H&8th opening night

[soonerguru]

From bellaboo:

Sometimes I really love this city.

[dankrutka]

Don't get too caught up in the idea of getting fast service or even acceptable service - the line is THE experience. It's a chance to get to know your neighbors, to interact with people in person, to connect to your community. Catch 22, think of it this way - what is the longest amount of time you've spent typing in discussions here at OKC Talk? If you're like many, I'll bet you've spent 30 minutes or more on a good conversation. And there's nothing wrong with that. But that time is far more rewarding engaging in such interaction in person at an event like H&8th. Think about it.

Here's an old post by Steve, but this is how I think of H&8th. It's not about waiting in line, it's about socializing with friends and others in the community.

[king183]

Expanding to 10th Street was a great idea and I'm glad they did it. Though there were easily 20,000 people there, it didn't seem as crowded as it usually does, which means you were standing shoulder to shoulder with people. It also allowed people to hang out on the grassy hill on 10th and Hudson, which was cool since that place is usually entirely dead.


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[Easy180]

Here's an old post by Steven, but this is how I think of H&8th. It's not about waiting in line, it's about socializing with friends and others in the community.

Not real big on socializing either so that aspect doesn't appeal to me either. I would have likely hit every one of these in my 20's or early 30's, but I just don't dig lines or crowds these days

Serve me free beer while I wait and we might have a deal lol

[soonerguru]

Who is "Steven?"

[OKCisOK4me]

From bellaboo:

Haha, I'm in that picture...

[kevinpate]

Reminds me of trips to six flags as a child, sans the rides. Come to think of it, that may be where I originally pick up my aversion to crowds.

[David]

Downtown OKC Inc. is reporting 30k+ for this and 35k+ for OKCFest.

[okclee]

Amazing night for OKC.... H&8th, OkcFest, Redhawks game, Energy Soccer game, & Stars&Stripes River Fest. This is all within blocks of each other.

[ljbab728]

Amazing night for OKC.... H&8th, OkcFest, Redhawks game, Energy Soccer game, & Stars&Stripes River Fest. This is all within blocks of each other.

Actually Riverfest and H&8th weren't on the same night and the Energy Soccer game was quite a distance from the other activities but I agree with your point.

[OKCretro]

Sorry but to me waiting in line will never be "the experience" to me.

If u get there a little early the lines aren't too bad.

Does anyone have any numbers as to what a food truck does there and what it would do on a normal Friday night?

[warreng88]

Between this and Okcfest, I really have to wonder how many people were downtown last night.

Friday night, I was working the donor reception area in the Civic Center during Les Miserables and a guy came in to grab a glass of wine before the show. He said, "What is with all the traffic? It was almost impossible to get down here!" I told him OKCFest and H&8th were going on. He didn't really know what either of those were so I had to explain them to him and them he seemed interested that OKC was doing those types of things. He might be the type that drives from the burbs to the Civic Center every other week for the Lyric summer shows, drives home afterward and doesn't know the goings on of everything else happening.

[Bullbear]

Friday night, I was working the donor reception area in the Civic Center during Les Miserables and a guy came in to grab a glass of wine before the show. He said, "What is with all the traffic? It was almost impossible to get down here!" I told him OKCFest and H&8th were going on. He didn't really know what either of those were so I had to explain them to him and them he seemed interested that OKC was doing those types of things. He might be the type that drives from the burbs to the Civic Center every other week for the Lyric summer shows, drives home afterward and doesn't know the goings on of everything else happening.

Sometimes it amazes me that even the people in the city don't know whats going on. I have people send me text now and then asking if anything is going on this weekend.

[OKCretro]

another h and 8th is tonight. with the perfect weather out I presume it will have a monster crowd

[BBatesokc]

Sometimes it amazes me that even the people in the city don't know whats going on. I have people send me text now and then asking if anything is going on this weekend.

Same thing here. Its a regular thing to have people text me asking what's going on this weekend or on a particular night. They seem amazed I usually have a list of at least 3-5 things to do.

