Plaza Patio Partnership!

Don’t you wish there were more places to sit and enjoy the Plaza District?

We would love for you to bring your lunch, read a book, or listen to a street musician on the wonderful, wide sidewalks we’re so lucky to have.

This week, we’re wanting to make that possible! We’re partnering with Better Block OKC, an awesome project working to enhance public space and street life in OKC (May-19th, be there!!)

With each $100 donation to the Plaza District, we will purchase a cafe seating set pictured below. The cafe sets will be at home in the Plaza District, but loaned out to Better Block OKC as needed. In fact, they will debut at our pop-up park this Friday at LIVE on the Plaza, then return to Better Block OKC on May 18-19th at NW 7th/Hudson.

With your donation, you’re helping two organizations make OKC a more vibrant, pedestrian place, and your donation is tax deductible. The deadline to donate is this Friday at noon. Donation form is below! Then, come enjoy a comfortable seat at our events!

@1614 featuring J.A. Taylor Photography

Season three of @1614 Debuts at MIDWESTMEDIA

Oklahoma City, OK. Since April 2010, MIDWESTMEDIA has showcased some of the most talented Oklahoma artists from across the state at the @1614 events. Along with being an award-winning marketing and public relations company, MIDWESTMEDIA has a passion for the arts, non-profits, and promoting the great happenings in Oklahoma City. They feel it is one of their missions to promote the talent Oklahoma has to offer to the world.

Along with the art show and sale, @1614 creates documentary films about each featured artist.  MIDWESTMEDIA Creative Director and award-winning Videographer, Christopher Hunt is the mastermind behind the artful films. According to Hunt each film tells a story about the artist and their work. For the upcoming season of @1614, Hunt wanted to expand on the style of the series and create a unique set of films that dig deep into the artist personalities and work. The newest @1614 film will debut next week.

On May 11, @1614 will showcase Oklahoma photographer Jay Pack, M.D. of J.A. Taylor Photography. By day, Pack is a musculoskeletal radiologist, but in his free time he creates fabulous works of art using unique techniques with his vintage film cameras. He discovered his love for photography when his first daughter was born four years ago. It began as a hobby but soon became a passion and eventually a profession. He transitioned from digital to film when the high resolution, picture perfect images were not quite satisfactory to him. Pack wanted to create something with a soul, something organic. It was then he began to experiment with 35mm film and eventually moved into what he does now, which is large format photography.

“When light interacts with the film emulsions, something magical happens, and I absolutely love that. I really like the challenge of large format because nothing is automatic, everything is done by the photographer.” says Pack.

In addition to being a remarkable photographer, Pack is also a philanthropist. He donates all proceeds raised by the sale of his work to children’s charities. Some of the recipients have been St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Smile Train, The Children’s Center of Bethany, OK, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to name a few. Pack feels that combining the making of photographs with benefiting children is tremendously powerful. Giving the money away keeps what he does purely about the art.

The @1614 featuring J.A. Taylor Photography will take place Friday, May 11th from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the MIDWESTMEDIA studios located in the Plaza District, 1614 N Gatewood Ave. During the show, MIDWESTMEDIA will also be a food drop zone for the benefit of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.  All proceeds from purchased art will go to the charity of Pack’s choice.

The public is invited and admission is free.  For more information, please visit www.at1614.com.

Listener at The Society

Listener at The Society: Southwest Minotour 2012
Tuesday May 1^st 2012 from 7-11pm

The Society is very excited to announce that they will be hosting LISTENER, a nationally and internationally recognized spoken word band on their Southwest Minotour. $10 in advance. Also featuring music by Deaf Brother and other musicians and visual artists to be announced. Pick yours up here!

http://thesocietyokc.storenvy.com/products/315751-listener-admit-one-10-00

Listener is an experimental spoken word band that started in 2002 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It deviates from hip-hop collective Deepspace5, Listener is composed of Dan Smith as both vocalist and lyricist and Christin Nelson as composer.[1] Their music has been described as “Talk Music”. A style that has been describerd as being: “a wide spanning style that features a heavy vocal element that is neither screamed, sang, or just spoken. The lyrics are more like ranting poetry.”

@thesocietyokc
thesocietyokc.com

http://iamlistener.com/

Weekend in the Plaza

Couldn’t make it to the district last weekend? Well don’t worry because this weekend will be hoppin too! Come hear local bands, see local art and laugh the with locals.

