what to do in oklahoma for new years eve

When Colby Wedel was growing up, ringing in the new year meant tuning the tv to "Dick Clark'due south New year's day'due south Rockin' Eve."

"I was of the generation where my parents would turn on the New Twelvemonth's Eve (testify) to see the brawl drop and say, 'Oh, look, it's midnight; it's time to go to bed.' And it was eleven," she recalled with a laugh.

This year, Wedel is working so that Oklahomans can tune into their own home-grown New year's day's Eve show. She and Mark McBride are volunteer co-chairs for Opening Dark 2021, Oklahoma City'southward long-running New Year's Eve celebration, which will exist a complimentary virtual event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Nosotros've got the Oklahoma City version," McBride said. "I'm excited that nosotros've got a evidence that I can't await for my kids to see. ... They desire to wait forward to 2021 like we all do. I call back we've got a really cool lineup and a actually cool show that anyone can enjoy."

Produced by Arts Quango Oklahoma Metropolis, Opening Night 2021 will feature myriad musical and acrobatic acts, an interactive children's art project, a landscape contest and a countdown to midnight with the traditional ascent of the big lighted ball and a dazzling finale fireworks brandish. Combining live and prerecorded segments, the show will broadcast from 7 p.chiliad. to midnight Thursday on the Arts Quango OKC's Facebook page and YouTube aqueduct.

"I think our customs loves to gloat itself, and that'southward going to be a large part of information technology. There's a 35-year history of this outcome, so I think it will exist fun for Oklahoma Urban center folks to watch what'south happening in Oklahoma City. ... It's not going to be like watching NBC or CBS or something. It'south going to be a lot more than of a homespun fun type of an experience," Arts Council OKC Executive Director Peter Dolese said.

"I think all of us are committed to closure of 2020. Nosotros really see the demand to award what this year was because information technology was a learning experience and an opportunity to bond and to be artistic about coming upward with new ideas. And of class, (we want) to honor all those who accept been hurt then deeply by the pandemic."

Virtual experience

Opening Night is typically designed as a ticketed, family-friendly New Yr's Eve celebration in downtown OKC. Organizers this year initially planned to move the festivities into the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark to ensure crowd control and social distancing.

"When nosotros were trying to plan Opening Nighttime in this pandemic, I started, as usual, dorsum in early on May trying to meet what the opportunities were for us in our normal location in Bicentennial Park ... and there just wasn't availability at that fourth dimension for us to have those spaces," Arts Council OKC Projects Director Seth Lewis said. "So, I tried to remember, 'Where could we do that that would be great to promote the downtown district ... and where nosotros can control the environment?' ... I only knew that the ballpark would exist a slap-up opportunity to showcase and to highlight the Dodgers and that beautiful ballpark that wasn't used this season."

Merely with the number of COVID-19 cases surging, the Arts Council OKC announced earlier this month plans to shift to a virtual event.

"There simply kind of came a indicate that if we were going to practice a really spectacular virtual event, we needed to know and start planning it," McBride said. "As this wintertime's not been smashing equally far as the pandemic numbers, we just kind of decided that this was the thing to do."

Eclectic lineup

Opening Night 2021 will be hosted by local hip-hop artist Jabee, TV personality Lucas Ross and multidisciplinary artist Nicole Poole, who all will exist on site at the Bricktown Ballpark. Popular OKC guitarist Edgar Cruz & the Dauntless Amigos will open the evidence at 7 p.yard. playing live at the ballpark. Funky favorites Shortt Dog as well will perform live on the OKC Dodgers home field at 11 p.m. leading upward to the countdown to midnight and fireworks finale.

"With transitioning to virtual, nosotros were nevertheless able to utilise all our original artists," Lewis said. "You're going to see people like Hooplahoma paired up with Will Gaines, who's an acoustic vocalist-songwriter. You lot'll have the OKC Combo in a steel pulsate set paired up with aerialists. You lot're gonna have Joe Coover performing magic ... and Charles Burton Band's going to ring in the New Yr with jazz. We'll spice it up with some Latin Mojo."

Viewers will go to go behind the scenes with prerecorded segments virtually the family unit that puts on the fireworks show and the behemothic lighted ball, which raises instead of dropping at Opening Night.

