Relive the ’50s at Cookson

By Travina Coleman
Phoenix Staff Writer

July 17, 2008 06:23 pm

— Peggy Gray of the Tenkiller Area Community Organization (TACO) said she looks forward to the annual Cookson Jubilee.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “And it’s a good way to bring everybody together.”
And for residents who are scattered across many areas at Lake Tenkiller, this event provides a neighborly atmosphere.
“This year it’s going to be a little different,” she said. “We are having a ‘Back to the 50s’ theme. Everybody who is working it will be dressed up in poodle skirts and rolled up jeans.”
The 33rd annual Cookson Jubilee is begins at 4 p.m. today and noon Saturday at the TACO building next to the Cookson airport on Mullens Drive.
The entertainment for the Jubilee includes, Bryan Fontenot and T. Graham Brown.
Fontenot will headline Friday’s show and open for Brown on Saturday.
“He is a great singer,” Gray said. “He is from Louisiana and T. Graham Brown was real popular back in the ’80s. It should be a lot of fun.”
Fontenot sings country, rock, blues and Western swing with songs like “Just Getting’ By” and “Pulp Fiction.”
Gray said in addition to Fontenot and Brown, the afternoons and evenings will be filled with local and area musicians and other entertainers.
The first Cookson Jubilee in 1975 was a fundraiser to build a volunteer fire department in the communities near Lake Tenkiller. Since then, TACO still uses it as a way to stay connected with the community and help where it is needed.
Other than live entertainment, Gray said there will be tons of vendors selling everyone’s favorite things.
“There will also be cash and merchant-donated prizes,” she said. “There is even a section for kids and teens. We are also having a raffle for a Branson trip and arts and crafts.”

Reach Travina Coleman at 684-2901 or tcoleman @muskogeephoenix.com.

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