Gold Dome sold for $1.1M, plus your Labor Day weekend plan

Happy Labor Day weekend, OKC. This week: a stunning twist in the Gold Dome saga hours after the council voted to save it, a free new music festival taking over Bricktown, and a Comets homestand with a playoff spot on the line. Grab some water (it is 99 degrees again) and let's catch up.

Community Events & Things to Do

• Paseo First Friday Gallery Walk — Friday, Sept 4, 6 to 9 p.m., Paseo Arts District, Free. More than 80 artists and 25 businesses stay open late, with live music at the Flamenco sculpture and Flora Bodega throwing a sixth-anniversary party. Paseo calendar
• Time Travelers Vintage Expo — Saturday, Sept 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oklahoma City Convention Center, $10 advance / $12 day of, kids 12 and under free. A one-day, coast-to-coast traveling vintage market with roughly 70 to 120 curated vendors of clothing, home goods and retro handmade finds. Event details
• Prevention & Recovery in the Park — Saturday, Sept 5, 6 to 9 p.m., Scissortail Park Great Lawn, Free. The seventh annual family-friendly evening of live performances, games and resource booths, with a moment of reflection for Oklahomans lost to overdose. Scissortail Park
• Moonlight Movies: 10 Things I Hate About You — Wednesday, Sept 9, food trucks at 6:30 p.m., movie at dusk (about 8 p.m.), Devon Lawn at Myriad Botanical Gardens, Free. Bring a blanket for the first of three September movie nights (Legally Blonde and The Wedding Singer follow). Myriad Gardens calendar
• Julius Caesar, opening night — Thursday, Sept 10, 8 p.m., The Shakespeare Gardens (2920 Paseo). Oklahoma Shakespeare stages the political thriller outdoors under the Oklahoma sky, running Thursdays through Sundays through Sept 27. Oklahoma Shakespeare
• Bandwagon: Bricktown Music Fest — Saturday, Sept 12, 1 to 10 p.m., throughout Bricktown, Free. The inaugural walkable festival puts more than 45 acts on two outdoor stages and inside 20-plus venues, headlined by Ricochet's Heath Wright with Jabee, Ken Pomeroy and Mariachi Orgullo de America on the bill. Bandwagon

Also worth a look: Ballet Under the Stars returns to Scissortail Park on Friday, Sept 11, at 7 p.m. (free), and Fiestas Patrias OKC celebrates Mexican Independence on Sunday, Sept 13, from 2 to 11 p.m. at Crossroads Commons (free admission).

For Families

• Crafty Friday at Myriad Gardens — Friday, Sept 4, 10 to 11 a.m., South Lobby of the Crystal Bridge. Little ones (ages 2 and up) paint fallen September leaves and press them onto cardstock for a keepsake. Price: Free. Crafty Friday
• Bluey's Big Play — Tuesday, Sept 8 and Wednesday, Sept 9, 6:30 p.m., Civic Center Music Hall. The Heeler family comes to life with human-sized puppets in a new story by Bluey creator Joe Brumm. All ages. OKC Broadway
• Oklahoma Comic Arts Festival and Second Saturday XL — Saturday, Sept 12, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (family programming 1 to 4 p.m.), Oklahoma Contemporary. Meet comic creators from Oklahoma and across the country and learn to make your own comics in hands-on workshops. Price: Free. Oklahoma Contemporary
• Plaza District Festival — Saturday, Sept 26, noon to 11 p.m., NW 16th Street. The 27th annual Plaza Fest brings a Kids' Area with free activities, live music, food trucks and the Plaza Walls Mural Expo. Price: Free. Plaza District

General Local News Roundup

Fire displaces 50 at NW OKC complex that housed formerly homeless residents. A three-alarm fire Sunday, Aug 30, heavily damaged three buildings at The Meadows Apartments near NW 10th and Rockwell, displacing roughly 50 residents, including 17 people housed there through the city's Key to Home rehousing program. Police took a woman into custody on an arson complaint, and no injuries were reported. Key to Home and the Red Cross are covering hotel stays while emergency vouchers and new housing are arranged. Read more (Oklahoma City Free Press)

OKC Utilities wraps up its discolored-water investigation. The city says the yellow- and green-tinted tap water reported late last month by customers served by the Lake Stanley Draper plant, including in Norman and Yukon, was an aesthetic issue tied to naturally occurring iron and manganese, and that water quality staff have made operational adjustments. Officials stress the water was safe to drink throughout. If yours still looks off, run cold water from a bathtub faucet for a few minutes and call 405-297-2833. Read more (KOKH)

Oklahoma County burn ban extended through Sept 17. County commissioners extended the countywide ban another two weeks on Tuesday after consulting fire chiefs, as the metro deals with flash drought and a string of grass fires, including a rekindled blaze on Sooner Road. Campfires, bonfires and trash burning are off-limits; grilling in approved cookers is still allowed with caution. Violations can bring a $500 fine and up to a year in jail. Read more (KOKH)

OKCPS students can now earn a nursing credential without leaving campus. A new partnership with Metro Technology Centers puts a nursing services course inside the district's new college and career centers at John Marshall, Star Spencer, Douglass and U.S. Grant high schools. Students can earn a certified nursing assistant credential as early as junior year, and the course counts toward new state graduation pathway requirements starting with the class of 2030. Read more (KOSU)

