Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java to donate 20% of Wednesday profit to CPHS Special Needs Prom

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java is known for making headlines with their generosity and community involvement. Just two weeks ago they gave away more than 400 free snow cones at the Sand Springs Chillin' and Grillin' festival.

Their latest contribution is planned for tomorrow, Wednesday, April 27th. 20% of all net sales from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM will be donated to the Charles Page High School Special Needs program for use in the 2016 Prom, which is scheduled for May 7th. 

The offer is valid only at the Sand Springs location at 1124 East Charles Page Boulevard, and you must present the official flyer for credit. 

"Prom Promise" is an initiative that began six years ago that exists to ensure students with special needs will be able to enjoy the same prom experience as those without disabilities. The program works to provide tuxes and dresses, tickets, dinner before the dance, and transportation to Prom via party bus. The goal is to raise about $2000 by a May 3rd deadline. 

The group has already raised $490 via a "gofundme" account at https://www.gofundme.com/e8v69jgk and they're also accepting checks payable to "Prom Promise" that can be dropped off at the high school office. 

Harper's ties to the special needs community run deep. Harper's is owned by William and Lindsay Nozak who have several family members on staff at The Little Lighthouse in Tulsa, which is a nationally recognized development center for children with special needs. Lindsay, herself, is the Waiting List Coordinator. According to the company, "LLH does not charge tuition and receives money only from private sources, such as foundations and grants."

Harper's Hut is a frequent contributor to the organization and often brings shaved ice for the children throughout the year. "Our family is extremely involved in the lives of our special needs community," says William Nozak. This commitment comes directly from the Harper's Hut core values, which pledge "support toward non-profit organizations promoting family, and Christian values." 

Harper's hosted an entire day of free snow cones last May to raise money for LLH and plans on doing the same this year on May 19th. Harper's was able to reinvest more than $8200 into the community last season and has already contributed more than $2000 to local charities, organizations, and other community centered events this year, not even a quarter of the way into the season. 

Holy Smokers win fifth-straight at Chillin & Grillin, Harper's Hut gives away 400+ snow cones

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce put on their annual Chillin' and Grillin' Festival this past weekend, and if you didn't make it then you sure missed out!

Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java gave out more than 400 free snow cones throughout the event, including signature favorites such as Harry Potter Butterbeer and Volcano. 

Jambo Pits was named Grand Champion of the event by the Kansas City Barbecue Society with Okie Q BBQ coming in as Reserve Champion.

Jambo Pits took first place in brisket, Moving the Chains BBQ took first in pork, Buffalo's BBQ took first in pork ribs, and Fatt Mikes took first place in chicken.

Church That Matters' Holy Smokers won their fifth consecutive People's Choice Award. Light My Fire BBQ won the "Anything But" competition.

This year included a baking competition with two categories and two division. Katie Gonzales won the Student division in Cookies. Jacie Taber and Cameron Clemons won the Student Pies category. Andrea Brice won Adult Cookies and Debra Bunch won Adult Pies. 

Charles Page High School graduate and blues musician Dylan Whitney was the entertainment for the evening, along with the Charles Sisters.

Senator Dan Newberry was on the scene to present awards and publicize his upcoming re-election campaign. Sand Springs's own Josh Turley was also campaigning at the event. Turley is running for the position of County Commissioner. 

The full Sandite Pride gallery from the event is now available at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/Community-Events/2016-Chillin-and-Grillin/

Harper's Hut Shaved Ice is open for the season!

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Spring Break kicks off this Friday for our Sand Springs Sandites and one of the most popular hangouts in town is opening up just in time!

Harper's Hut Shaved Ice will be back open for the season at 3:00 pm this Friday and will stay open till 10:30. 

Harper's hit Sand Springs by storm back in 2014 when CEO William Nozak opened his first hut on Charles Page Boulevard in front of the Sand Springs Cinema 8. Word of mouth began to attract large lines of people from Sand Springs, Tulsa, Sapulpa, and Mannford who were clamoring to try the first gourmet snow cones in the Sand Springs area.

