Brush Creek Bazaar Festival Raises Money For At-Risk Youth Program

Live music and arts and crafts filled South Tulsa at the Brush Creek Bazaar Festival on Sunday.

The money from the festival will benefit an at-risk youth program.

"As much as I didn't want to admit, I needed a program like this. Because it definitely helped me," Nick Thur said.

Nick Thur is a student in the Teen Challenge Program, a program to help youth struggling with addiction and other life-controlling issues.

He says before he joined the program, he was addicted to smoking and drinking. But after nine months in the program he's sober and has a better outlook on life.

"Out of here I thought I'd never finish high school. Now that I'm here I actually have a chance to go to college too," Thur said.

The yearlong program isn't free.

That's why Lowland Breaux, the Program Coordinator, said an event like the Brush Creek Bazaar is so important.

"Basically, without the support of this community, this program is not possible for many of our students," Breaux said.

He said 50 percent of the students in the program are on a need-based scholarship.

The money raised at the festival this weekend will go to that scholarship fund so other students can attend the program.

"If I didn't come here, if I didn't do the program, that year I would've spent here would have turned into two years, three years, fours, of me doing like stupid stuff I shouldn't have been doing. And eventually I'd probably end up in jail or dead," Thur said.

Thur said after he completes the program, he plans to go to college, hopefully playing sports or he plans to go to the Navy.

Either way he said he's thankful he got a second chance.