Things to Do in Oklahoma City

For either $15 or $20, today's side deal scores you a general-admission ticket to see an opening-week performance of the Lyric Theatre's Driving Miss Daisy at the Lyric at the Plaza (a $30 or $40 value, depending on the night).

For 10 years, this critically acclaimed film festival, the largest in Oklahoma City, has attracted filmmakers from around the world to showcase eclectic creations of independent-film arts. The name "deadCENTER" refers to Oklahoma City's geographic location in the center of the United States, along with the festival's central setting within OKC. There are seven locations that will be showing the fest’s documentaries, animated shorts, narrative features, kids shorts, midnight movies, comedy shorts, and Oklahoma-centric work. Hold tight to BMX legend Mat Hoffman’s handlebars for a wild ride in The Birth of Big Air (June 9 at 9:30 p.m., June 11 at 5:30 p.m.) or get an insider’s look into the meticulous process of movie reviewing in For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (June 12 at 2:00 p.m.). DeadCENTER will also be showing the silent-film epic Metropolis (June 11 at 5:30 p.m.) in its recently discovered and restored version. Click here for a full list of all of the films in the festival and be sure to check the schedule to find out when they’re showing.

Though they have coached celebrities and worked with Broadway producers, the instructors at Elegance Ballroom appreciate that some people just want to cut loose on weekends. In beginner classes, they walk students through a curriculum of ballroom and Latin styles, laying the groundwork for steps such as the tango, foxtrot, rumba, and waltz. Private and group lessons prepare students for competition-level strutting or a casual night out. Regardless of the goal, instructors put guests at ease with encouraging attitudes, a selection of complimentary refreshments, and the solemn promise that they will never release wild wolverines into the studio to punish a missed step.

Apart from classes, staffers host regular practice parties where their protégés can socialize. They also rent out the Elegance Ballroom Event Center for special occasions, prepping food, drinks, and the dance floor to accommodate up to 500 guests.

The focus at OKC Swing Dance Club is on West Coast swing. The exceedingly social dance is made up of sweeping spins set to brassy, upbeat tunes. With roots in Los Angeles and some of the quirky aesthetic of rockabilly, it can be ideal for dancers of all ages and skill levels. Instructors also pass down techniques from other styles, such as salsa, country-western, and ballroom, and this can allow one to become the center of attention at a party without crying into a smashed piñata for hours. To help the staff, visiting dancers and teachers at the studio lead workshops on creative movement.

While chatting on the phone with a friend, Katrina Uhls had a startling realization: her kids had been playing video games for hours. She discovered that by effectively “unplugging” her kids, she could steer them toward more creative, introspective pastimes.

Now, as the owner of Unpluggits Playstudio, she fosters a safe, welcoming space where all kids can "unplug" and explore their artistic sides. Kids will find shelves stocked with play-doh, stamps, stencils, and other craft supplies. They can don smocks and wield nontoxic paints at miniature easels. Paint’n take projects give them personalized crafts to take home, such as picture frames and piggy banks useful for saving up to buy new toys or a gold-plated piggy bank. For more active playtime pursuits, kids can gambol toward the indoor playground, which features slides, a pirate ship, and air-hockey tables.

As kids explore the 3,000-square-foot studio, parents are welcome to cruise free WiFi or monitor tykes from the snack bar, which serves freshly ground organic coffee, juices, and soda. Special workshops open the space for toddler-specific activities, adults-only craft time, and parents' nights out.

Coffee Creek Golf Course's 18-hole course integrates groves of trees, rolling terrain, and numerous streams and ponds into a 6,623-yard layout that winds through the rustic scenery of a former horse ranch. The course's front and back nines form two distinct acts of on-course challenges, as the front side roams across relatively open, rolling terrain, setting up a climactic back nine teeming with tight tree lines and water hazards filled with frog civilizations that use golf balls as currency. Slick, bent-grass greens await at the end of every fairway, certain to make even simple putts tricky. Coffee Creek's driving range dutifully prepares pin-hunters' swings to hit the high-fade drive and pinpoint approach necessary to best the par 5 third hole—rated the course's most difficult. An onsite pro shop showcases apparel and accessories from Titleist, Callaway, and Ping, and the Out of Bounds Grill's menu lets players curb post-round cravings without having to eat their stash of broken golf tees.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole par 70 course
• Length of 6,623 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 72.1 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 125 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Link to scorecard