There has been a flurry of festivals of late in the metro, and here's the 2nd edition of one that proved quite popular last year. The Made in Oklahoma Wine, Beer and Food Festival takes place Saturday at the Sheraton Midwest City Hotel & Reed Conference Center and features "Oklahoma's finest foods, heartiest hops and award winning wines." Enjoy a car, truck and motorcycle show, several culinary presentations, the great grilled cheese challenge, live entertainment and more. Admission is free, but if you want to enjoy the tastings, you can purchase 10 wine and beer tasting tokens and a commemorative festival wine or beer glass for $18. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get a complete schedule and all the event details.

Elsewhere, this weekend...

• Another highlight event is the 26th Annual OKC Pride Week, the largest annual LGBT Pride event in the state. The Saturday block party downtown includes live entertainment, art, gifts, food and more, and Sunday is the OKC Pride Parade.
• Friday is National Bike to Work Day, and there are community efforts in Oklahoma City, Yukon, Edmond, Norman, Moore and Midwest City. See www.bikedayok.com for details.
• Local craft beer is the feature, along with music, food and more downtown... Read More...

The last day of school is approaching quickly for metro area students, and the parent scramble to find and coordinate summer activities continues. There are still spots open in some of the OKC summer camps, and I mentioned the kids movie series at Harkins. Well, here's one more option to add to the list.

The Kids Bowl Free program is a partnership between bowling centers and schools across the country, designed to "give back to the community and provide a safe, secure, and fun way for kids to spend time this summer." All you have to do is register your child online to receive 2 free games every day of the summer. Shoe rental is not included, but there may be discounted options available. Plus, adults can join in the fun by purchasing a family pass for $24.95. It covers up to 4 adult family members and includes 2 free games per person per day.

Among metro area bowling centers, the two participating in the Kids Bowl Free program are Heritage Lanes on North Penn and Sooner Bowling in Norman.

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I'm in the process of updating schedules for the many concert series events this summer. Most of them take place outdoors and in the evenings. But if you want to escape work for some free live music during the day, take note of the Noon Tunes series at the Downtown Library. Just bring a sack lunch and enjoy the wonderful work of local musicians. Here's the upcoming slate:

• May 16: Salute to America, OK Academy Strings and Chorale
• May 23: ATM Piano Triet
• May 30: Denver Duncan, singer/songwriter
• June 6: Albert Grey Eagle, Native American flute with Unity Drums
• June 13: Rice Dance Band, interactive family show
• June 20: Jim Garling, cowboy and western swing
• June 27: Adam and Kizzie Ledbetter, eedo/soul/jazz

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To help citizens reduce their fuel bill and carbon footprint, OKC's METRO Transit will offer free bus rides during this 2013 ozone alert season. Like the past few years, "Free Fare Fridays" are again set for the third Friday of each month from May through September. The first free ride day is this Friday, May 17th.

With Free Fare Fridays, city officials look to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and therefore better air quality and the health of the community. "People who ride the bus not only contribute less to poor air quality, there are other health benefits to taking transit such as more exercise through walking or riding bikes to the bus stop and less stress from driving and sitting in traffic," says Michael Scroggins, public information manager for METRO Transit.

Here are some ozone alert season tips from area officials:

• Ride the bus: Each METRO Transit bus has the potential to take 35 cars off the road.
• Carpool: Carpooling can cut the number of cars on the road by at least half.
• Combine trips: Before running errands, plan ahead and try to combine as many errands into one trip as possible.
• Take your lunch to work: Packing a lunch cuts out a trip during the hottest time of the day.
• Dine-In or Walk-through: Avoid idling your engine in line at the drive-through.
• Teleconference: Instead of driving to meetings, consider teleconferences.
• Fill up your tank in the evening: Refueling in the evening can prevent gas fumes from heating up and evaporating into the atmosphere. And don't top off your tank to prevent releasing fumes into the air.
• Avoid mowing or mow in the evening: According to the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, older two-cycle gasoline-powered lawn mowers running for one hour emit as many pollutants as a car driven from Oklahoma City to Houston.

_{Photo © Adam Knapp}

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