Things to Do in Muskogee

Dust clouds form from the hooves of two warhorses thundering across the jousting field. Across the way, a falcon wheels in the sky, spotting prey for his master. Meanwhile, King Henry watches from a tall stone tower, pleased with the bustling marketplace below. It isn’t the year 1539, and it isn’t planet Camelot IV in the Avalonian system. It’s the modern-day Oklahoma Renaissance Festival, held at the Castle of Muskogee every summer for nearly 20 years.

Every merchant and performer has a story to tell, from Sir Robert Vinterhawk of Birds of Prey to the painter Lady Anne, who creates lush portraits of the castle’s guests. The Tribal Circus performs gravity-defying feats without the aid of strings or wizardry, and the mysterious masked man of Cast in Bronze enraptures his audience with the sanctified tones of carillon bells. For adrenaline-pumping thrills, the human chess game —where life-size pieces engage in full battle—is second only to the raucous jousting tourney. Guests can further immerse themselves in a lost era with a spin around the maypole or by dressing up for the daily costume contest.

Whiling away their vacation in a Swiss Alps chalet, Joe and Beth Henretty noticed a peculiar sound: nothing. The entire town moved at a pace much slower than that of their home in the States; without a car in sight, residents simply strolled to their destinations. Inspired by this way of life, Joe and Beth imported the car-free philosophy to Tulsa in 2005, buying their own bicycle cab and christening their new business Golzern Pedicabs after the chalet in which they'd stayed. Today, the duo and their two fellow drivers shuttle riders to and from concerts or obedience-school reunions while working solely for tips—both as an accommodation to any budget and as a further homage to Switzerland's laid-back lifestyle.

For a flat fee, the business—also known as Tulsa Pedicabs—captains tours that bounce among Tulsa's local eateries, where passengers sample fare at each stop and, sometimes, carry out agendas of their own. Once, on one of Joe's tours, a man proposed, and the Henrettys honored the occasion by pedaling the couple to their hotel on their wedding day—much like the Swiss nuptial tradition of dragging cans behind a saddled yak.

Broken Arrow Lanes facilitates pin-crushing revelry throughout the week with youth and adult leagues and open-bowling hours on 36 lanes. Flat-screen televisions suspended above each lane display players' scores and heated debates between news pundits and teleprompters. The alley also envelops a pro shop, a redemption-based game room, and a full-service dining area, where patrons can snag handheld meals such as burgers, sandwiches, and pizza slices but not bowling balls.

The defense experts at L & L Machine Guns equip visitors with all the requisite pistol or rifle gear to shoot on the 30 pistol ranges and 300-meter rifle range. Before hitting the range, marksmen select their desired gear from a lineup of firearms, all of which can hit bull's-eyes or fill out multiple-choice surveys in a fraction of a second. As provided protection guards eyes and ears, bullets stretch their tiny metallic wings at 100-meter carbine ranges and a 360-degree training range.

As a basket drifts against the twilight, the only sound one can hear is a burner whispering to invisible gas, commanding it to push the carriage higher into the evening sky. At Go Hot Air Ballooning, flights stay close enough to the ground to witness deer wandering the earth, and each excursion—from private rides to tethered convoys—takes off with passengers' well-being in mind. An FAA-licensed pilot with more than 20 years of ballooning experience—and a perfect safety record—takes the helm of each flight, personally confirming each reservation and watching up-to-date weather reports to ensure safe flight conditions. Though the in-air portion lasts only an hour, most journeys take up to four hours in all, allowing passengers to witness such behind-the-scenes action as the pilot inflating the entire balloon with his lungs.

Friends Hannah Ekblad, Hannah Rogers, Brooke Payne, and Ashley Hamilton shared their disillusionment with the process of planning a modern wedding. Every bridal show they attended was a maze of clichés; the same identical vendors, the same pink cakes, the same hotel convention rooms spruced up feebly with black curtains. Seeking to equip brides who shared some of this dissatisfaction, they combined their own bohemian artistic sensibilities, and Hello Lovely, an indie bridal fair, was born. Deploying handmade personal invitations, they assembled a team of 40 vendors and sponsors based on past experiences and an eye for aesthetic individuality. The team selected only five florists and a comparable number of photographers, paper artists, and caterers, giving attendees time to explore vendors and quiz them on their favorite bridesmaids' speeches. Sun peeks between the rough-hewn wooden slats of the century-old barn at Vive Le Ranch as guests slowly filter into the event. Having held her recent wedding at the site, Hannah Ekblad prizes the restored interior, which blends refinement and a bucolic charm like Mr. Ed trying to read a subway map.

The gently tangled guitar and banjo notes of the Avett Brothers, Bon Iver, and Ingrid Michaelson twist around the rafters as attendees wander hay-covered floors, navigating tables designated with handmade driftwood signs by local calligrapher Victoria Hoke Lane. An area artist from Polypress Letterpress fashions unique invitations on a 1920s letterpress machine, designing each by hand and stamping them with a snowflake’s fingerprint. Edit Noveau's photographer Rustin captures nuptials in the warm colors of highly-exposed 1950s- and 1960s-style photography, and Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard's artisans craft paper garlands—one of which will be donated to an attending bride. Beneath tissue-paper chandeliers, a dessert-sample table groans beneath cakes, cookies, and cupcakes marked with the names of their respective bakers.