We wrap up the month of April with two of the metro's biggest annual events. First, there's the "Run to Remember," the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday. Built around celebrating the gift of life and honoring the memory of everyone who suffered due to the events of April 19, 1995, the event includes USATF-sanctioned races but also a non-competitive walk and a kid's marathon. On Friday, there's the Health Expo at the Cox Convention Center (free admission), and Saturday brings the pasta dinner. If you're going out as a spectator, organizers recommend several excellent locations: the starting line at NW 5th and Harvey, spots in Bricktown, the state capitol complex, Sparrow and Edgemere Parks between Walker and Broadway, Crown Heights, Nichols Hills, Classen Boulevard north of NW 50th and the finish line on Broadway near NW 7th. See a full course map.

In addition, take the weekend to go out (perhaps for the 2nd or 3rd time) to the OKC Festival of the Arts. Live performances continue throughout the weekend, until 5 p.m. on Sunday, and there's also the fantastic works of art, great food, kid's activities and so much more. Oh, and see how wonderful the renovated Myriad Gardens area looks. It's not to be missed.

Elsewhere, this weekend...

• With those two events, downtown could be quite the crazy place on Sunday, depending on the results of Friday's NBA action. The Thunder awaits a round two opponent and may have the opening game of a series against Memphis at the Oklahoma City Arena on Sunday.
• If all of the above festivals aren't enough for you, head south to Norman for a musical extravaganza... Read More...

Don't go to the Warren Movie Theatre in Moore... I may be the first one to tell you that, but I absolutely mean it. If you go, and particularly if you enjoy the metro's best movie-watching experience up in the balcony seating, it will ruin you for all other movie theaters. And if, like me, you live on the north side, you repeatedly would curse Warren's decision not to add another OKC location. So it's best to simply avoid all that stress... and make it easier for me to get tickets.

Of course, the Warren Theatre intends to make it even more difficult for you to resist, announcing plans to add an IMAX theater later this year. The 4,000 square-foot addition to the north side of the building will seat up to 600 people and feature a screen six stories tall, one of the largest in the nation. With a proposed completion date of December 2011, for the opening of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" in IMAX 3-D, the project will cost about $10 million. That figure doesn't include the extra gas money I'll have to pay for additional trips to Moore.

_{Photo © Adam Knapp}

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Hey, who needs a sweep, right? Though at times it wasn't easy, the young Oklahoma City Thunder takes the next step in its evolution with a playoff series victory. And it came in front of a raucous, sellout crowd at the Oklahoma City Arena.

Now, we wait... After San Antonio's overtime victory over Memphis, that series goes to game six, the Thunder's 2nd round opponent still up in the air. If it's Memphis, the 2nd round begins right here in OKC, if San Antonio, on the road. Either way, a limited number of tickets for home games 1 & 2 go on sale Thursday morning at 10 a.m. They can be purchased online. Get more information at thunder.nba.com.

_{Photo: Dilip Vishwanat/Stringer / Getty Images}

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Changes were inevitable for the Oklahoma City RedHawks, of course, with new owners and the transition to affiliate of the Houston Astros. For example, little more than a grumble sounded when the organization announced the Bricktown Ballpark would now be known as RedHawks Field. No big deal, right? Everyone's still going to call it Bricktown Ballpark or simply the Brick. But now they just might have gone too far...

I haven't been able to make it out to the ballpark yet this season, as I'm still caught up in Thunder-mania. However, I was very disappointed to read that apparently longtime RedHawks mascot Rowdy has been replaced by two new mascots, Ruby and Cooper. The change was made without any notice, as with the park name change, and thus far without much uproar, though some dedicated fans have launched a "Free Rowdy" button campaign.

Maybe I'm just resistant to change, but five years after her first RedHawks game, my niece still remarks with unabashed glee about the time Rowdy kissed her hand. I'll have to see if I can get a button.

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