Scissortail Park

[5alive]

Our two big downtown parks are a certified hit. Cannot wait until those trees are more mature...gonna be so awesome!

[Plutonic Panda]

Something tells me if they could walk a few blocks there would be zero issue finding parking.

[Pete]

Something tells me if they could walk a few blocks there would be zero issue finding parking.

Not that easy. The entire area was full as was the Myriad Gardens.

It was a long walk to any available spaces.

[Plutonic Panda]

You mean just the spaces around the park?

[Pete]

You mean just the spaces around the park?

I mean within a few blocks.

[Plutonic Panda]

I mean within a few blocks.

Oh wow.

[Roger S]

Hate to give away my parking secret but..... Wasn't bad there at 9 AM.... Found a space pretty easily.

There was also a market taking place over at Myriad Gardens.... I think next time we go down there I'm just going to take my bike and park at my office though.

[catcherinthewry]

I was glad to see about 50% of the people wearing face masks.

[mugofbeer]

This is great to hear. At least they weren't destroying everything as they are in our Denver downtown park.

[Plutonic Panda]

I didn’t see a single person wearing a mask in the park. I will say the parking was easy to find when I arrived but then when I left not a single spot was to be found for blocks.

I’m at packards right now and even parking in midtown is getting tight. I like it! Greats vibes tonight.

[David]

Park and farmer's market and Myriad Gardens absolutely heaving this morning, with tons of people circling for parking spaces.

If you notice, the old Goodwill lot is full.

Depending on when the overhead picture was taken I might have been in it.

Parking wasn't too much of a problem for me, but I did start up at the Myriad and then two blocks over from that.

[shawnw]

I was glad to see about 50% of the people wearing face masks.

when I went, around 1, seemed more like 15%

[shawnw]

I was hit up by a scissortail survey taker and when asked about things I didn't like I noted that it seemed like a limited selection and gave the example that my GF asked me to get eggs and there were no vendors selling eggs, which doesn't seem like an unusual request for a farmers market. The survey taker noted they were expecting to have about a third more vendors the next weekend, for whatever that's worth to everybody.

[Pete]

Press release:

*******************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2020

OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park Partners with Shape Your Future to bring easy, healthy recipes to life using locally sourced ingredients.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park is proud to announce its partnership with Shape Your Future. The new farmers market and Shape Your Future will collaborate with chefs across the Oklahoma City metro to show the public how to make simple, healthy recipes using locally-sourced ingredients from the farmers market.

Shape Your Future, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), is a reliable source for tips that help Oklahomans live healthier, longer lives. Shape Your Future provides free resources on physical activity, nutrition, water consumption and living tobacco-free lifestyles. One focus of the program is encouraging Oklahomans to eat healthier by filling half their plates with fruits and vegetables.

"Eating fruits and vegetables and incorporating them into daily meals is a must to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and we are excited to partner with the OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park to help make this easy for Oklahoma families,” said Julie Bisbee, TSET executive director. “TSET's mission is to help improve the health of all Oklahomans. This partnership allows us to bring healthy recipes to life in a fresh, new way. That the cooking demonstrations are both easy to follow and the dishes simple to make at home with locally grown ingredients is a win-win.” Mary Bixler, Scissortail Park farmers market manager, says it is difficult to buy affordable, quality fresh food in downtown Oklahoma City.

“Downtown is one of the many food desserts in Oklahoma City. It is very important that we increase accessibility of fresh, local and nutrient-dense food to Oklahomans, and in order to do that we need access to this food as well as education on how to utilize and preserve it,” Bixler said. “We are very excited about our partnership with TSET’s Shape Your Future program. This is a great resource for the diverse communities of the larger Oklahoma City area because it will help teach people how to make use of local ingredients that we might otherwise not know how to work. Additionally, chefs will demonstrate how to be more sustainable in using all parts of the plant or animal so as to cut down on waste and maximize the utility of fresh, seasonal products.”

