Opening Night 

What does the East coast city of Boston have in common with Oklahoma City? Most people would say, “not much!”

Boston has a pre-revolutionary war history and was the scene of the famous colonists’ rebellion against the King’s tax on tea. Oklahoma City didn’t even exist until more than 130 years later. It wasn’t really famous until oil was discovered on the Capitol grounds.

And if you want to talk about having a party for 50,000 of your closest friends, why would you seek advice form Bostonians who don’t event put an “r” in the word party? (They really do pronounce it “potty”).

But in 1986, Leadership Oklahoma City grads Jackie Jones (Class I), Tiana Douglas (Class II), Jim Ross (Class IV) and other folks from the Arts Council of Oklahoma City visited Boston. Boston had been throwing an awesome party once a year and everyone in Boston was invited to come.

The Oklahoma City contingent came home with the firm resolve that this could be done in Oklahoma City, especially if the Arts Council joined forces with Leadership Oklahoma City.

They decided to start small, with a few entertainment venues and a little food and a few dozen volunteers. They hoped, that with a little publicity, they could attract at least 3,000 people to their first downtown party in 1987.

But these best laid plans, as so happens, went awry. The party, held on one of the coldest nights of the year and preceded by an ice storm, brought not 3,000 people… but 10,000 enthusiastic participants.

I’m sure by now you have guessed that Opening Night, our successful New Year’s Eve event, was off to a running start. It now attracts between 25,000 and 50,000 participants each year. The event relies heavily on the support of corporate sponsors to raise funds and tireless volunteers who spend their New Year’s Eves providing a safe environment and family fun for all ages.

Many of the Opening Night co-chairs have been Leadership Oklahoma City grads as are many of those who volunteer year after year for this wonderful event.