Best Place to Volunteer

Central Oklahoma Humane Society

By Emily Wollenberg, associate web editor

The Central Oklahoma Humane Society, 7500 N. Western Ave., is the largest animal-related charity in Oklahoma. The Humane Society works to eliminate euthanasia and find homes for animals across the state.

“We love animals and believe that central Oklahoma will see a day when every healthy and adoptable pet finds a home,” according to their website.

The Humane Society also offers a spay and neuter clinic, an animal fostering program and a neonate nursery, which is a care center for puppies or kittens less than six weeks old.

Volunteer responsibilities at the Humane Society include helping feed or bathe the animals, cleaning cages and facilities, and walking the dogs. To volunteer, students can fill out an application or email volunteer@okhumane.org.

Edyn Rolls, philosophy junior, said she had positive experiences volunteering at the Humane Society.

“The Humane Society is an awesome place to volunteer,” Rolls said. “They are super open to having whatever help they can get. Plus, you are helping animals, and who doesn’t love helping animals?”

Hours of operation are:

• Tuesday-Saturday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Sunday: 12-5 p.m.
• It is closed on Monday.

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Best Place to Take a Selfie

THE PLAZA WALLS

By Community Manager Harrison Langford

The Plaza Walls, located in the Plaza District, Northwest 16th Street. between Classen and Pennsylvania Avenues, is a project of The Oklahoma Mural Syndicate. The group launched a project to add more art and culture to the Plaza District on 16th Street, according to their website.

The walls change regularly as new artists are hired to change them from time to time.

The project was launched by Co-Curators Dylan Broadway and Kristopher Kanaly with help from the Oklahoma City Arts Commission and Urban Design Commission.

“I haven’t actually taken a selfie by the Plaza Walls, but I’ve walked by them so many times,” said Jordan Dorsey, acting junior. “The different color schemes are amazing to look at after you’ve spent some time eating and shopping on 16th.”

The businesses and community around the Plaza allow for their walls to be spray painted. The Plaza Walls project also received praise from former Mayor Mick Cornett and had many appearances on local news. The walls were featured in publications such as Art Focus, Territory and The Oklahoman.

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Best Free Entertainment

SAC’s FREE MOVIE NIGHTS

By Web Editor Nicole Waltman

Student Activities Council’s Free Movie Nights are one of the organization’s longest-running events. They are from 7-11 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month during the academic year at Harkins Bricktown Cinemas, 150 E Reno Ave.

Anyone with an OCU Student ID can swipe their cards at a table in front of the theater and see a movie of their choice for free.

“I loved getting the opportunity to attend a free movie night because it gave me the chance to actually get out of my dorm and spend time with friends,” said Tatum Nelson, religion/mass communications senior.

Nelson said she appreciates not having to pay while still getting to see whatever movie she wanted.

“I wouldn’t regularly go to a movie and pay out of pocket because I’m trying my best to cut down and save for when I graduate,” Nelson said. “But, the free movie nights allowed me to come out of my hermit shell and enjoy a stress-relieving activity with people that I’ve grown close to during college. It’s definitely something I brag about to my friends who don’t go to OCU.”

Some upcoming dates for SAC events are:

• Sept. 27, 2018: Free Movie Night
• Oct. 26 to Nov. 3, 2018: Homecoming
• Dec. 3-7, 2018: Stress Relief Week
• Feb. 28, 2019: Free Movie Night
• April 11, 2019: Big Event
• April 22-26, 2019: Stress Relief Week

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Best Live Music

LIVE on the Plaza

By Miguel Rios, editor-in-chief emeritus

LIVE on the Plaza is the Plaza District’s monthly artwalk featuring music from local artists. Businesses in the area stay open late, offering a variety of shopping and eating options.

LIVE is from 6-10 p.m. every second Friday of the month at the 1700 block of Northwest 16th Street. Parking is available on street, in Lyric Theatre’s parking lots in the center of the district and west of 16th and Indiana, according to their website.

