Saturday, May 9th, 2026 during the heart of the Tabouleh Fest, local 4-H member and Oklahoma 4-H Junior Governor, Riley Braden, hosted the second annual “What's So Great About Bristow?” Art Show and Contest for youth eighteen years old and under, at the Bristow Public Library. Riley is an eleven year old, fifth grader who was voted in as the Oklahoma 4-H Junior Governor in November and was Inaugurated at the Oklahoma State Capitol on February 2, 2026. The Oklahoma 4-H Junior Governor is a program through Oklahoma 4-H and the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. Riley’s peers voted her into office because of her passion for her platform. As part of Riley's everyday 4-H Project, the Child Care and Development project, she wanted to host an Art Show that would benefit Macy's Cradle. Macy's Cradle is Creek County’s only crisis pregnancy center. They help women and families and can use the donated chapstick and belly butter to benefit their clients.
Riley was inspired to host an art show by the Bristow Historical Society's 2024 Art Contest when the Smithsonian came to town. She saw the need in the Bristow community to keep an Art Show going each May, so she created this Art Show for kids!
On Saturday morning Braden congratulated the local artists on their hard work and quality skills. She told the families that “the judges had a tough time deciding on the Junior class and each judge selected their own honorable mention”.
This event was made possible by local generous sponsors. Cash prizes were made possible by Melissa Holderby, Attorney at Law and Alisha Bagwell of Heritage Title and Escrow in Bristow. Community Bank provided cookies and lemonade for the Awards Ceremony on Saturday and Witty Ideas created all of the event signs. The local library allowed Riley to have this show in the Main Conference room and accepted all of the art entries and donations. As Riley loves to say, “You are What is So Great About Bristow!”
Winners of the “What's So Great About Bristow?” Art Show and Contest are: Best in Show Cassady Jacobs Seniors Cassady Jacobs Jionni Wright-Cole Juniors Norah Coots Theoderick Reid Victoria Justice Little Buddies Cayenne Martin Ellie Bryant Honorable Mentions Hazel Gersztenkorn Annaleigh Reid Enoch Greco