Friday:
Bomb Shelter- presents ‘The Akihabara Androids’ special from 7-10pm

Saturday:
Bad Granny Bazaar- Backroom performances by Little Bear, Two Snakes and Purple Church starting at 8pm

Dig It- presents local band, Neighborhood Fight Night from 6-8pm

The Society- should be full of laughs at the Comedy Showcase from 7-11pm

2012 Festival Planning Committee!

We are excited to get this year’s Plaza District Festival up and running! So save the date for September 29^th 2012! Neither the Plaza District nor the festival would be where it is today without the love and support from our friends and volunteers. If you would like to be involved in the planning of this fantastic event, please fill out the form below.  There are many areas to get involved in: Artist Committee, Performing Arts and Music, Kids, Food and Beverage, Volunteer, Logistics, Fundraising and Marketing. Committee members will need to be able to meet at least monthly and needed tasks in between.

Plaza District Festival Planning Committees
Festival date: September 29th

Sub-Committees:
Artists
Spreading Call to Artists, Reviewing submissions, communication with artists, artist setup/check in on event day

Performing Arts/Music Fest
Lining up performance schedule, lining up bands for evening music, communication with performers, performer check in/managing on event day

Kids
Organizing children’s activities including art projects, games, face-painting etc. Gather needed supplies for activities

Food/Beverage
Recruit food vendors,  beer tent, communication with vendors

Volunteer
Work with sub-committees and director to establish volunteer needs, recruit volunteers from community, schedule volunteers, and manage volunteers on event day

Logistics
Work with director to prepare logistical needs including equipment, event layout, rentals, permits and supplies

Fundraising
Identify sponsors and communicate with prospective sponsors

Marketing
Marketing Committee will focus on new marketing ideas, social media, public relations and flyer/poster distribution

Spring Awakening $20 tix!

$20 is the price for student rush tickets at Lyric Theatre, but hey, aren’t we all students in some way or another? Saturday afternoon EVERYONE has the last chance to see Spring Awakening at the Student Rush discount with:

Student of Life special for SPRING AWAKENING
April 14 @ 2pm
$20 tickets for everyone
Call 524.9312 to reserve tickets or buy them at the box office

On a personal note, this show is AMAZING. It’s amazing because this play written in the 1800′s is so, extremely relevant for today. All you’d have to do is switch the 1800s costumes with  feather earrings, ray bans and polo’s, and you’d have a modern commentary on teenage agnst today. Add in the amazing talent and music, and this show is an absolute must see.

So, make it an afternoon and hit up brunch and the matinee performance! Call today!

Plaza District Welcomes 2 New Businesses!

             We are excited to welcome two new faces to the Plaza District family, Innovative Spaces and Sons & Daughters! These two will be making their first appearance during April 13^th LIVE on the Plaza so come and welcome them to the neighborhood! Innovative Spaces, located at 1751 NW 16th Street, is a design studio celebrating a passion for renovation and preservation. Innovative Spaces offers custom design planning specializing in kitchens and baths extending to the revival of antique, vintage and always unique furniture pieces. Come by during LIVE on the Plaza and check out their beautiful showroom!

              Sons & Daughters is busy getting ready for Fridays opening during LIVE on the Plaza, located at 1609 N Blackwelder. Why yes, that is RetrOKC’s old space! Sons & Daughters has things for the little folks and the big folks in the Plaza District. Come see this handmade boutique and welcome them to the district! 

Plaza District Board of Director’s Names Nine New Members

 Top: Kristen Vails, Amanda Bradway, Jim Radford, Aimee Ahpeatone
Lora Newton, Randy Cassimus, Jackie Mania, Blair Humphries, Sara Jacobson.
Bottom: Lindsay Zodrow, Stephen Kovash, Bailey Gordon. Not pictured, Kristen
Torkelson, Mary Ann Osko, Lou Kerr, Jeff Struble. Photo by Maria Dru Photography

It is with great pleasure that the Plaza District Association announces the election of nine new members to the Association’s Board of Directors. The diverse skills and fields of expertise of these new members will strengthen the vision, work and impact of the association’s mission– to continue developing the 16^th Street Plaza District as a vibrant commercial district where arts, local business and the neighborhood community thrives.

“The Plaza District has experienced a surge of growth over the last three years” says Aimee Ahpeatone, President of the Board, “and with that growth comes the need for new leadership to support our growth and vision for the future.”

That vision will be led by the new member’s diverse experiences in fundraising, urban planning, the arts, public relations, law, marketing, volunteer management, education, and business management.