The new OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. through October. Products are entirely made or grown in Oklahoma, and many market members offer EBT/SNAP benefits. The market is also working on a partnership with Hunger-Free Oklahoma in order to facilitate “Double Up Oklahoma”, or DUO, a program that doubles the amount of EBT/SNAP benefits up to $20.

A drive-up loading zone called the “Veggie Valet” is available for guests for curbside package pickup on Oklahoma City Boulevard. After purchasing products from market members, customers can request the “Veggie Valet” service and park staff and volunteers will store items in a tent and place them in vehicles once customers pull up.

Live recipe demonstrations will take place every Saturday at the Love’s Travel Stops Stage at Scissortail Park sponsored by Shape Your Future. The time for these demos is still to be determined due to COVID-19.

To find the first recipe and step-by-step video, visit SYFOK.com/scissortail.

[dcsooner]

This is Awesome! I signed up for the newsletter

[Pete]

I know there was some criticism about Scissortail not being heavily programmed and other worries.

But I have to say this park has been very well received. I'm down there a lot and usually there are tons of people out and about.

It fills a very big need in the core, which is providing a place to walk and lots of open space. On Saturday, there was a rugby match being played on the oval and on other days I've seen people throwing the football or frisbee or baseball.

Once the Lower Park is finished, the bridge to the river will be really great. We need more places where people can just get out and walk, walk their dogs, ride their bikes and have informal recreation... And in these regards, Scissortail Park is already a smash. More so than I would have expected and it's only going to be more so down the road.

[dcsooner]

I know there was some criticism about Scissortail not being heavily programmed and other worries.

But I have to say this park has been very well received. I'm down there a lot and usually there are tons of people out and about.

It fills a very big need in the core, which is providing a place to walk and lots of open space. On Saturday, there was a rugby match being played on the oval and on other days I've seen people throwing the football or frisbee or baseball.

Once the Lower Park is finished, the bridge to the river will be really great. We need more places where people can just get out and walk, walk their dogs, ride their bikes and have informal recreation... And in these regards, Scissortail Park is already a smash. More so than I would have expected and it's only going to be more so down the road.

Totally agree with this. I Really liked it when I visited OKC when it first opened, will only get better. That whole area was nicely done (Omni, convention center). If they get substantial development on the old cotton seed area and surface parking lot across from ST park then look out!

[king183]

I was hit up by a scissortail survey taker and when asked about things I didn't like I noted that it seemed like a limited selection and gave the example that my GF asked me to get eggs and there were no vendors selling eggs, which doesn't seem like an unusual request for a farmers market. The survey taker noted they were expecting to have about a third more vendors the next weekend, for whatever that's worth to everybody.

It seems to be expanding every weekend from what I can tell.

[Canoe]

I know there was some criticism about Scissortail not being heavily programmed and other worries.

But I have to say this park has been very well received. I'm down there a lot and usually there are tons of people out and about.

It fills a very big need in the core, which is providing a place to walk and lots of open space. On Saturday, there was a rugby match being played on the oval and on other days I've seen people throwing the football or frisbee or baseball.

Once the Lower Park is finished, the bridge to the river will be really great. We need more places where people can just get out and walk, walk their dogs, ride their bikes and have informal recreation... And in these regards, Scissortail Park is already a smash. More so than I would have expected and it's only going to be more so down the road.

There is a pedestrian bridge in the wliey post plans. This will connect all three parks together.

[Pete]

[Canoe]

Nice day for a farmers market

[catch22]

After seeing the park now in better weather I must say it's way better than my initial impression back in November. It's very nice.

[ChrisHayes]

Any idea when construction of the lower park will begin?

[Pete]

Any idea when construction of the lower park will begin?

They will be putting the work out for bid very soon then construction is scheduled to start right after the first of the year and take about 18 months.

[David]

Pete, speaking of, next time you are at the park with the drone could you take a few shots of the lower park area? I think that would be interesting to see to compare and contrast to the completed upper park.