OKLAHOMA CITY — No matter how hard the winds blew Saturday afternoon, they couldn’t blow away the spirits of Britton District shops, pop-ups, and performers as visitors poured in for an all-day block party to celebrate major improvements and streetscaping recently completed n the district.
Thursday morning, Mayor Holt cut the ribbon on the $6.6 million project – part of the Better Streets, Safer City package – touting the newly resurfaced Britton Avenue, new benches and bike racks, and significant pedestrian safety upgrades like wider sidewalks and corner “bumpouts” that narrow the street for easier crossing.
But by Saturday morning, it was time for city residents from all over to see and enjoy the improvements for themselves, as the district blocked off the newly renovated road and invited pop-up shops and performers to fill the street for what was deemed the Britton District Day Fest.
The day saw a short lineup of musical acts – mostly the kind of acoustic folk and country that makes for a perfectly chill Saturday stroll – alongside tarot readings from Markanna Wellness, fake moustaches from Chuck’s Shave Shop, loads of snack vendors, and inflatable bounce houses galore.
For the morning’s earliest visitors, the biggest draw was the Food and Fun Run, a one-mile course inviting participants to run, walk, roll, or stroll to five separate “aid” stations featuring snacks, drinks, and goodies from district restaurants like Lucky Lucky and Woodworks Distilling.
“I love a race where you get to eat every quarter-mile,” said fun run participant Randy Mitchell. “That’s my kind of race.”
It wasn’t only the fun runners that got to enjoy a weekend’s worth of snacks and sugar, though.
Zero Tolerance Coffee was packed with patrons seeking drinks and chocolate, and local baker Anna Langert was on hand outside serving samples and taking orders for her mini-cupcake pop-up Anna’s Bitty Bakes, even as the wind repeatedly threatened to blow it all away.
“Yeah, we’ve just been trying to hold everything down,” Langert said. “But it’s been a good day.”
But even with the foods, tunes, and activities, the star of the day was surely the roadwork itself.
Britton area locals were not only happy about the substantially increased safety in the corridor, with better protection for walkers and slower driving speeds through that stretch of Britton Avenue, but also about the increased foot traffic for the small businesses that make up the district.
“It’s much safer,” said Katerina Gabrovska, District Manager of the Britton District. “People used to treat Britton like a four-lane street, because they would just drive through the parking spaces on either side. It was like a racetrack through here. But it’s much safer now, there’s no question about that.”
The Better Streets, Safer City package was approved all the way back in 2017, so the updates, changes, and improvements that the Britton District spent the weekend celebrating represent the culmination of nearly a full decades’ worth of planning, working, and waiting.
Gabrovska spoke a bit about the collaboration between the City and the business owners and board members of the Britton District in executing the project.
“The district and the business owners definitely had a say in what was going on,” she told Free Press during the Saturday festivities. “Making it easier to cross the street has been a big thing on our list, and now we have these great, new shorter crosswalks with signs and lighting, and the shorter crosswalks. It’s really changed.”
With all of the improvements, and with the modest crowds that showed up to support and enjoy the small district this weekend, business owners and district leaders are already hoping that these kinds of community parties and events can become a more regular occurrence for the Britton District.
“The goal is to do more of these, yes,” Gabrovska said. “We can’t always close off the street, of course, but we have these great sidewalks now and the City actually wants us to use the big Classen median as well, so we could do some picnics or something. It’s just all about utilizing the space that we have now.”
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
