Events

Tahlequah becomes the tractor capital of the world, or at least Oklahoma, on Saturday, April 23 when the Red Fern Festival Tractor Parade takes off through downtown Tahlequah. Tractor owners, enthusiasts, tractor clubs and organizations and everyone in between are encouraged to enter their tractors in the parade - either the tractor alone, or a tractor pulling a float.

The fourth annual Red Fern Festival is the weekend of April 23 and 24, 2010. In addition to the tractor parade, the 5Cs Car Show, hound dog field trials, the Red Fern Barbecue Cook Off and Extravaganza, the ever- popular crawdad hole, old fashioned children's games, the Art Depot for children, live music and more are on tap.

The Red Fern Festival attracts people from throughout the state, region and nation. Booths will be set up in Norris Park selling ferns, handcrafted items, jewelry, the book "Where the Red Fern Grows" and other items. There will also be a wide variety of food vendors.

"It is remarkable to see the fun and laughter of the children and their families reliving this fabulous tale in the town where it all began," said Kate Kelly, tourism director with the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce. Kin Thompson, Tahlequah Area Tourism Council vice chairman, attended the festival last year with his family and presided over the crawdad hole, where children were able to catch crawdads in a small water-filled pool. Thompson will again be at the helm of the crawdad hole for this year's festival.

In its first year, the festival was chosen as an official Oklahoma Centennial Event and received a Merit Award for Outstanding New Event. In its second year, the Red Fern Festival took the Redbud Award for Outstanding New Event. The awards are given by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, and the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association.