Video: Oklahoma artist Kris Kanaly creates official grand opening poster for OKC's Scissortail Park

The official commemorative poster honoring the grand opening of Scissortail Park was unveiled this week in The Oklahoman studios by Kris Kanaly, the Oklahoma artist who created the work, and Maureen Heffernan, CEO and president of Scissortail Park Foundation.

Joining my excellent colleague Dave Morris, they revealed a poster featuring the sweeping pathways in the park, its gardens, and close-ups of flowers, with many of Oklahoma City skyline’s recognizable buildings, the Street Car, Myriad Botanical Gardens and the Love’s Travel Stops Stage.

“We gave Kris a little bit of direction by telling him that we wanted the poster to look like a genius child drew it, with a child-like feeling and exuberance using lots of color,” Heffernan said in a statement. “So, Kris took it from there.”

The poster design is hand-painted rather than computer designed, according to a news release.

“It looks like it could have been painted a hundred years ago, which is what we wanted so when people see it a hundred years from now, it will look timeless,” Kanaly said in a statement. “We wanted it to be colorful and put a smile on your face, to make you really happy and excited about coming to the Park and enjoying it.”

An exhibit of Kanaly’s work will be on display in the Visitor Center of the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory at Myriad Botanical Gardens Sept. 19 through Oct. 29. The commemorative poster will be available for purchase during that time, as well as during the Sept. 27-29 Scissortail Park Grand Opening Weekend.

Kanaly is an Oklahoma City artist and muralist, with an extensive family history dating back to 1919. Growing up in a family of artists, art collectors, art dealers and graphic designers has influenced his career focus on graphic design with a specific emphasis on street art. He also designed the Scissortail Park logo in 2018, according to the release.

The new Scissortail Park is in the heart of a revitalized downtown Oklahoma City. This public space is part of the MAPS 3 program that envisions a healthy and vibrant quality of life for our city while serving as an investment in the future. Every detail is designed for connection – with nature, neighbors and ourselves. It is a place for play, culture, celebration and inspiration.

Scissortail Park features a variety of engaging experiences within 70 urban acres ranging from ornamental gardens and woodlands, to a lake and boathouse, children’s playground, grand promenade, water features, outdoor roller rink, an enclosed dog park, interactive fountain and much more.

Designed by one of the foremost landscape architecture planning firms in the world, Hargreaves Associates, the Park is also a horticultural tapestry of native prairie grasses, lush flower gardens and tree-lined walkways. Scissortail Park is managed by Scissortail Park Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

As previously reported, big plans are in the works for the Sept. 27-29 Scissortail Park Grand Opening Weekend. Three-time Grammy-winning rockers Kings of Leon, who are based in Nashville but have Oklahoma City and Talihina ties, will kick off the festivities as they headline a Friday, Sept. 27 free outdoor concert, presented by the Chickasaw Nation. Tulsa-based punk rockers BRONCHO and Nashville, Tennessee, rock band Republican Hair, which is fronted by Oklahoma native Luke Dick, will open the show.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. Sept. 27, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for 6 p.m. on the Love’s Travel Stops Stage and Great Lawn at Scissortail Park. Music will begin immediately following the ceremony. The Social Order Dining Collective, operators of The Jones Assembly and the Park’s new restaurant, Spark, will produce the grand opening concerts.

After the Sept. 27 show, more music is planned on Sept. 28-29. All of the concerts are free and open to the public.

As previously reported, one of the most requested variety show bands in the mid-South, the Billy Jones Band, will perform from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 on the Love’s Travel Stops Stage, near the corner of Oklahoma City Boulevard and Robinson Avenue on the northeast side of the park.

At 9:30 p.m. Sept. 28, Markus James and the Wassonrai will bring their upbeat blend of African and American Delta music to the stage. The performance, part of a genre called desert blues practiced by nomadic groups of the Sahara, is in a style considered the root of the American blues genre.

The Oklahoma City Philharmonic will close out the festivities on the night of Sunday, Sept. 29, with a concert featuring music inspired by nature. More information about the OKC Philharmonic and other activities during the grand opening weekend will be released soon.

For more information on Scissortail Park, go to scissortailpark.org.

-BAM