Native Stroke. The 6th Annual Cherokee Art Market is set for Oct. 8-9, and will feature inspirational art from more than 130 elite Native American artists from across the nation. The show runs from 10am-5pm in the Sequoyah Grand Ballroom at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. Admission to the family-friendly show is $5 per person.

The finest Native American artwork representing more than 45 different tribes will be displayed and sold at the 6th Annual Cherokee Art Market. Art forms displayed include beadwork, pottery, painting, basketry, sculptures and textiles. Guests will also enjoy a variety of cultural performances and the Art Tour of Tulsa, which introduces guests to Tulsa's finest museums, Gilcrease and the Philbrook.

An awards reception will be held on Friday, Oct. 7 at 6pm in honor of the Cherokee Art Market prizewinners with $75,000 overall prize money awarded across 20 categories. The public is welcome to attend the awards reception for $25 per person. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door.

To purchase tickets, obtain entry forms or for additional information on the Cherokee Art Market, please call 918-384-6990 or visit cherokeeartmarket.com.

Going (Semi) Pro. The Tulsa 66ers, affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder, have scheduled the team's open tryouts for the upcoming 2011-12 NBA D-League season.

The tryouts will take place Oct. 8-9 inside the Tulsa Convention Center. Individuals will be evaluated through a variety of drills and scrimmages. Prospects will be assessed by Tulsa 66ers coaches and Oklahoma City Thunder basketball operations staff.

Interested players should submit completed registration forms available at tulsa66ers.com along with a $150 non-refundable participation fee by Oct. 5 to the Tulsa 66ers business office located at 2727 E. 21st St., Suite 500.

The 66ers open the 2011-12 D-League season on the road with back-to-back contests against the Idaho Stampede on Nov. 25-26.

For more information call the 66ers business office at 918-585-8444.

Pay the Way. For the second year the Oklahoma Heritage Association and Gaylord-Pickens Museum will award one Oklahoma high school senior the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Scholarship.

The $5,000 scholarship, which is dispersed to the winning student over four years, is based on the student's leadership roles, civic and community involvement, academic achievement, and knowledge and pride of Oklahoma. Students must commit to attending an Oklahoma college or university to be considered, and students must be nominated for this scholarship by a teacher, administrator or any other adult not related to the student.

The Oklahoma Hall of Fame Scholarship recipient will be honored at the 2011 Oklahoma Hall of Fame Banquet & Induction Ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Also on that evening, the 2011 Oklahoma Hall of Fame Class will be formally inducted into the Hall. Inductees are Tommy Franks, Harold Hamm, Marques Haynes, Cathy Keating, Steve Malcolm and Elizabeth Warren. Roger Miller will be inducted posthumously.

Scholarship applications are due Friday, Sept. 30 at 5pm and can be downloaded at oklahomaheritage.com.

Mind's Eye. Family & Children's Services (F&CS) is inviting all Tulsa-area students K-12 to illustrate what "Today's Family" means to them during the 19th Annual Poster Contest. The students' artwork may illustrate family traditions, shared activities, daily routines, special memories or how their family looks like to them. Posters may be submitted until 5pm Friday, Oct. 28 to the F&CS Central Office, 650 S. Peoria Ave.

Winning artists and their teachers will be recognized at a 5:30pm reception Wednesday, Nov. 16 at the F&CS Central Office.

Submission sizes must be between 8.5 inches by 11 inches and 14 inches by 20 inches. All posters must include the artist's name, school and grade, and teacher's name, e-mail and phone number on the bottom right back corner of the poster. Posters become the property of F&CS and will not be returned. Many of the posters will be framed and displayed on the walls of F&CS locations.

For more information, please contact Cynthia Jackson at 918-560-1115 or cjackson@fcsok.org or visit fcsok.org.

Highest Bid. Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) announced it will host a Neighborhood Connection meeting to open dialogue with the community regarding the sale of the former Roosevelt, Chouteau and Pershing properties. The meeting is open to TPS parents, students and the community at large and will take place Thursday, Sept. 29, from 6-7pm, in the cafeteria of Central High School, 3101 W. Edison St.

Roosevelt, at 1202 W. Easton, and Chouteau at 575 N. 39th W. Ave., are among the seven properties that have been declared surplus as a result of the Project Schoolhouse initiative. Pershing, at 1903 W. Easton St., is vacant and was not part of the recent school closings. Proceeds from the sale of these properties will add to the projected $5.6 million in savings from Project Schoolhouse and will help the district weather state cuts to educational funding.

For additional information visit tulsaschools.org.

Helping the Helper. With a generous contribution of $100,000 to Hospitality House of Tulsa's "H2 -- Hospitality to the 2nd Power" Expansion Campaign, The Helmerich Foundation helped welcome the first of thousands of families in need to their new "home away from home" family suite.

Hospitality House.

The Helmerich Foundation's donation, along with 95 other donors from the local community, brought Hospitality House to 84 percent of their campaign goal of $1.3 million in just 18 months. On Sept. 2, just five years since opening their first facility, Hospitality House opened the doors of their second facility to families in need, checking the first family into The Helmerich Foundation "Faith" Suite.

Early donors of the campaign funded remodeling and furnishings of this second facility, providing six additional suites and a Day Room to serve the great number of families in medical crisis traveling to Tulsa without money for lodging and food, while the remaining campaign focuses on endowment. The $400,000 endowment fund will supplement the operating budget for programs and facilities to provide boundless hospitality for future generations.

This year, Hospitality House was selected by Tulsa Community Foundation to participate in their Planned Giving Partnership Program. Through this program, Hospitality House offers personal, confidential financial planning services, so families can prepare before a crisis occurs. Families can plan for their own needs and, in doing so, help other families in medical crisis by contacting Hospitality House's Planned Giving Office to discuss opportunities for philanthropy.