We have gotten lots of wonderful, helpful feedback on Souper Sunday 2010, “Soups Around the World”… and we are already planning for next year.

We’d like your help!

Do you have a GREAT idea for a theme for next year’s Souper Sunday 2011? Some samples of past themes include: “All Souped Up” (1950s), “Soupy Sails” (nautical), “2001: A Soup Odyssey” (space).

We want to hear YOUR theme ideas for next year!

The Tulsa Ballet has once again kindly given us some free ballet tickets for those in our community.

Amazingly, these are ON A SATURDAY NIGHT, for a regular performance… not a dress rehearsal! It looks like you will be SO close you may need a rag to wipe off sweat from the dancers above you! Ha Although, this appears to perhaps be in a different theater at the Performing Arts Center, so I don’t know how the seating is arranged.

The ballet is March 20, “The Contemporaries”… check out www.tulsaballet.org for more information – they even have video clips from the 3 ballets that make up this show: Por Vos Muero, Maninyas, and This is Your Life.

Email or call me by Thursday if you’re interested, along with the minimum and maximum number of tickets you could use, so I can assign tickets and you can pick them up next week. Please remember – ONLY request tickets if you are SURE you will attend.

Contact Diana at dhiggins@tsha.cc or call (918) 832-8742 v/tty.

Souper Sunday 2010 was the BEST EVER, according to many attendees! Thanks to each and every one of you who added to the success and fun of the event. We have some photos on our Facebook page, and hope to have a few here soon.

Charles took time today – his 82nd birthday – to help TSHA prepare for Souper Sunday. Charles is a special, special man. TSHA loves him greatly.

Happy Birthday, our dear friend!

Happy Birthday, Charles!

Can you believe it is Souper Sunday time already? Wow… TSHA board, staff and countless volunteers have been working harder than Santa’s elves on Christmas Eve to make sure this year’s Souper Sunday is a show-stopper!

Silent Auction items have arrived, been packed together, and are ready to go. Twenty-Five restaurants are busy cooking soup and planning their table decorations. Hundreds of volunteers have been assigned to make sure your experience at Souper Sunday is one to remember.

It’s not too late to buy your tickets to Souper Sunday. TSHA is closed today preparing the last minute details but if you will call 918-850-0534 we will make sure you have tickets.

See you at Souper Sunday!

Tables full of silent auction items.

In honor of our “Around the World” theme this year, Helen of Troy will be bringing a taste of the Mediterranean with their delicious Hummus and Tabboule. For anyone looking for a true taste of the Mediterranean, stopping by Helen of Troy’s table at Souper Sunday certainly won’t disappoint.

Chef Cory Kester makes the Hummus and Tabboule fresh daily using Jordanian recipes passed down from owner Sam Senjlawi’s mother and grandmother. Fresh ingredients and a passion for their food makes Helen of Troy at 6670 S. Lewis a fun and delicious addition to Souper Sunday this year. If you’ve never tried Hummus or Tabboule or are already a fan, stop by their table this year for a taste of the Mediterranean!

Read a review of Helen of Troy.

Helen of Troy

Nelson’s Ranch House will be bringing a delicious Homemade Chicken Noodle soup this year to Souper Sunday. Formerly known as Nelson’s Buffeteria, Nelson’s Ranch House is a family restaurant that actually hosted the first ever Souper Sunday 28 years ago! Souper Sunday has grown quite a bit over those 28 years and we’re thrilled to get back to our roots with Nelson’s Ranch House.

Nelson’s history goes all the way back to 1929 when Nelson Berry Rogers Sr. began the family restaurant and today the grandson, Nelson Berry Rogers III, continues the business. Their location and name may have changed over the years, but Nelson’s is still around and serving classic comfort food at 1547 East 3rd St. Tulsa.

It has felt like Christmas for the last week here at TSHA, as our wonderful community has been walking in with pots and baskets full of wonderful things for our Souper Sunday Silent Auction! (March 7, 3:30 – 6, SpiritBank Event Center)

We even had a generous jewelry-maker in FLORIDA send a hand-made piece to us, when she learned about our fundraiser via social media. Check it out at: http://katscustomkreations.blogspot.com/2010/02/silent-auction-donation.html

The other day a wonderful local artist read about us in the Sunday paper. He called and brought us in a beautiful painting!

And one of the most wonderful feelings is to see all the members of OUR community. We have sign classes, deafness organizations, Deaf and hearing friends coming by each day… it really IS like Christmas, as we get to visit with you too! Except that in THIS Christmas, YOU can take home the presents!

There are some amazing items, so plan to shop for gifts for others  (hey – they’re already beautifully wrapped), as well as for yourself.

We have summer fun for kids, decor for the home, hunting / fising / grilling stuff for the guys, exquisite jewelry and pampering products for the ladies… AIRLINE TICKETS  for anyone who plans to travel… and so much more! You just need to come and see it all for yourself.

Below are the brave, intrepid local media personalities who have agreed to put their dignity on hold for a minute and a half to compete – international style! – to see who can eat the most soup and be crowned the “Champion Slurper”!
KBEZ     STEVE SMITH
K95     KELLY CASH
CH2     JULIE CHIN
FOX23     CHERA KIMIKO
TULSA KIDS     BETTY CASEY
TULSA PEOPLE     JOY JENKINS
STAR103     MIKE MCCARTHY
KMOD     MARY MOORE

These wonderful Tulsans are giving up a bit of their Sunday in order to promote our Souper Sunday fundraiser next week.

So, be sure to come out THIS Sunday at 2:30 at Cafe’ Ole’ to cheer them on, enjoy the spectacle,  and let them know we appreciate them (in between all the snickering we’re likely to do!)  See the earlier blog for details.

Souper Sunday tickets are a hot item, as people are calling / walking in daily to buy them. We’re seeing lots of friends, and meeting new people, who just read about the event in the paper.

Watch this Sunday’s paper for an article by Jason Ashley Wright, featuring comments from several members of our community: Cody Francisco, Kaye Hughes, and Ryan Zilm. It will be in the Scene section.

Also watch Channel 6 Monday morning at 7:40, when someone from Callaloo’s restaurant (“A Taste of the Caribbean”) will be preparing Dahal soup while I share information on Souper Sunday.

Auction items have also been streaming in … thanks to ALL of you who gave – and there’s still time to bring something in! Come stroll our hallways – the baskets and pots are GORGEOUS this year!

Diana