"We get to tell stories in real-time near some of the aspects of what'due south really happening, and that, I think, will add together a whole new chemical element to the experience," Dolese said. "This is going to exist the biggest fireworks brandish they've ever had at the Bricktown Ballpark. It'south going to be actually something. ... They'll be correct behind 2nd base in the picnic area, where they usually shoot off for whatsoever of the ballgames. Then, people, if they wanted to, they could be in Bricktown and come across the fireworks. But the fireworks will be live-streamed, besides."

Interactive aspects

Subsequently canceling its beloved Festival of the Arts in jump, Arts Council OKC shifted its focus to taking many of its other programs virtual, streaming its summer Twilight Concert Series from The Jones Assembly, its fall Spotlight Concerts from the new Oklahoma Gimmicky Arts Center and its ongoing All Access Arts classes for schoolchildren and seniors.

Only a five-hour program with multiple acts and segments represents a level up from the nonprofit arts organization's virtual events.

"This whole production, this live-stream, has presented some wonderful technical challenges in the sense that what nosotros're doing is something that takes most a twelvemonth to plan for some of these larger shows. And we're pulling it together in a matter of a couple of months. There's a resiliency from our creatives hither to be able to achieve something like this and have something that members of the Oklahoma City community and Oklahomans can be proud of at the end of the solar day. Then, we're very excited to showcase all of our local talent, all of these artists, and present a actually positive message, a positive show, for families to enjoy at home," said Trevor Rogers, the Opening Night 2021 promotions and public relations co-chairman.

"Equally somebody who works in the film and Television set business hither in Oklahoma, I'thousand so ready to move on from 2020 and hope for a brighter 2021."

Although Opening Nighttime 2021 will be a streaming upshot, organizers take added some interactive aspects. Families can pick up children's art packets from one to v p.m. Thursday at the ballpark's Johnny Bench Plaza then follow along with the virtual demonstration at 9:30 p.m. to make the arts and crafts.

Viewers as well will have the chance to vote during the show for their favorite landscape in the inaugural FRESH PAINT: OKC NYE, a collaborative project to promote aspiring young artists in the BIPOC (Blackness, Indigenous and people of color) community. Presented by the OKC Thunder, FRESH Paint: OKC NYE volition present murals past five local artists ranging in historic period from 18 to 25 — Anthony Brock, Jasmine Jones, Shakurah Maynard, Jessie Kay Shelton and Verdean Thompson — who take been mentored by professional person muralists Ebony Iman Dallas and Dylan Bradway.

Starting Monday, the murals will be exhibited exterior on Johnny Bench Plaza, and people tin can start casting their ballots then, with the voting continuing through Opening Night. All participating artists volition receive a prize pack, and 1 competitor will win a Thunder grand prize.

"People can vote throughout the evening on their favorite murals, and then, of class, using the platforms of Facebook and YouTube, people can comment during the actual performances. They tin can share out what they're doing at home to celebrate and also give a shout-out to the artists," said Alonna Dray, Arts Council OKC communications director.

"Information technology'south not simply a evidence; it'southward a complete experience."

Plus, Arts Council OKC's annual pre-Opening Dark New Year's Eve Finale 5K has been converted to a virtual format this year, as well. Race participants can pick up their packets from apex to 3 p.k. Monday and Thursday at Johnny Bench Plaza and run their 5K any time equally long equally they stop by New year's Eve.

"Y'all create your own landscape of where you want to run this year. ... I think people will be really excited to get out in the fresh air and practice a piddling 5K, and what people forget is that this a fundraiser for us. This is how we put arts back in the customs. By running that 5K and paying that $35 you're helping us continue our mission," Lewis said.

"Information technology will be different ... but our finale is going to be cracking as always and a bully style to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome in the new year."

Features Author Brandy "BAM" McDonnell covers Oklahoma's arts, entertainment and cultural sectors for The Oklahoman and Oklahoman.com. Reach her at bmcdonnell@oklahoman.com, www.facebook.com/brandybammcdonnell and twitter.com/BAMOK. Please support work by her and her colleagues past subscribing at oklahoman.com/subscribe.

GOING ON

Virtual Opening Night 2021

When: seven p.one thousand. to midnight Thursday.

Where: Alive-streaming at www.facebook.com/ArtsCouncilOKC and www.youtube.com/user/ArtsCouncilOKC.

Cost: Free.

Information: www.artscouncilokc.com.

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Source: https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/brandy-mcdonnell/2020/12/27/downtown-okcs-opening-night-will-welcome-2021-with-streaming-new-years-eve-celebration/319077007/

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