Not yet
2. Most of the property on either side has recently sold. Expect commercial development on the east side of Robinson and new homes to the west.
3. Cusack doesn't seem to be going anywhere. At some point that property will be valuable enough for them to sell and move elsewhere.
4. South of the park along the River is not part of Scissortail. Like the pedestrian bridge across the river, the long-term plan is to beautify and improve that entire area.

[Canoe]

I am happy to see the lower park courts pretty busy every time I am in the area to visit.

[Pete]

Took a long walk through the park last night and was pleased to see the sports courts and soccer field were very well-lit.

[catcherinthewry]

Light as a Feather dedication ceremony will be Dec 21st at 5:30.

[Pete]

I noticed over the weekend they have already fenced off the area and started preparing the foundation/base:

[catcherinthewry]

This is probably my favorite piece of public art in OKC.

[Bellaboo]

Been waiting on this - can't wait to see it lit up at night.

Way better than the proposed 'Sputnik' look a like.

[Plutonic Panda]

Light as a Feather dedication ceremony will be Dec 21st at 5:30.

Here’s the press release:

Dedication for Scissortail Park’s “Light as a Feather” Dec. 21

Post Date:12/13/2022 9:01 AM
Oklahoma City residents and visitors are invited to a dedication and official lighting ceremony for the newly installed “Light as a Feather” sculpture located on the northeast corner of Scissortail Park, near Oklahoma City Boulevard and Robinson Avenue.

The dedication ceremony is at 5:30 p.m. with the lighting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 21.

The artwork is being dedicated to former Arts Liaison Robbie Kienzle, who transformed Oklahoma City through the 1% for the Arts program and lost her battle with cancer in June.

“Robbie approached each art project with enthusiasm and joy,” said Mayor David Holt. “She expanded Oklahoma City’s art collection and exposed residents to a wide variety of public art created by a diverse group of local and international artists. She was particularly excited about the ‘Light as a Feather’ sculpture.”

The towering 6-ton, 37-foot-long, 31-foot-tall sculpture, titled “Light as a Feather” (Taking Flight), is in the shape of a softly curved feather. The sculpture includes a center spine and 277 steel components, which seem to lightly touch the ground at its center. At night, the sculpture glows, offering a counterbalance and gathering point to Scissortail Park’s lighting experience.

Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of StudioKCA in Brooklyn, New York, were commissioned by the City to create the sculpture. Inspiration for the sculpture came to Klimoski and Chang while out in the park. Just in front of them, a bird flapped its wings and took flight. During takeoff, a small feather floated down, landing on their son’s foot. The feather seemed to capture that moment of transition from ground to sky, serving as a reminder of what is possible with enough effort.

“An interaction with Robbie was always a positive experience,” said Maureen Heffernan, CEO of Scissortail Park Foundation and Myriad Gardens Foundation. “You always felt you had her full attention when voicing an opinion or concern. She had a challenging role to find committee consensus to select public art – a process often difficult. However, she oversaw that process competently and so gracefully. The Taking Flight sculpture is a wonderful tribute to the impressive legacy she leaves in OKC. I love the feather as a symbol of flight, lift and floating aloft and then touching back down to earth to rest before new adventures. The oversized storybook scale inspires one’s imagination to think what mythical bird was flying over the Park.”

The $560,000 sculpture was funded by the City’s 1% for Arts Ordinance as part of the construction of MAPS 3 Upper Scissortail Park. The ordinance requires 1% of the budget for City of OKC construction projects to be dedicated to public art. In the future, there will be an additional 1% for Arts project in Lower Scissortail Park. Project details have not been determined.

Visit okc.gov/arts to learn more about the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and the 1% for Arts Ordinance.

- https://www.okc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/4294/18

[Southsider2]

[Pete]

The “Light as a Feather” sculpture has been installed in Scissortail Park.

The towering 6-ton, 37-foot-long, 31-foot-tall sculpture includes a center spine and 277 steel components, which seem to lightly touch the ground at its center.

The artwork is dedicated to former Arts Liaison Robbie Kienzle, who transformed Oklahoma City through the 1% for the Arts program and lost her battle with cancer in June.

Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of StudioKCA in Brooklyn, New York, were commissioned by the City to create the sculpture.

[TheTravellers]

Looks very cool, but are the lights temporary? If they're not meant to be, they will actually be - people are going to be tripping over them, kicking them, etc., and I'd bet they'll be half gone (or non-working) in a few months. There are way better solutions than what they chose for the lighting.

[Laramie]

Nice to have a quality piece like this in the downtown park. Hopefully, we'll see more quality pieces of art of this caliber
added to the park and the Botanical Gardens' area.