Four years ago, Tom and Lisa Price invited Slice Magazine into their magnificent Arcadia home, ensconced within the rolling hills of four wooded acres in the newly developing Sugar Hill addition, east of Edmond.
Anam Cara was the name the Prices gave the home at the conclusion of its two-year construction. During the past five years, echoes of laughter and the conviviality of friends have resonated throughout the home, giving Anam Cara, or “friend of the soul,” true meaning.
“We built this house for all our friends to enjoy,” Tom Price said the first time the couple welcomed us to the home. “It belongs to them, too.” Indeed, in the years since Tom made that statement, the Prices have generously opened their exquisite home to family, friends and many vacationing houseguests on more than a hundred occasions.
Many of those celebrations brought friends and other members of the Oklahoma City community together amid the serenity of the home and its surroundings for the benefit of local nonprofit organizations.
“Something powerful happens here when people come together,” Tom observes. “The natural surroundings of this home are breathtaking, and it’s such a peaceful environment that really lends itself to more meaningful conversations and connections among friends and colleagues.”
The home’s seamless transition from indoors to outdoors imparts a sense of sanctuary, even on several occasions when the Prices have welcomed 200 or more guests, caterers and a live band for various charity fundraisers.
Since Tom’s retirement as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Government Relations from Chesapeake Energy, the Prices have had more time to travel extensively, pursue outside interests and enjoy more time with their grandchildren, but their shared passion for helping nonprofits remains as strong as ever. And while they spend less time in Oklahoma City these days, the couple still opens their home to community leaders in support of nonprofits who often plan more intimate fundraising events with Anam Cara in mind.
“There are so many wonderful organizations who host events throughout the city, and there are some really spectacular venues for doing that,” Tom notes. “What we love about hosting those kind of functions is that this space delivers such an extraordinary experience. Whether it’s a spirited conversation by the fire pit or around the shuffleboard table in the theater room, people connect here,” he continues, echoing the sentiments of countless visitors who will attest that gatherings at Anam Cara have a decidedly magical feel.
For that reason, the Prices decided to further that sense of community by giving the home an expanded role, as a unique setting for events for groups of 150 people or fewer. “We still want to share what we’ve enjoyed here,” Tom says, “and make this a place that welcomes people to experience an event setting that they’ll always remember.”
To learn more about hosting an event at Anam Cara, send an inquiry to anamcara409@gmail.com. To view a slideshow of the home, visit sliceok.com/A-Space-for-Connection.