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An Apple a Day. A Third Place Community Foundation is working on transforming the North Tulsa area of Turley into a self-sustaining nutrient source. The foundation has purchased three residential lots of abandoned houses, cleared the land and is preparing it for a community garden.

Turley is the only community in Oklahoma to be nominated in the Edy's Fruit Bars contest to receive a free fruit orchard. If the community receives the orchard, it will be planted on the land prepped by A Third Place Community Foundation.

The Communities Take Root program plans to plant 20 orchards throughout the country by December 31, 2011. Public voting will determine the locations of each orchard. Interested parties can vote once a day until May 31 and a second round of voting will begin June 1. Visit communitiestakeroot.com to place a vote.

Grooving Green. Tulsans are invited to show their support of the city's urban forest and enjoy a fun night on the town at the Up With Trees Green Leaf Gala on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:30pm. This year, the environmental non-profit's annual fundraiser is being held at the newly renovated ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Tulsa.

The Green Leaf Gala is Up With Trees' largest fundraising event of the year, and helps support a variety of tree-planting programs in parks, at schools, along Tulsa's streets and highways, as well as funding for educational outreach programs.

KJRH-TV News reporter Beth Hawkins will be the emcee for the evening and a live jazz band will play during cocktail hour. Guests can take part in the silent auction while bidding on items like private cooking lessons and one-of-a-kind art pieces.

To purchase tickets, sponsor a table, make a donation for the auction, or to learn more about Up With Trees, call 918-610-8733 or visit upwithtress.org.

Smokin' Creation. Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Visual Communications students won 46 awards at the 25th Annual Brass Ring Awards national competition sponsored by Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond.

Leslie Swain, a Visual Communications student majoring in Graphic Design at OSUIT, won Best of Show and two Gold Awards at the competition for her advertising campaign entitled "Words are Weapons."

Leslie Swain

While watching MTV, Swain saw a campaign for athinline.org and she was so moved by the devastating effects of verbal abuse through digital media, that she knew she had to do something to help. She realized she also needed an inspiration for a graphic design project for her Capstone class -- her final class before earning her degree and interviewing for jobs.

Day Dreams. The Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice's 17th annual Camp Anytown, Oklahoma will be held June 12-18. Deadline for application is Sunday, May 1.

Camp Anytown, Oklahoma focuses on listening to the hopes, fears, frustrations and dreams of young Oklahomans. Anytown is an award-winning human relations camp for teens from throughout the state and has been recognized as one of the most effective leadership and diversity training programs for youth in Oklahoma. Anytown builds self-esteem, fosters leadership, and promotes good citizenship.

Anytowners represent a wide variety of racial, religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Sharing ideas, feelings and individuality -- that's how Anytowners learn to better understand themselves and others. Visit occjok.org for more information.

Camera Rolling. The first annual Tulsa International Film Festival (Tulsa IFF) will be taking place in downtown Tulsa, September 22-25 and is now accepting entries for the 2011 festival.

The Tulsa International Film Festival is a multi-genre festival with additional sub-divisions including Emerging Filmmaker (Students), Nightmare Division, Women Behind the Camera and Indigenous Cinema.

Over $20,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the winners. The awards for Emerging Filmmaker will be presented to one college student and one high school student, and each will be given a cash prize to help finance their academic endeavors and needs for software and equipment. Films must have been completed while enrolled at a high school or university to be considered for the Emerging Filmmaker category.

Final entry deadline for all films and screenplays will be July 18. Visit tulsafilmfestival.org for more information.

Art Work. On May 11 at 11:30am at the Tulsa Convention Center Atrium, The Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa will present the annual Harwelden Awards Luncheon to recognize individuals and organizations that have been exemplary advocates and supporters of the arts in the Tulsa community.

The 2011 Harwelden Awards honorees include Bank of Oklahoma for the Benedict I. Lubell Corporate Award, Etta Mae Avery for the Liddy K. Doenges Individual Award and many more.

All proceeds benefit The Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa. Celebrating 50 years of arts and cultural programming, The Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa seeks to make the arts accessible to all of Tulsa's diverse populations. Contact acroasdale@ahct.org for more information.

Play Money. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) will hold a public meeting to determine how federal Child Care and Development Fund block grant funds will be used. The meeting will be held May 17 at 1:30pm at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City.

Every two years, OKDHS' Child Care Services Division writes a state plan that details how the federal funds will be used. Community members are invited to attend the meeting and contribute their thoughts.

Oklahoma Child Care Services collects information from several sources and uses it to construct the draft Child Care and Development Fund Plan for FFY 2012-2013. Two Internet surveys posted at okdhs.org/programsandservices/cc/ collect input from parents, child care directors and owners, teachers, and community members.

Got It Covered. Tulsa annually hosts the Oklahoma Salute to Excellence Awards in Journalism to honor excellence in Oklahoma news coverage of black people and the African diaspora.

This year's keynote speaker is nationally recognized award-winning multi-faceted journalist Roland S. Martin. Martin makes frequent appearances on CNN as a political analyst and has his own talk show on TV One.

Russell Perry of Perry Publishing & Broadcasting will also be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. A native Oklahoman, Perry has a longstanding career in newspapers, radio and television.

The banquet at Oklahoma Jazz Depot, 111 E. 1st St., serves as a fundraiser for the organization and begins at 6pm. Funds are used to sponsor an Urban Journalism Workshop (UJW) series for students interested in becoming journalists, the NABJ-Tulsa Urban Journalism Scholarship and supporting and developing media professionals and students through training, networking and professional enrichment.

Kiddy Cause. Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa, Inc. and the Tulsa Indian Community Advisory Team (TICAT) are proud to present the 2011 Restoring Harmony Powwow on April 30 at the Westside YMCA, 5400 S. Olympia Ave. The theme for this year's powwow is "Nourishing the Roots of Resilience."

The event is designed to celebrate National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day with the goal of educating the community about children's mental health issues and increasing access to available services.

There will be activities available for all ages, including an awareness hike, dance specials, educational and vendor booths, and youth speak outs. Contact tshadlow@ihcrc.org or hwatah@ihcrc.org for more information.