ALVA, Okla. -- Eleven time slots containing diverse acts are scheduled to entertain inside the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse at the Alva Recreation Complex for the 55th Nescatunga Arts Festival June 5-7 while shoppers visit the fine artists and crafters' booths. The festival will take place on Friday from 5-8 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Although the festival will start on Friday, the traditional opening ceremonies will take place on Saturday at 8:50 a.m. with flags being posted by local Boy Scout Troop 392, Merritt Mantz singing the National Anthem, and a prayer being led by Steve Hamm, pastor of the College Hill Church of Christ.

Alva Chamber of Commerce co-directors Magen Lehr and JoDe Bradt will welcome everyone to the full day of festival fun on behalf of the Alva community.

Jerad Bradt and the crew with Boss Music will be providing the sound for the entertainment.

Emcee for the stage on Friday will be Cara Bradt, and Merritt Mantz will serve as emcee on Saturday.

A full listing of the entertainment scheduled for the two days of the festival includes:

Nescatunga Arts Festival Entertainment Schedule 

Friday, June 5

5-6 p.m. / Groove Boulevard 

Groove Boulevard members say their friendship is strong like their musical chemistry. They choose to not claim any one musical genre because they believe they can play any style they want and play it well. They firmly believe that sharing their art and music will encourage others to do the same. Members include Ben Kreigh on the drum kit, Gabe Harzman on bass guitar, and Dash Dickey on leading vocals and keys.

6-6:30 p.m. / Toby Anton

Toby Anton grew up in Alva and graduated from Alva High School in 2025. Anton is currently attending the University of Central Oklahoma, majoring in instrumental music education. He is also pursuing a certificate in music in health and a minor in jazz studies. After graduating, he plans on staying in Oklahoma as an elementary music educator.

6:30-7 p.m. / Fred Riggins

Fred Riggins was born and raised in Alva. He is a graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Fred and his wife Sherry have three children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandson. He loves playing and singing the songs of John Denver and others.

7-8:30 p.m. / Bear Rodriguez

Bear Rodriguez is a guitarist, educator, and entertainer in western Oklahoma.  A graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, he studied under Robert Chambers as well as Michael Fresonke at Oklahoma City University. After leaving SWOSU, he took over beginning and intermediate classical guitar classes at Classen SAS in Oklahoma City where he taught over 150 students and assisted guitar education luminary Matthew Denman with Classen’s advanced guitar classes and award-winning ensembles, even appearing on the cover of Soundboard, the official publication of the Guitar Foundation of America. In addition to lessons with Ana Vidovic, he has studied privately with the legendary Pepe Romero at the Celedonio Romero Guitar Institute, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at Southern Nazarene University. Along with classical repertoire, he sings and performs popular music arrangements for voice and guitar around central and western Oklahoma.  He currently enjoys life in a hermitage on a cattle and sheep ranch with his wife, Lacey, and son, Indigo, outside of Waynoka, and teaches 1^st – 4^th grade elementary music at Highland Park Elementary in Woodward.

Saturday, June 6

9 a.m. / Homemade and Handpicked

Homemade and Handpicked is the musical duet of John (Homemade) and LeCena (Handpicked) McDowell.  The couple lives in southern Woods County, Oklahoma, on a small homestead. LeCena plays the autoharp and sings lead and harmony parts while John plays the fiddle and guitar and also can sing lead and harmony.  They play a variety of music including Gospel, Bluegrass, Country, a little Western Swing and will usually throw in a fiddle tune or two. In addition to their duet, they also play with the Gospel and Bluegrass band “Borderline Connection” playing with Dusty (bass) and Trish (guitar) Brewer with gigs throughout Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. John also plays in the local band “Ruffcutts.” During the winter the couple plays with the country band “Arizona Ramblers” in the Apache Junction, Arizona, area. Some of the past bands the McDowell’s have played with include “Loosely Wound,” “Southern Connections,” and “String Fever,” all Minnesota-based bands. 

