Events calendar turns boredom into amusement

By Carrie Coppernoll

Published: May 6, 2006

Watching TV and searching Google for your name can get old.

The NewsOK.com events calendar -- packed full of reader submissions -- is the place to find something fun to do. Here are a few reader submissions I checked out.

Prayer muffins
Members of the Grace United Methodist Church, 6316 N Tulsa, gathered Thursday morning to celebrate the National Day of Prayer. The men and women chatted over scrambled egg casserole and muffins until the Rev. Ed Light began the short service.

The Day of Prayer "too frequently becomes a day of speeches and not a day of prayer," he said. The church members joined hands around their tables and meditated aloud. "Show us Your love so that we can show it to others," one woman said softly.

Cute crawlers
Toddlers, teens and grown-ups attended the Myriad Gardens' annual Crystal Bridge Bug Out. Visitors are given a small plastic tub filled with lady bugs to release into the gardens.

Bridge staff unloaded a cheesecloth bag stuffed with 70,000 lady bugs into the tiny tubs Wednesday morning, just in time for the Bug Out. The lady bugs eat harmful insects, so pesticides can be avoided, said Janet Latham, the horticulture leader for Myriad Gardens.

Georgia Burrows, an admitted lady bug fanatic, came with her camera.

"I'm going to take lady bug pictures for my grandkids ... and for me," she said.

Marcie Flores, dressed in a lady bug T-shirt, brought her three children: seventh-grader Aylaia, fifth-grader Aylizha and toddler Emilio. "They're cute," Aylizha said of the bugs.

"They were ticklish," said Megen Oliphant, 8, of Edmond.

Five kindergartners from Resurrection Lutheran Church in Yukon hunted for sidewalk survivors. They picked up the living and threw them like baseballs into the greenery.

Gracie Stephenson, 5, came dressed in her favorite lady bug outfit. "Did you see all these, Gracie?" her grandma asked, pointing to a leaf cradling a few dozen bugs. Gracie cooed for a moment and then slapped the leaf's underside to help the bugs spread out.

Bridge battles
Thousands of hard-core bridge players crowded into unexpectedly quiet conference rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2945 Northwest Expressway. This was serious business. Many players were older adults; a woman with horn-rimed glasses stared intently at her cards as the tricks of the hand played out. But not everyone was her age. A recent University of Oklahoma graduate played his cards in a T-shirt and ball cap.

The American Contract Bridge League regional tournament continues today and Sunday. Play is open to anyone: $12 for regular events and $8 for intermediates and newcomers. Tournament Chairman Ken Dekker said he expects about 4,000 players to attend the tournament.