Mayfest, Tulsa’s popular three-day arts festival, is now under new ownership.
When Ahha Tulsa folded in November, Prof. Sean Latham said the future of Mayfest was uncertain.
“There were a lot of questions about what was going to happen with its future,” he said. “But this is a festival that’s been running for 49 years now here in Tulsa. So it seemed a tragedy for it to miss its 50th anniversary and this amazing opportunity to celebrate five decades of Mayfest.”
But The University of Tulsa President Brad Carson made a surprise announcement Thursday.
“TU assumes ownership of Tulsa’s Mayfest,” he said in a press conference. “And we will ensure that it returns for its 50th-anniversary event in May.”
“Mayfest is now wholly owned and operated by The University of Tulsa,” Latham added, “and operated by the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, which I direct, so I suppose I’m the one who’s responsible for Mayfest now.”
Latham, who is also an English professor at TU, admitted it’s a lot of pressure to keep weaving Tulsa’s cultural fabric.
“I mean, it sometimes draws between 100-200,000 people,” he said. “It is something that brings people from all over the city to come and celebrate for those days.”
Latham said Mayfest is also a large part of his own life. It supplied the paintings on his house’s walls and the sculptures in his garden.
“But I’ve never been behind the scenes to see how it actually works,” he admitted.
The big question now, of course, is how the festival might change under new ownership. But Latham said the deal is still fresh and planning will take some time.
After all, an English professor would know it’s impossible to apply White-Out until the ink is dry.
“Today, we’re 99 days from the start of Mayfest,” he said. “So in these next 99 days, we’re going to come up to speed.”
“We’re going to work with the people who, in the past, have helped create Mayfest to learn all we can,” he continued. “And we’re very confident we’re going to pull off a terrific festival this year.”