10 a.m. / Standing Ovations - Dance Troupe

Standing Ovations Dance Studio is run by Kim Foster and her daughter, Natasha Foster. The studio offers a variety of classes including tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, pointe and clogging. At Nescatunga, audience members will be able to watch dancers aged 2 through high school.

11 a.m. / David Engle, Robert Ford and Max Ridgway

David Engle, Robert Ford and Max Ridgway have been performing together since 2016 and specialize in classic rock.

Engle is from Alva and plays guitar. He has recorded a few self-released albums with local musicians. Some of the bands that Engle has been a member of include Destiny, The Imposters and Mother Nature’s Eyeball. These acts have been the opening act for Dr. Hook, Lariat (Ricochet), Great Divide, Highway 101, Navel Felts & Michael Hearne. His main influences are the Beatles, Eric Clapton & Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Ford is a self-taught drummer from Gage. He began seriously playing the drums at the age of 12. During high school, he was in the Tri-State Honor Chorus for four years. He then studied at NWOSU in Alva for two years as a music major and finished there with a 3.95 GPA. He has been in many bands over the years in Oklahoma and Colorado as a drummer and backup harmony vocalist. He currently plays in the Country Justice Band as well as with David Engle and Max Ridgway.

Ridgway of Alva studied guitar with Jon Damian at Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1990, Summa Cum Laude. He holds a master’s degree in music education from NWOSU, where he currently teaches as an adjunct instructor. He has recorded numerous albums of jazz and ambient music and is the author of several books on a variety of subjects. He performs frequently at a variety of venues as a jazz guitar soloist, with his band, the Max Ridgway Trio, and as a guest guitarist with David Engle and Robert Ford. See maxridgway.com for more information about his music and books.

Noon / C-Sessions

C-Sessions is an acoustic duo from Tulsa, with Candice as an Alva native and husband Cameron an original Texan, they blend Americana and Indie folk influences into a warm, modern sound. With thoughtful arrangements, they create performances that feel effortless, inviting, and soulful. 

1 p.m. / Alva High School/Naicee Sutter

Several members of the Gold Rush! Show Choir will razzle-dazzle the crowd of Nescatunga. Be sure to cheer loudly for these talented students and Alva Choir Director  Naicee Sutter as she sings jazz and musical theater selections.

2 p.m. / Eric Ryan-Johnson

Eric Ryan-Johnson is originally from Madison, Wisconsin, currently living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and performs original songs with a blend of acoustic alt-rock. He has 11 albums that are available on all streaming platforms.  For the Nescatunga Arts Festival 2026, he will be performing with Clayton Ussery, an accomplished singer-songwriter and guitarist from Louisiana, living in Tulsa. Clayton’s first album, “The Road to Kenwood Hills,” was released in 2025.

3 p.m. / Katie Bradford

Katie Bradford has been performing in the Oklahoma City metro area for the last 10+ years as a solo vocalist, as well as the lead singer of the band “Katie and The Elements.” Some of her favorite venues and events to have performed at include: UCO Jazz Lab, Will Rogers Theatre, Edmond Arts Festival, Scissortail Park, Rococo, and R&J's. Her style of performance music varies from jazz standards to popular easy listening tunes of all genres to create a relaxing atmosphere. Whether you are in the mood for Norah Jones, The Carpenters, Peggy Lee, Elvis or Patsy Cline, plan to sit back, relax and enjoy a few favorite smooth tunes. Katie and her husband, Erick, live in Waynoka. She enjoys performing in the northwest Oklahoma area.

More information about the Nescatunga Arts Festival may be found at www.nescatunga.org or on the Facebook page at www.facebook/NescatungaArts.

Additional news items about this year’s artists/crafters, as well as how the public can volunteer to help at the event and bring items for the Gourmet Food Booth, can be found at www.nescatunga.org/blog.

The Nescatunga Arts Festival is sponsored by the Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council, Inc., in cooperation with the Alva Chamber of Commerce, the City of Alva Tourism Committee, the City of Alva and the Alva Recreation Complex.

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