Thousands of people turned out to downtown Sapulpa for its 125th birthday party, celebrated by a two-day event to kick off the month of April.
The town’s quasquicentennial celebration was the largest birthday party in recent memory and featured all the things you might’ve found in Sapulpa when it was formed: horses, gunfights, and lots and lots of people. Starting on Friday as a more intimate affair, Mayor Craig Henderson read a proclamation signed by Governor Stitt and Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, celebrating Sapulpa’s nicknames as the “Oil City of the Southwest” and “Chrystal City” for its contributions to the oil and glass industries, as well as its importance in the westward expansion as a railroad hub.
After the proclamation, Sugar Llama’s, a gourmet donut company, handed out a thousand of their sweet mini-donuts to all who wanted them. The evening was punctuated with live music at Martha’s Corner.
Saturday, Dewey Avenue was closed from Main Street to the County Courthouse and the party really got underway.
Around forty vendors set up shop down Route 66 as visitors meandered down the Mother Road, taking in the wares or helping their kids ride ponies or interacting with animals at the petting zoo.
Three separate music acts played on Saturday, starting with Sapulpa’s own JW Francis, followed later in the day by Hillbilly DeLuxx and Garrett Brown Band.
Maybe the biggest draw throughout the day was the gunfight exhibitions, performed by the non-profit group, The Guthrie Gunfighters. Each of their four separate performances told a different story of what “might have, could have, probably didn’t happen in the old west,” said the ringleader. Though the firearms were real and shot blanks, a quick demonstration of what a blank could do to a soda can encouraged watchers to take a step or two back from the roped-off boundary. “I don’t have a bandaid big enough to help you if you get hit by a blank,” the ringleader said.
Joe Krout, who co-chaired the committee that orchestrated the birthday bash, said he was pleased with the turnout. “Everything went really well,” he said. “The gunfights were the big draw of the day.”
Krout’s own Diggum-Deep Mortuary—a fake business that the Sapulpa Herald has covered in the past—was one of the premier sponsors for the event. His booth included a photo-op involving a coffin with the words, “A funeral so nice you’ll want to die twice!”
Overall, the experience was a great one, as evidenced by the number of people who came to be a part of the celebration. The weather was perfect, and the variety of things to do and see make for a great way to spend a day in Sapulpa. Thankfully, as the Kickin’ 66 Committee prepares for its next event in May, we won’t have to wait another 125 years for a good celebration.