“All nine members who were approached about joining the board were extremely excited about the opportunity,” says Executive Director Kristen Vails, “and it’s a true testament to exciting energy and progress taking place in the district today.”

The newly elected members include:

-Randy Cassimus, Gatewood Resident, Independent Video Producer, Musician
-Bailey Gordon, Allied Arts Manager of Workplace Giving
-Blair Humphreys, Executive Director, OU Institute for Quality Communities
-Sara Jacobson, Director of Patient Experience & Child Life, The Children’s Hospital
-Jackie Mania, Title I Compliance Officer, Oklahoma City Public Schools
-Lora Newton, Artist/Crafter
-Mary Ann Osko, President of Osko Communications
-Jim Radford, Assistant Public Defender Of Oklahoma County
-Kristen Torkelson, Project Manager, Noodlestream.com

The re-elected members include:

-President: Aimee Ahpeatone, LPC
-Vice-President: Jeff Struble, Struble Construction
-Treasurer: Stephen Kovash, Istvan Gallery
-Secretary: Amanda Bradway, DNA Galleries
-Lou Kerr, The Kerr Foundation, President & Chair
-Lindsay Zodrow, Collected Thread

Together these board members will lead the continued revitalization of the Plaza District and champion it’s mission by promoting the district through events and marketing, encouraging investment in the district, working with the City of Oklahoma City to address needs, engaging the neighborhood and community to support progress and creating place and opportunity for arts experiences.

About the Plaza District Association

The Plaza District Association is a 501c3 organization that has been working to revitalize the 16^th Street Plaza District in Oklahoma City since 1997. Over the last 15 years, the district has risen out of intolerable crime and disrepair into a hub of creativity and a haven for local business. A neighborhood once threatened is now thriving, and historic buildings have been renovated for new, creative uses. The work of the association that began as meetings in living rooms, weed pulling on the weekends and dragging friends to a street festival has now blossomed with over 15 million dollars in investment, 30 thriving businesses, property values on the rise and crime rates falling quickly.

The association has accomplished this work through focused efforts in building capacity for our organization, promotion of the district, economic development and public space. With a dedicated Board of Directors, a passionate staff and a visionary group of business owners and volunteers, 16^th Street is shaping into Oklahoma City’s emerging district for the arts and local business. Community is at the heart of this work, and engaging our neighbors, the business community, the art community and our local government has resulted in making the Plaza District a place where people want to be.

Plaza Arts Quarterly

If you don’t get swept away in a flood you should join us this Thursday for Plaza Art Quarterly!

Bomb Shelter, Dig It and DNA Galleries all will be hosting a special event.

Bomb Shelter is welcoming the Spring season with ’Hanami Night‘ – a nighttime opening event showcasing the ‘Bomb Shelter presents Future Star’ exhibit, with special edition art books, prints, and t-shirts available. Soothing soundtrack provided by our Godzilla Ghettoblaster. 7-10pm

Come by Dig It‘s Parlour Show from 7 to 10 pm. Parlour- a group show featuring new Carnie/Freakshow/Cabaret etc themed works from your favorite Dig It artists! It will be a great night to stroll the District so come on down!

You won’t want to miss DNA Galleries Custom Toy Show. 30+ local and regional artists for their very first custom toy show! These artists have participated in creating or customizing toys of all kinds. From vinyl and wood,to plush and resin, there will be a large selection of work to view and purchase. This show is free and open to the public. 7 to 11pm.

Also come by DNA Saturday March 24th, from 7 to 10, for the Magazine Launch Party, TEPSIC. Its not your ordinary music magazine. There are no reviews. There are no interviews. The concept is simple and yet very powerful. They send out disposable cameras to both famous and rising musicians, groups, mc’s, and dj’s and have them document various aspects of their “musical lives” and print them in an unbound 11×17″ magazine ready to have its pages taken out and hung as posters. You won’t want to miss it!

Plant the Plaza!!!

We’re gearing up for Plant the Plaza!

What is Plant the Plaza? Why its the Plaza District’s annual spring cleaning event! This year Plant the Plaza will be held Saturday April 14^th from 9am to 1pm. And we need volunteers to help make the Plaza District beautiful! Opportunities to help include:

-help plant flowers
-clean up trash
-clean out flower beds

If you would be willing to lend your time, enjoy the sunshine, beautify a community area, make a new friend, it would be greatly appreciated! Please sign up HERE!

Can’t make it that day? Donations are accepted HERE!