Pink Friday

Just over two hours south-east of Oklahoma City in the state of Oklahoma, you'll find the small town of Tishomingo. If you're wondering why this name might sound a little familiar to you, there's good reason. Especially if you're a country music fan. Tishomingo is the place that Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert call home. With a whopping population reaching just over 3000, Tishomingo is one of those towns that you blink, and you'll miss it. I could probably run from one end of Main St to the other in about a minute. And for anyone that knows me, you'll know, running obviously isn't my strong suit.

For these big name stars like Miranda and Blake you'd have to think that any moment of free time that their schedules allow - outside of touring, recording and writing, attending awards shows, and coaching on The Voice, you'd think they would want to spend this time with family. Especially on a holiday like Thanksgiving.

In Tishomingo, OK, Miranda Lambert opened a little boutique on Maint St called The Pink Pistol the day after Thanksgiving last year. While the rest of the country - and apparently even some Canadians, are spending their time fighting it out in the line of every retailer offering even a slight discount on Black Friday, Miranda Lambert is busy coining what she and the rest of Tishomingo has now come to know as Pink Friday.

Sure, there's still the same (fleeting) idea behind Pink Friday as Black Friday - consumerism. However, Pink Friday offers so much more with such a bigger goal in mind. The point isn't to attract everyone that has an extra few hundred dollars to spend (who are these people nowadays anyways). Pink Friday is about helping boost a local economy. Getting people to Tishomingo that may have never come before, for example two girls from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Pink Friday is about helping out animals - Miranda brings her MuttNation to the forefront to help unwanted animals find a new home. This Pink Friday alone, over 30 pets were rescued and found permanent homes thanks to the work of Lambert and her Pink Friday.

As I rant and rave about how amazing I think the whole thing is some of you might be thinking its time to stop reading. Of course Lauren is going to be impressed by this. She's a Miranda Lambert fan. And of course it's easy for a celebrity with lots of money to put on such events. Well, yeah I am a huge Miranda and Blake fan. And yes, they do have money and celebrity working in their favour but I admire the amount of pride that these two take in their home town and how they use their platform, their power, for good.

On top of organizing a (what I am calling) street festival for the residents of Tishomingo to celebrate Pink Friday, it draws people in from all over the state of Oklahoma, and as I have proven, even outside the country. Pink Friday works because it's a celebration - it's free, it gives people an excuse to get out and connect with one another (some may start their Christmas shopping), and others, like me, travel hundreds of miles just so that they can say they have shopped at Miranda Lambert's Pink Pistol. But with shopping, people, and free live music - a free concert by Neal McCoy with an unscripted duet by Neal and Miranda, who wouldn't want to be a part of this celebration.

I am already trying to figure out how I am going to afford heading back to Tishomingo for the 3rd Annual Pink Friday in 2014 AND which of my friends will make the excursion with me.

Thank you to the reigning Royal Couple of Country Music - Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert for continuing to use their power for good.