University students and officials took over the event Jan. 12, hosting a film festival for high school students, a science exhibit at a local shop, an alumni party, and live music performances throughout the night. OCUpella, a student a cappella group, was one of the performances.

Onnika Hanson, acting junior and OCUpella member, said she enjoys the event.

“LIVE on the Plaza is a really nice area for live music because they set the stage right in the middle of the main restaurants, such as Empire and The Mule, and it’s so nice to listen to or perform live music while supporting local companies in the Plaza District,” Hanson said.

Gage Rancich, acting senior, said he voted for LIVE on the Plaza because “it’s a perfect little slice of Oklahoma City.”

“You have all these local groups and artists converging on a place with some of the best food,” Rancich said. “You just can’t go wrong.”

The next LIVE on the Plaza will be May 11. No specific events or activities have been announced.

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Best Concert Venue

Myriad Botanical Gardens

By Associate Editor Sage Tokach

The Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., is a park that brings together nature and art in downtown Oklahoma City.

The gardens were founded by Dean A. McGee, an oil and gas pioneer, in 1964, and the city bought the land in 1975. City officials expanded the garden and installed the Crystal Bridge conservatory, a cylindrical greenhouse with waterfalls, elevated walkways and more than 750 plant varieties.

Officials host special events on the water stage, including Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park performances, yoga classes and private events like weddings.

Special events are also hosted at the Myriad Gardens Great Lawn Stage, where most concerts in the park are hosted. The Oklahoma City Arts Council hosts a Sunday Twilight Concert Series on the stage during the summer, featuring a variety of genres including rock, hip-hop, country, jazz, and pop rock.

Grace Babb and Sophia Babb, mass communications juniors, played in the Myriad Gardens with their band, Annie Oakley.

“The Myriad Gardens, as a venue, is both magical and intimate,” Sophia Babb said. “They do an amazing job at bringing local musicians to their concert series. This connects the general Oklahoma City community to music that is being created right where they live.”

Grace Babb said she loves the outdoor setting with everyone sitting on blankets in the grass.

“Playing so close to cultivated nature is the best feeling,” she said. “I got lost in a flower garden making my way to the stage, which was more of an adventure than a stressor.”

Patty Irwin, music theater junior, said everyone brought their own chairs and blankets to the concert she attended.

“I saw a big jazz band, and it was a blast,” Irwin said. “I danced with strangers and was able to bring my own pizza.”

Hours of operation are:

• Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To view upcoming events, visit the calendar.

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Best Museum

Oklahoma City Museum of Art

By Copy Editor Chandler White

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, showcases traveling special exhibitions, original selections from its own collection, and a theater showing foreign, independent and classic films each week.

OKCMOA originally was incorporated in the 1940s but moved to its current location in downtown Oklahoma City in 2002. The same year, the museum received a blown glass exhibit originally entitled An Inaugural Exhibition but now known as Dale Chihuly: Magic & Light. Chihuly is a blown glass artist, and OKCMOA’s display is the largest Chihuly exhibition in the world. There is also a 52-foot-tall glass statue in the atrium designed by Chihuly specifically for the Museum.

Past exhibits of the museum included Matisse in His Time: Masterworks of Modernism from the Centre Pompidou, Paris, an exhibition of the works of modernist painter Henri Matisse, making Oklahoma City the first and only location outside Europe where his works have been displayed.

Becky Weintz, OKCMOA director of marketing and communications, said the museum plans to build on its past accomplishments and maintain its reputation.

“We’re going to build on our successes that we’ve had in the last 15 years of our downtown location,” Weintz said. “We’re going to continue to build on that reputation as a museum that produces high-quality exhibitions that people want to travel to see.”

Madelyn Parker, English junior, said she especially enjoyed Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, a 2017 exhibit showcasing the works of portrait painter Kehinde Wiley, who is known for his highly naturalistic paintings of African-Americans.

“The MOA is really great about getting really exclusive, prestigious shows,” Parker said. “Kehinde Wiley was commissioned to paint President Obama’s portrait, which is really, really rad that a place like Oklahoma City could get a huge body of his works for an extended period of time.”

