Top five things to do in OKC over fall break

By Ronna Fisher

The pace of your classes may be picking up or the general bubbly, excitement that may come with the beginning of a new semester may starting to fizzle out . . . either way, fall break is just around the corner. For many, fall break is a chance to go home, take a road trip, or go home with a friend—anything to get away from campus.

The few left behind on campus may consider themselves unlucky. Well, don’t.

Fall break may be a chance to catch up on sleep, get ahead on homework, host a Harrison Ford movie marathon and invite only yourself, or (my favorite) watch of every season of the latest TV craze, but this fall break, why not try something new?

Fall break can be a great time to explore Oklahoma City and everything it has to offer. This lets you try something, get away from campus for a while, and have something awesome to talk about when everyone gets back from their homes, where all they did was watch every episode of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” (Not that that is anything to be ashamed of.)

Read on for some different ways to spend your fall break when you’re on campus:

For the Film Fanatic:

If you didn’t already know, Cinemark Tinseltown Theatre
has a $4.00 matinee price. Sure, Tinseltown may get a bad rap for being “ghetto,” but
I’ve never had any problems, day or night. It’s big and has clean bathrooms. And, for
some reason, online reviewers rave about its large parking lot. To see what’s playing
or get directions, visit their website.

For the Foodie:

Why not make your own tour of the local eats that have been featured on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” hosted by Guy Fieri? These restaurants must be doing something right to be featured on television. Eischen’s and Ingrid’s Kitchen are two of the seven featured restaurants. Check out the rest here.

For the Eternal Learner:

For some reason, there is no place like the Zoo when I feel homesick. Maybe it’s because my family went to the zoo all the time when I was younger. Besides, you can always find a nice family and stalk them around the elephant exhibit or through “The Trails of Oklahoma.” But, really, who doesn’t love a good trip to the zoo? You may think the zoo is for little kids birthdays or animal photographers, but you might be surprised how a day out in the nice fall weather, watching your favorite lions, baby chimpanzees, or (my favorites) otters and sea lions can ease a lot of the stress and tension we accumulate during school. The tickets are only $8, but if you bring a pumpkin larger than your head from October 6-14, you get in free!

For the Artist: I frequently hear about The Paseo Arts District, and I think, “I
wish I were cool enough to walk around The Paseo Arts District.” Although there
are no special events or showings occurring during fall break, there are plenty of
galleries, shops, coffee houses, and restaurants to visit. So, grab a friend and visit the
creative side of Oklahoma City. Take the time to stop and smell the coffee beans and
think, “Look how cool and cultured I am.”

For the Museum Fan:

With your student ID it only costs $10 to get into the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Right now the featured exhibition is “American Moderns 1910-1960: From O’Keefe
to Rockwell.” For the film buff, the museum will be showing “Beasts of the Southern
Wild,” a Sundance film directed by Benh Zeitlin. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the
Sundance Film Festival. The tickets are $12. Student budgets are tight, but you
deserve a treat; you’re more than a third of the way done with the school semester. To see the trailer or buy tickets, visit here.

These are only five of many well-known or not as well-known things for a student
to do over fall break in OKC. You could drool over every episode of “Downton Abbey,”
host a solo “Pretty Little Liars” marathon, or you could take this well-deserved
opportunity to explore or try something new. There are a number of interesting,
cool restaurants to discover, and while Oklahoma City is not quite New York or
Chicago, there is something for everyone here.