Within a month of opening, Harper's Hut was named the "Best in the World" by the Tulsa World readers, and with more than 80 flavors and hundreds of combinations, there's something for everybody. 

The Harper's popularity continued to skyrocket into 2015 and Nozak opened huts in Mannford and Glenpool as well as supplied his brand of deliciousness to the Sapulpa Aquatic Center. In December, Nozak expanded his entrepreneurial exploits into coffee. The first Harper's Hut Java stand opened in Prattville (South Sand Springs) on 41st Street in front of Church That Matters and is open year-round.

Coffee had always been a part of the plan for Nozak, who originally filed his business under the name "Harper's Hut Shaved Ice & Java." The South-side location won't be offering shaved ice at this time, but does have signature flavors such as "Volcano" and "Butterbeer" available for smoothies, Italian soda, frappuccinos, as well as hot drinks. 

The North side has aims to expand to coffee at some point in the future, but that hut is currently too small to carry both shaved ice and java. 

Nozak considers this weekend to be a "soft opening," with a Grand Opening set for this May when the students are out of school for the summer. The Grand Opening, like last year, will be a full weekend of events, games, and giveaways. He has already been probing the community on what movies they would like to see at Harper's, which frequently does Free Family Movie Nights throughout the summer on their giant inflatable screen. 

Harper's mobile setup is available for all sorts of events ranging from weddings and birthdays to corporate events and fundraisers. A frequent favorite that Church That Matters has used two-years in a row is The Meltdown, where Harper's shaves enough ice for a large snowball fight in the middle of summer. Harper's raised thousands for local charities last summer and hopes to carry that momentum into 2016 with even more local give-back. 

So get on down to Harper's Hut Shaved Ice today and see the shaved ice stand that Tulsa competitors are calling a game-changer for the area!

Local churches put on back-to-school-bashes for area youth

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By: Scott Emigh, Sandite Pride Editor

Church That Matters

                The Movement is the name of the youth ministry at Church That Matters on 41st street in Prattville, and they were sure moving fast last Wednesday at “The Meltdown.” The Meltdown is a back-to-school snowball fight put on at Church That Matters in conjunction with two local shaved ice stands. The Meltdown is a Harper’s Hut event that they offer to any organization, but this marks the second year that they’ve donated their service to CTM for no charge. CEO William Nozak and the owner of the Pink Shack both attend CTM so Nozak invites his business competition to join in the fun each year.

                The Movement had nearly a hundred students in attendance for an epic snowball fight that went through 780 pounds of shaved ice. It took over two hours to shave the ice that the students went through in only fifteen minutes, and they had a blast. There was free food, free drinks, a live band, and the church gave away five “Slide The City” tickets that had a $40 face value. Slide The City was an event this past weekend in Tulsa that turned three blocks of downtown street into a giant slip’n’slide. Ten students committed their lives to following Christ at The Movement that night.

                The Movement meets each Wednesday at 7PM at 3 West 41st Street under youth pastor Scott Bryan.

Word of Life

                Forward Youth is the youth ministry of Word of Life church at 1402 North 81st West Avenue. The youth, however, have their own location at 10th and Adams in an old QuikTrip building less than a block from Charles Page High School. Forward’s back-to-school bash was also a battle royale, but it was a lot less wet and a lot messier.

                Nearly a hundred students showed up to the third annual Whiteout event, which featured 200 pounds of different colored powdered paints. The students are advised ahead of time to wear all white clothing. Many students make their own t-shirts specifically for the event. The church has a professional photographer on staff who came out and set up a photo booth for before and after photos.

                When it came time for the event, the students were herded across the street to the Sandite practice field where they were divided into two groups and given their initial bags of powdered paint. Buckets of extra paint littered the grounds for those who ran out of their own supply. When the church leaders gave the signal the two lines ran at each other launching paint into each other’s faces and the whole group disappeared into a cloud of mixed colors. The battle doesn’t last long, only about fifteen or twenty minutes, but the students always have a blast. One student committed to following Christ.