Weintz said the next free day at the museum, a day during which the museum is open to anyone without charge, will be on May 6.

“Whatever they’ve got, it’s a good bet that it’s going to be worth your time,” Parker said.

Hours of operation are:

• Tuesday – Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Thursday: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday – Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.
• It is closed on Monday.

To view upcoming events, visit the calendar.

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Best Thrift Store

Bad Granny’s Bazaar

By Web Editor Nicole Waltman

Bad Granny’s Bazaar, 1759 NW 16th St., is a “unique store featuring curious collectibles, retro and vintage clothing, kitschy gifts, furnishings, jewelry, art, and more,” according to their website.

Located in the Plaza District, Bad Granny’s specializes in items that are “upcycled, recycled, repurposed, nearly new, and gently used,” the website reads.

“I shop there fairly often,” said Megan Berning, acting freshman. “I like it because I prefer to support local businesses, and there are a lot of really great artists represented in that store.”

Store Owner Diana Harris said she loves the support she receives from students.

“My OCU, Classen and Lyric kids have always been my best customers,” she said.  “I think it’s because they’re creative and free-spirited and want to do their own thing.”

Harris said she tries to keep reasonable prices throughout the store because she knows some of her customers are “starving artists.”

“Everything in our store is different, and I think some kids just want to be different,” she said. “It’s exciting to me to have free thinkers that want to express their individuality.”

Harris has been the owner for almost 10 years. She said she has specifically helped OCU theater and dance students shop for pieces for costumes and has even let some of them borrow things.

“Someone came in here and interviewed me the other day and asked what inspires me, and I said, ‘it’s the kids,’” Harris said.

Hours of operation are:

• Tuesday – Saturday: noon to 7 p.m.
• It is closed Sunday and Monday.

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Best District

16th Street Plaza District

By Emily Wollenberg, Associate Web Editor

Located on Northwest 16th Street. between Classen and Pennsylvania Avenue, the Plaza District is home to galleries, studios, retail shops, restaurants, performance venues, and creative services.

Selena Skorman, executive director of the Plaza District, said she’s honored that students chose the Plaza as their favorite district.

“It really is the students that come to the district that make it so special. We are thrilled and honored to be recognized in this way,” Skorman said.

Walker Northcutt, acting junior, said he loves the Plaza because of the variety of food and activities.

“The Plaza has everything from great food to theater to shops and salons, and even tattoos, and some places have live music and art shows, and it’s always good to support local artists,” Northcutt said.

Skorman said OCU students have a big impact on the district.

“All the businesses are very grateful for students coming here, populating our district and making it as artsy and funky as possible,” she said.

Students can find eccentric shops in the Plaza such as Bad Granny’s Bazaar, a vintage shop, or DNA Galleries. There are also restaurant staples like Empire Pizza or Roxy’s Ice Cream.

Northcutt said students love the Plaza because of the convenient location.

“It’s like a 30-second drive from campus,” he said.

From 6-10 p.m. on the second Friday of each month, the district hosts “LIVE on the Plaza,” a monthly block party featuring live music, featured artists, special events, and local shopping.

“We’ve got great food, great art, great retail, and it’s all local,” Skorman said.

Gavin Drew, music theater sophomore, organizes “Musical Theatre Sessions” at Saints Pub in the Plaza.

“I would encourage musicians to think of us a venue for their art, and for students to take pictures in front of the Plaza Walls and tag us,” Skorman said.

Most retail in the Plaza is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Restaurant and bars stay open later.

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Best Place to get a Haircut

The Velvet Monkey

By Community Manager Harrison Langford 

The Velvet Monkey Salon, 1701 NW 16th St., is one of many businesses located along the Plaza District and the only hair salon.

Velvet Monkey is known for its unique and stylistic haircuts for men, women and children. They do blowouts, updos, color correction, highlights, braiding, dreadlocks, and hair extensions. The salon also does makeup and facial waxing among other services.