[Mel]

Will they still be doing this when it gets a tick cooler?

[Dustin]

Will they still be doing this when it gets a tick cooler?

The last one of the year is on Halloween.

[Mel]

Well, I will probably be hanging with the Grandkids that night. I like cool weather festivals too. Being stationed at Ellsworth A.F.B. as my last duty station taught me what real cold is.

[Mel]

Haha, I'm in that picture...

So it's a game of Find Braden. You could have at least wore a red and white striped sweater.

[Plutonic Panda]

Haha, I'm in that picture...

you've been spotted

[dankrutka]

The last one of the year is on Halloween.

I bet it'd be successful if they had a scaled-back winter version with a few areas with heaters. Maybe just on 8th street and not Hudson. No?

[Pete]

I bet it'd be successful if they had a scaled-back winter version with a few areas with heaters. Maybe just on 8th street and not Hudson. No?

I bet Bleu Garten fills this role.

They'll have live music, artists, etc. And during December, the Pop Up Shops will be right next door.

[ljbab728]

A small controversy has arisen.

Street fight: Food truck owner applies for permit next to H&8th festival
By Brian Burs
The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City restaurant operator who felt excluded from the popular H&8th Night Market food truck event has scheduled a mobile restaurant rally of his own.

Eats on Harvey & 8th, as Rick Vick is calling it, will be directly adjacent to the original event at Hudson Avenue and NW Eighth Street and on the same nights.

“I want to create space for alternative cuisines that deserve a chance to be discovered,” said Vick, owner of Galley Soul Food & More. “We have a commitment to support local operators and diversity. I think this will help solve some of those concerns we’ve had with H&8th.”

Vick asked City Council members this week to take a more active role in ensuring market fairness at H&8th. He said organizers’ current lottery system for awarding a limited number of street parking spaces in the Midtown district favored certain vendors and lacked transparency.

Mayor Mick Cornett asked city staff to look into the matter. While City Hall’s influence is limited in how organizers run special events, ultimately it’s up to council members to approve permits based on their public benefit. H&8th gathers March through October, much more frequently than an annual arts festival, for example, so Vick said he would expect a responsibility to the restaurant community to avoid creating the appearance of a monopoly on public space.

On Tuesday, the council approved H&8th permits for its final Fridays of this year: July 31, Aug. 28, Sept. 25 and Oct. 30. Organizers also asked for slightly expanded space and earlier street closures so the events can begin at 6 p.m.

Late Wednesday, Vick had filed his own request for permits on the same days and times, just one block to the east near the Oklahoma City University law school. His request cannot be reviewed by the council until the next regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 4. He said he already has commitments from 10 truck operators.

Brian Bergman, one of the founders of H&8th, said he had discussed the matter with Vick but does not feel a resolution was at hand. Bergman said he and the not-for-profit H&8th Night Market Association agree to make their lottery-drawing process for 10 of the 30 truck parking spaces more open to scrutiny. However, the remaining 20 spaces are granted according to the organization’s standards.

“I understand he just wants to see that everyone is getting a fair shake,” Bergman said. “But at the end of the day, it’s still our event, and we’re still going to be inviting the best trucks we can. … The thing we can’t do is to change the rules for a small group of people to weigh in anybody’s favor.

“It’s within our prerogative to choose anybody we want,” he said. “We made a decision to honor trucks that were with us from the very beginning. They took the risk with us; they showed up when we were only 50 people. This is our way of saying, ‘You stood by us, we’re going to stand by you.’”

The event began in 2011 with just three trucks that drew the wrong kind of attention from the police and health officials for lacking the proper permits. H&8th regularly draws more than 20,000 people now with about 30 trucks.

[Urbanized]

A number of inaccuracies in that article. Not sure if it was in the reporting or in the statements being made. I assume inaccuracies found between quotation marks are more likely from the source rather than from the reporter. Lots of tweets and subweets on this topic yesterday from the PR and downtown communities.

[Mel]

turf fight. The Jets and the Sharks will dance out a solution.