Positive Things to Do in OKC During the Pandemic

Schools closed, restaurant dine-in banned, most sports events and concerts cancelled…what is there to do during this pandemic season in OKC? While this may be shaping up to be the strangest Spring Break Oklahoma has ever seen, you can still enjoy and support OKC. So take a moment, turn off the news or your social media feed with the latest COVID-19 update, and check out these ways to make the most of your time at home.

Support local restaurants!

Many OKC restaurants have delivery or takeout options, including the Fixx in Edmond where you can get this incredible burger. Support local!

While it may not be possible to dine-in at your favorite restaurant right now, many places are offering delivery or pick-up services. It’s so important right now that we support local businesses that won’t be able to make it otherwise in these circumstances.

If you don’t have a lot of local places you normally go to, check out some of my favorite frozen treats, Asian, and Middle Eastern restaurants! Or leave a comment and I’ll give you a much longer list…we have so many wonderful places here in OKC!

Here’s just a taste of the local places you can go support right now…

• Katiebug’s Sips and Sweets is offering a drive-through service for their amazing cookies, cakes, and cupcakes.
• Cuppies and Joe will also bring your order to your car, but also is delivering and has even started offering breakfast, in addition to their famous cupcakes.
• Don’t miss out on exquisite European pastries and locally sourced coffee and tea from Ganache Patisserie; you can still pick up these goodies curbside or get it delivered through Grubhub and UberEats.
• Grab a unique ice-cream concoction from Capital’s Ice Cream to-go.
• Get delicious Mediterranean food delivered from CousCous Cafe using Postmates, Grubhub, or DoorDash.
• You don’t have to give up those popular Guatemalan breakfasts in this lockdown. Cafe Antigua and Cafe Kacao both will deliver through Postmates, Grubhub, or Doordash, as well. Or easily order online and pick it up yourself for no extra fee. Cafe Kacao has now started to offer 95% of their menu for only $8 per entree!
• Skip Pizza Hut and get your pizza delivered from Hideaway or Empire Slice.
• Order take-out from one of the best Vietnamese pho restaurants in OKC, Pho Lien Hoa.

I’ve tried to link to many of these restaurants’ social media pages, as things will likely be in flux in upcoming days and you will want to check for the latest updates. Some restaurants are closing temporarily during the crisis; consider buying gift cards from your favorites so that they will be able to re-open when things settle down.

Take advantage of free resources for home activities!

Kanopy, a movie streaming service that you can access for free through the library, includes a kid-friendly channel with educational programs.

It’s All Free through the Library!

One of the best free resources that people overlook is the public library. Yes, it’s true that the physical libraries are closed currently, but there is far more that our Metropolitan Library System offers than just physical books.

Looking to do a home improvement project or cook? Use online databases through the library to help. You can also download ebooks on almost any topic.

Use Hoopla to stream free movies and music. Kanopy has a great channel appropriate for kids with educational programs and movies. Learn that foreign language you’ve always wanted to get around to through their Mango app or let your children explore the world through National Geographic for Kids. You can even get online job training through Lynda for all kinds of professions!

All of these services and more are available through our library. I’ve written about how to access these in more detail on this blog, if you’re interested!

Online Gyms, Concerts, and More…

In addition to the library resources, many organizations and people are starting to offer really cool things online. For example, the Metropolitan Opera is currently streaming for free nightly showings of some of the most famous operas and author/songwriter Andrew Peterson is reading his fantastic children’s fantasy novels The Wingfeather Saga in a nightly 7PM Central story time for kids and families!

On the local front, since gyms are closed, several gyms like Travis Garza’s Fat Loss Camp are offering free live-stream classes. Garza even has set up online PE classes for kids. Sounds like a perfect way to help kids get their energy out!

Get out in nature.

At some point, the four walls of your home are likely going to feel overwhelming. Instead of finding yet another excuse to go to Walmart, I’m suggesting that you take some time in nature instead.

Garden in your backyard. Or did you know that OKC has over 90 miles of trails? Grab your bike and go explore. The advantage of living in the wide open spaces of Oklahoma is that it is fairly easy to keep social distancing of more than 6 feet in the great outdoors.

I think it’ll be far more healthy for us mentally and physically to be out in God’s creation than in a store, so if you must get out, choose to bike, jog, or garden.

However, I don’t recommend taking your kids to playgrounds; instead, enjoy your own backyard.

Stay connected to help our community.

We Oklahomans are used to coming together in the time of crises. That’s probably why this “self-isolation” seems so completely unnatural to us; we’re not able to gather and help one another like we generally do. But there are still ways to look out for our community.

First, stay connected. Email, call, text/message, group chat – whatever platform you want to use, but continue to stay in touch with your friends and family. Especially consider those who live alone, old and young, since many of us are working from home now. Write encouraging notes, so people won’t feel forgotten.

Second, as things progress, there will likely be more practical concrete ways to help our community. For example, the OKC public schools are still developing plans to use volunteers to meet needs of students and their families. In the meantime, perhaps grab groceries to deliver on the porch of your at-risk neighbors or share your stockpile of cleaning supplies.

Lastly, and most importantly, pray for one another, especially keeping in mind those who are sick, the health professionals working on the frontline, and people who have lost their income due to the business shutdowns.

Keep safe, OKC!

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