Last week Downtown Tulsa Partnership, joined by Downtown partners including the BOK Center, Cox Business Convention Center, Guthrie Green, the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, and the Tulsa Christmas Parade, publicly announced the Downtown Days of Wonder (DDOW) holiday campaign. Even Santa was there, with bells on — literally!
DDOW is a collaborative effort to attract Tulsans and visitors to Downtown Tulsa during the 2022 holiday season, and it’s also the beginning of a multi-year effort to establish new holiday traditions in Downtown Tulsa. Downtown holiday events and other relevant holiday information are now available at a brand-new DowntownDaysofWonder.com.
With annual events like Arvest Winterfest, Glow on the Green, the Tulsa Christmas Parade and more, we welcome the Tulsa region to experience Downtown alive with festive lights and displays, family activities, entertainment, and shopping and dining with the region’s best businesses. We are honored to collaborate with these Downtown institutions to showcase all our neighborhood has to offer between Thanksgiving and New Year with Downtown Days of Wonder!
Downtown Tulsa Partnership is installing the traditional snowflakes on many of Downtown’s light poles, and tree lights have gone up in Chapman Green and along Boston Avenue and Main Street from 3rd to 6th streets in the Deco District. An interactive “Singing Tree” experiential lighting display will again be placed in Williams Green at 3rd and Boston, where PartnerTulsa will be installing additional lighting displays.
Additionally, DTP has engaged a local software developer and Downtown resident, Chris “Vanndy” VanDenhende, to build a holiday tree at 5th and Main streets utilizing augmented reality technology. The tree, which will be accessible by smartphone from Nov. 25 through mid-January, will be 5 stories tall! The image will be anchored to the base of the Bartlett Square fountain, although magically, nothing will appear physically in the space.
As part of the DDOW campaign, Downtown Tulsa Partnership also is launching a pilot pop-up shop program to activate underutilized spaces in Downtown just in time for holiday shopping. The DDOW Pop-Up Program focuses on matching local entrepreneurs with available ground-floor retail spaces in the Deco District from approximately Nov. 25-Jan. 15.
We are extremely grateful for the Downtown property owners who welcomed this opportunity to help us expand Downtown’s retail presence for the 2022 holiday season by utilizing their spaces. Thanks to their generosity, we are pleased to offer local entrepreneurs affordable, short-term leases and, in some cases, financial assistance to get their shops ready ahead of the busy shopping season. We hope that for many small business owners, this experience will be a jumping-off point to prove their concepts while encouraging more retailers to locate Downtown!
Upcoming Downtown holiday events include:
- Arvest Winterfest opening day on Nov. 25 outside the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave.
- Lights On: Glow on the Green on Dec. 2 at Guthrie Green, 111 E. Reconciliation Way
- Tulsa Symphony presents “Elf” in concert on Dec. 2 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Second St.
- Festival Bell Ringers on Dec. 7 at the Tulsa PAC
- Tulsa Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” and American Theatre Co.’s “A Christmas Carol” from Dec. 9-23 at the Tulsa PAC
- Tulsa Christmas Parade on Dec. 10 starting at 6th & Cincinnati
Look for other DDOW announcements in the coming weeks! And stay tuned for ongoing Downtown holiday updates, including news and dates of new DDOW partner events and attractions!
