Grand Opening: Arts Council Oklahoma City ready to ring in 2020 with Opening Night New Year’s Eve celebration – Oklahoman.com

The large, light-wrapped ball has been liberated from storage, the celebratory fireworks show has been devised, and a race route has even been plotted for those who want to get started on their New Year’s resolutions a day early.

Before the staff and volunteers of the Arts Council Oklahoma began literally setting the stages for the Opening Night 2020 New Year’s Eve celebration, they planned how to attract the most diverse audience possible to the downtown Oklahoma City event, from printing posters in both English and Spanish to launching a giveaway countdown on social media.

“(It’s) not just for the downtown crowd or the families of Oklahoma City. We want to make sure that everyone knows that this is an event for the entire community, no matter where you’re coming from,” said Arts Council OKC Projects Director Seth Lewis. “There is no barrier on language with performance art, and with music, any culture can enjoy it.”

The long-running family-friendly downtown New Year’s Eve event is set for 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday at Bicentennial Park and several surrounding locales. The festivities will include live local entertainment on nine stages, a children’s area, food trucks, the New Year’s Cheers toasting tent, the traditional raising of the enormous illuminated ball and one of the state’s largest fireworks shows.

Paid wristbands are required to access the eight indoor venues and the beverage tent, but the public can attend the finale concert, countdown and fireworks at Bicentennial Park for free.

“Nobody’s excluded from Opening Night — and everybody likes entertainment,” said Arts Council OKC Executive Director Peter Dolese.

Race to the start

For those who want to get or stay in shape, the festivities actually begin with the 2 p.m. Opening Night Finale 5K at Bicentennial Park.

Free refreshments, face painting and live entertainment by the OKC Thunder Drummers and Rumble the Bison will be provided from 2 p.m. until the race starts at 3.

“(We’re) encouraging neon-color wear for the runners. There will be an award for best dressed,” said Leah Roper, co-chairman of Opening Night 2020.

Eclectic menu

Opening Night 2020 will offer an eclectic menu of treats for the eyes, ears and taste buds. An assortment of local food trucks will be serving tasty fare from 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday on Finale Alley at Bicentennial Park. Options will range from barbecue and corn dogs to vegan and vegetarian dishes.

“We have literally anything anyone could want to eat, whether it’s a snack, a dessert, a full entree,” Roper said. “And there’s The Healthy Hippo if you want to start those New Year’s resolutions early.”

“Or lots of sweets if you want to start your New Year’s resolution the following day,” added Opening Night Co-Chairman David Rackley with a laugh.

Opening Night organizers added last year the New Year’s Cheers beverage tent in Bicentennial Park, where adult attendees can toast the coming year. Open to festival-goers with wristbands who are 21 and older, the heated tent will have wine, beer and champagne for sale and a new photo booth for people to savor their memories.

“It will still be right in front of the Finale Stage, so you can have a beverage and enjoy watching the finale band,” Roper said.

Live entertainment

Live entertainment begins at 7 p.m. at eight nearby indoor stages, which will each have a featured act performing 45-minute sets on the hour through 10:45 p.m.

“It’s just a quick walking distance from each other,” Lewis said. “The Finale Stage is the only one outdoors … and the venues we’re at allow for ample crowds to be inside of them and enjoy them.”

The diverse lineup includes longtime Opening Night favorites OKC Improv in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Noble Theater; jazz and blues singer Chandra Graham in the museum’s Founders Hall; comedic banjo player Lucas Ross in the fourth-floor theater of the Downtown Library; indie rockers Don’t Tell Dena in the library atrium; one-man band Mike Hosty in the City Hall lobby; rockers CliffDiver in the City Hall council chambers; magician Joe Coover in the Civic Center Freede Little Theatre; and Latin pop band Orquesta D’Calle in the Civic Center Hall of Mirrors, where the children’s area also will be set up.

“I think David and Leah have done a great job with their performing arts committee, along with Seth, too, of really trying to find some performers that are extra-special and that may not necessarily be on the radar of everybody,” Dolese said. “People just trust us. They know they’re going to see something probably magnificent that they may not have even seen before, and they’ll come anyway, whether they know the name or not.”

At the Bicentennial Park Finale Stage, Top 40 cover band SquadLive will begin warming the crowd at 9 p.m., leading up to the countdown at midnight.

“They’re a nine-piece band with brass, guitar, drums, incredible vocals. They’re really going to bring a presence to that Finale Stage this year,” Lewis said.

While Allied Steel handles the massive New Year’s Eve ball rising, Western Enterprises provides the fireworks spectacular that closes one year and opens another.

“Shooting fireworks off of a 10-story tall garage is awesome because they start 150 feet up in the air and then you go up from there … and then you get the fireworks’ reflections on all the buildings in downtown,” Dolese said. “The crowd really loves it … and it’s a fun way to start the New Year.”

Opening Night 2020

When: 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday.

Where: Bicentennial Park and surrounding venues, downtown Oklahoma City.

Wristbands: $8 in advance at 7-Eleven stores and www.artscouncilokc.com/opening-night or $10 Tuesday night at the event venues. Children 5 and younger admitted free.

Opening Night Finale 5K: 2 p.m. Tuesday at Bicentennial Park.

Information: www.artscouncilokc.com/opening-night.