The original Velvet Monkey location is on Northwest 23rd Street, next to the university. Officials bought that building, which is now used for storage, but the Velvet Monkey sign is still up.

“I’ve been cutting my hair there since freshman year,” said Nic Reese, acting senior. “I know that I can always trust them with my hair.”

In addition to the location in the Plaza, a second location was opened and named “The Velvet Monkey Too,” 3003 NW 63rd St.

Hours of operation at both locations:

• Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• It is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

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Best Hiking or Running Trail

Lake Hefner

By Associate Editor Sage Tokach

The running trail in Lake Hefner Park, 4491 S. Lake Hefner Drive, circles the lake with a 9.5-mile loop.

The trail is paved and marked every half-mile. Part of the path goes over a dam, along a roadway, but the street traffic is one-way. Dogs are allowed if on a leash. Walking, running and biking in either direction is permitted. 

The trail has 4.5 out of 5 stars on AllTrails.com with 72 reviews. The website ranked the path an easy level of terrain and fit for all skill levels. Reviewers praised the views, amenities and flat trail that accommodates bicycling but warned runners about potentially strong winds. 

Victoria Ecker, music theater senior, said she runs or bikes around Lake Hefner every day.

“I moved this year just to be closer to it,” Ecker said. “It has picturesque blue water, paved running and biking trails and a great atmosphere with parks, restaurants and people out being active.”

Ecker said Lake Hefner Park is also great place for social gatherings.

“I highly recommend grabbing a friend and having a sunset picnic out by the lighthouse, or eating at Mama Roja’s and then going for a nice stroll,” she said.

Landrunner’s Oklahoma City Running Club also ranked the trail the best place to run in Oklahoma City.

Runners do not advise using the trail alone at night.

Alanah Hosford, cell and molecular biology senior, said she likes to go birding on the trail.

“There are many great ducks and some loons,” Hosford said. “One time, I saw two killdeer engaging in intercourse.”

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Best Nail Salon

Hawaii Nails 

By Web Editor Nicole Waltman

Hawaii Nails, 3608 May Ave. and 14101 N. May Ave., “brings the vibe of the islands closer to home, right here in Oklahoma City,” according to their website.

The salon offers services such as nail care, manicures, pedicures, facials, eyelash extensions, waxing, massages, tinting, and kids services, according to their website.

“The prices are great, and you really get what you paid for,” said Marae Narvaez, acting junior. “My nails always look good.”

Narvaez said she enjoys the price point and thinks it’s reasonable for college students’ budgets.

“I get a nice massage and paraffin wax treatment along the way for the cheapest option,” Narvaez said. “Overall, a great experience for a poor college student.”

Some students enjoy how relaxed the environment is.

“They have such a chill vibe there,” said Katy Yates, acting junior. “It’s nice because it isn’t overwhelming but they still go the extra mile.”

Students can call to make appointments at 405-946-8818.

“I always leave and am like, ‘wow my nails are Broadway,’” Yates said.

Hours for both locations are:

• Monday-Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Sunday:11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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Best Local Clothing Store

DNA Galleries 

By Associate Editor Sage Tokach

DNA Galleries, 1709 N.W. 16th St., is a gallery and artist-made retail store in the Plaza District.

The store sells clothes, accessories, art, and housewares. Different artists’ work is featured throughout the year.

The clothing selection features a variety of Oklahoma-themed products, and 95 percent of the clothes and accessories are locally made.

Paris Corbett, acting freshman, said she likes being able to support artists and the Plaza District by shopping at DNA Galleries.

“I love that DNA Galleries offers original local art and clothing,” Corbett said. “I actually have a shirt from there that says ‘support local art,’ and all of their clothing is extra comfy.”

Shelby McCarver, acting junior, said she also likes the store’s non-clothing products.

“I bought some great coffee grounds from that place,” McCarver said. “If I’m feeling crazy, I’ll buy really cute cards for my family from them.”

Hours of operation are:

• Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Friday-Saturday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.