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

/

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!

/

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!