Are you already planning your summer calendar yet? If you haven’t filled in every weekend with some summer camp or trip or family reunion, save a few Fridays for these fun family spots! Every single Friday night there is a weekly free event in the metro, some of these last all year while some are only held in the warmer months. All are free to attend, however, if you want to purchase food or merchandise while attending, that of course costs money! Click on the links for more info or pictures from the events.
The Paseo Art Walk is held the first Friday of the month. The Paseo is a historic area of OKC near 29th and Walker that holds many unique shops, galleries, and restaurants. I love all the vibrant colors of the buildings here. On the first Friday night of each month, all the businesses and galleries remain open late so you can peruse the stores (many of them have free appetizers too, it’s usually enough to fill us up!) If your child is one who can’t “look with their eyes not with their hands” then there is lots of space to run free outside and there are usually street performers. You can take turns with your spouse or a friend between art perusing and child watching, or make it a fun free date night and get a babysitter!
Live on the Plaza is held the second Friday of the month. The Plaza district is located on 16th between Classen and Penn. It’s become a great urban renewal local spot in recent years with great restaurants such as the Mule, Empire Pizza, and Pie Junkie. They also have fun spots to get clothing and children’s items such as Tree and Leaf or Collected Thread. They have different fun themes for each month and this month it’s all about Cartoons! Food trucks and live music are usually present and they always have things out for kids to do like sidewalk chalk or other artistic things. The people watching is fun and I love to peruse the local stores.
Premiere on Film Row is the third Friday of the month. They feature film screenings, food trucks, art exhibits and live music and once again it’s free and family friendly! The film district is a newer revitalized area located on Sheridan between Dewey and Shartel. It also just so happens to have our family’s favorite pizza spot: Joeys! We haven’t attended this event yet, but it’s on my list of things to do. I saw a great giant Jenga game on their facebook page that looked like a lot of fun!
H & 8th (or as we like to pronounce it in Spanish–Hache y ocho–because it’s funner to say!) is held the last Friday of every month. If you have seen a few food trucks at certain events and didn’t know which to choose from, this is the event to attend because many if not all are in attendance at this event! The full list is given on their website each month. It is held at Hudson and 8th on the last Friday of the month. The lines can be pretty long but that’s part of the fun….if you aren’t holding a sweaty three year old’s hand while waiting for your food. So take some food for them, maybe a picnic blanket and enjoy the live music and hipster viewing at its finest. I’m no hipster, but I do enjoy going and seeing people of my city, listening to local bands, and chowing down on some gourmet goodies handed to me from the side of a truck!
You could attend every one of these and have something fun to do every Friday night for a date or as a family. That might be going a bit overboard so at least check them out once and see which one is your family’s favorite. Maybe you can make it a monthly event! It’s so great to be out on a nice night visiting with local businesses and people in your community. Things like this make living in a metropolitan area feel more like a small town to me. I appreciate the art and culture these events provide and will definitely be attending some this summer! Hope to see you there!
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