OKLAHOMA CITY – Chickasaw Country is home to some of the most unique festivals in Oklahoma. We hope you'll explore Chickasaw Country and experience our events, attractions and much more. Some of the most notable summer festivals in Chickasaw Country include cultural, food and fish!

ARTesian Arts Festival

The annual ARTesian Arts Festival is held on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend in late May each year. The Artesian Plaza in downtown Sulphur, Oklahoma turns into a vibrant art show featuring southeastern and Native American art. Visitors will be able to stroll through more than 90 artist booths, visit food and retail vendors and experience Native culture, dance and music. This family-friendly event includes children's and senior activities to round out the afternoon. This year will be the third annual ARTesian Arts Festival and will be held on Saturday, May 28. For more information about the ARTesian Arts Festival, visit: http://chickasawcountry.com/events/artesian-arts-festival.

Okie Noodling Tournament, Festival and Fish Fry

The annual Okie Noodling Tournament will take place in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma and features a fierce noodling competition-the sport of fishing for catfish using one's bare hands. This world-famous event wouldn't be complete without an array of spectators, coupled with a catfish cook-off. The day is filled with family-friendly activities, along with retail and food vendors. This year's event will be preceded by an Okie Noodling Eve Concert in the Park at Wacker Park in Pauls Valley on Friday, June 17 from 6-10 p.m. and the tournament and festival will take place on Saturday, June 18. This is the 18th annual Okie Noodling tournament. For more information about Okie Noodling, visit: http://chickasawcountry.com/events/view/okie-noodling-tournament.

Tuttle Ice Cream Festival

Join the community of Tuttle, Oklahoma as they celebrate their annual Ice Cream Festival. The family-fun festival features live music and performances, a classic car and antique tractor show, games, food trucks and vendor booths. Unique to this festival is a homemade ice cream contest. Saturday, June 18 is the annual festival. For more information about the 25th annual Tuttle Ice Cream Festival, visit: http://chickasawcountry.com/events/24th-annual-tuttle-ice-cream-festival.

Stratford Peach Festival, Saturday, July 18

The self-proclaimed Peach Capital of Oklahoma is where you can find the annual Stratford Peach Festival. With more than 14,000 guests, the Peach Festival offers a variety of peach desserts to satisfy your peach cravings. The action-packed day starts at 6:30 a.m. with a pancake breakfast and the peach cook-off gets started soon after. Events during the day include a hay toss, best-dressed animal, sack races, water balloon toss, hula-hoop contest, car show and many other family activities. For more information about the Stratford Peach Festival, please visit: http://chickasawcountry.com/events/view/stratford-peach-festival.

Rush Springs Watermelon Festival, Saturday

Since 1948, the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival has been held the second weekend in August. More than 20,000 guests will invade the town of Rush Springs, Oklahoma to celebrate a day full of events centered around the fruitful fields of royal sweet, black diamond and many other varieties of locally grown watermelon.  Watermelon themed activities include a Watermelon 5K, seed-spitting contest, arts and craft fair, motorcycle show, live entertainment, carnival rides, local food vendors and much more. Festival-goers will receive their portion of more than 50,000 pounds of free watermelon. The weekend event will take place August 11-13, this year. For more information about the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival, visit: http://chickasawcountry.com/events/rush-springs-watermelon-festival.

Chickasaw Nation Annual Meeting and Festival

The week-long Chickasaw Nation Annual Meeting and Festival is full of cultural events and entertainment hosted across the 13 counties in south-central Oklahoma known as Chickasaw Country. The 56th Chickasaw Nation Annual Meeting and 28th Chickasaw Nation Annual Festival is comprised of a golf tournament, 5K, cultural demonstrations such as frybread making, storytelling, live vignettes, along with cultural arts and crafts, a parade, health fair, stickball tournament, stomp dance demonstrations and much more. The week-long meeting and festival ends with a State of the Nation address from the Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. The week-long event begins the last Saturday in September and ends the first Saturday in October. This year, the event will be September 24 through October 1. For more information about the Chickasaw Nation Annual Meeting and Festival, please visit: http://chickasawcountry.com/.

To see a full list of festivals, events, concerts, entertainment and much more, visit: http://chickasawcountry.com/.

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About Chickasaw Country

Nestled in south-central Oklahoma, Chickasaw Country is a regional tourism organization representing 13 of Oklahoma's 77 counties. As the official destination tourism organization, Chickasaw Country includes 7,648 square miles, 11 percent of Oklahoma's total 68,597 square miles. Chickasaw Country, a division of the Chickasaw Nation, is a tourism source for visitors and communities within the region and promotes destinations, attractions and festivals. Chickasaw Country is a diverse and culturally-vested destination, with new adventures and experiences around every corner.

About the Chickasaw Nation
With more than 60,000 citizens, the Chickasaw Nation is the 12th largest federally-recognized Indian tribe in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation has an annual economic impact of more than $2.4 billion in Oklahoma. The tribe has more than 14,000 employees. A democratic republic with executive, legislative and judicial departments, the tribe's jurisdictional territory includes all or part of 13 counties in south-central Oklahoma.