Monday, January 3, 2011

Opening Night patrons welcome 2011 in grand fashion

So he dressed like a yellow Teletubby and drove approximately 160 miles from Wichita, Kan., to Oklahoma City for the Flaming Lips concert Friday night.

Wohlford was among tens of thousands of people who flocked to downtown Oklahoma City to celebrate the start of 2011.

Organizers were hoping for a record 80,000 people at Opening Night, an annual New Year's celebration produced by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City. The Flaming Lips concert and Oklahoma City Thunder game also attracted crowds.

Opening Night activities, including live music, comedy performances and magic, were scattered throughout nine downtown venues.

Participants, some of whom wore party hats, glow sticks and costumes, were excited to usher in 2011.

They enjoyed mariachi music at Chase Tower and jazz music in Leadership Square. Inside the Cox Convention Center, guitar music drifted through the lobby and crowds cheered as roller derby teams from Oklahoma City and Tulsa jockeyed for position and knocked each other around inside one of the arenas.

Festivities culminated in Kerr Park, where a 10-foot mirrored ball was set to rise 15 stories above the crowd during a grand finale event featuring a fireworks.

People had a variety of expectations and wishes for the New Year.

Toni Newton, a mother of three from Mountain View, hopes her family will grow closer and spend more time together. They got a jump start Friday by attending Opening Night together.

Michael King, a magician from Oklahoma City, hoped for an end to hunger, peace in the Middle East and that his audience would be amused. King juggled, rode a 6-foot unicycle and performed tricks at the Cox Convention Center.

Catherine Pernell hoped to be happy as she can. She and her husband, Brandon, drove 11 hours from Nashville for the Flaming Lips concert. This is the second consecutive year they've done that.

“I couldn't imagine being anywhere else,” said Pernell, who dressed as an alien.

This is the third straight year Wohlford has made the trek to Oklahoma City for New Year's. This year, he was accompanied by his girlfriend and friends, who dressed as a bunny, gorilla and cow.

“There's no better way to spend New Year's,” Wohlford said.

No comments:

Post a Comment