Your Oklahoma driver's license can now live in Apple Wallet. Service Oklahoma announced Wednesday that Oklahomans can add their driver's license or state ID to Apple Wallet. Keep the physical card handy for now; acceptance still depends on the business or agency you are dealing with. Read more (KFOR)

City Government & Council News

Council approves $3 million to save the Gold Dome, then a surprise bidder buys it. On Tuesday morning the City Council signed off on a $3 million TIF incentive for developer Mike Brown's roughly $12 million plan to turn the NW 23rd and Classen landmark into a music hall with a restaurant and bar. Hours later, the building sold at a court-ordered sheriff's sale for $1.1 million to a buyer affiliated with Precor Realty Advisors, beating the only other bid by $500. The city's agreement is void unless Brown ends up as owner, and a judge still has to confirm the sale, so the 1958 icon's future is up in the air again. Read more (KOSU)

Oklahoma County judge race comes off the November ballot. Warren Plunk, the attorney challenging District Judge Susan Stallings for the county's only contested judicial seat, died Aug 29 at age 54. Under state law, neither name can appear on the Nov 3 ballot, and the governor must call a special election, which officials say likely will not happen until 2027. Read more (NonDoc)

August sales tax: up from last year, short of projection. The city's monthly report shows combined General Fund sales and use tax collections came in above August 2025 but below what budget planners projected. Sales tax funds day-to-day services like police, fire and streets, so a string of soft months is worth watching. Read more (City of OKC)

Weather & Seasonal Notes

No relief yet. Expect sunshine and highs near 98 to 99 every day through next Wednesday, with the heat index reaching 104 today and as high as 106 on Friday thanks to a humid south breeze. Lows only dip to the mid and upper 70s, and the forecast is bone dry through the holiday weekend and beyond. Plan outdoor Labor Day activities for early morning or after sunset, check on older neighbors and pets, and remember the countywide burn ban means no fire pits or bonfires. One more seasonal reminder: OKC's year-round odd/even outdoor watering schedule still applies (odd-numbered addresses water on odd dates, even on even), and we are losing about two minutes of daylight a day as September wears on.

Local Business & Real Estate Spotlight

Cedar Ridge opens a 90-bed behavioral health expansion. Cedar Ridge Behavioral Hospital has opened a 68,593-square-foot addition in Oklahoma City that adds 90 behavioral health beds, including capacity for adolescents. The Universal Health Services facility was built by Robins & Morton with Stengel Hill Architecture, and it lands as the metro keeps pushing to expand mental health and addiction care. Read more (The Journal Record)

OKC's Tanenbaum Equity Partners closes a $450 million deal. The Oklahoma City firm completed a $450 million recapitalization of its portfolio of government-leased real estate spanning 24 states, with Raymond James and Centennial Bank among the parties involved. Read more (The Journal Record)

New leadership at SSM Health Oklahoma. SSM Health, which operates St. Anthony Hospital and its Midwest City campus, named new leaders for its Oklahoma and Mid-Missouri region as Joe Hodges moves into a systemwide operations role. Read more (The Journal Record)

Food & Drink

Last call at Frontier City's Food & Brew Festival. The theme park's weekend festival of Oklahoma craft beer, chef-designed bites and local bands wraps up Saturday, Sept 5 through Monday, Sept 7. Ride the Silver Bullet first, then the lager. Frontier City events

Cold noodles for a hot week. Oklahoma Gazette rounded up the metro's best chilled noodle bowls, from Bar Sen's glass noodle salad in the Plaza District to Goro Ramen's seasonal chilled ramen and mul naengmyeon at Bulgogi Korean Bistro in Edmond. Consider it a public service at 99 degrees. Read more (Oklahoma Gazette)

Turkish, not just "Mediterranean," in Edmond. The Gazette also reviews Istanbul Grill House & Cafe, open since January, praising the wood-fired pide, veggie moussaka and grilled branzino from a chef with Michelin-kitchen experience. Read more (Oklahoma Gazette)

Market morning. The producer-only Farmers Market at Scissortail Park runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October at OKC Boulevard and Robinson, with 50-plus vendors and a compost drop-off. Go early before the heat does.

Community Spotlight

September is Hunger Action Month, and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma kicked it off Tuesday by lighting the Skydance Bridge and Devon Tower orange. The numbers behind the campaign are sobering: Oklahoma has the second-highest food insecurity rate in the country at 20.2 percent and the highest child food insecurity rate at 27.3 percent, meaning more than 263,000 kids statewide are not sure where the next meal comes from. Founded in 1980, the Food Bank moves food through a network of partner pantries, schools and senior programs across 53 counties in central and western Oklahoma. This month it is asking neighbors to do one thing: volunteer a shift at its Oklahoma City warehouse, start a food or fund drive, wear orange, or give (a special match is currently doubling donations for children's meals). Small actions add up when one in five Oklahomans is hungry. Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

Sports

Comets in a pennant race, and they are coming home. Oklahoma City beat Round Rock 7-4 on Tuesday behind a 435-foot Matt Gorski homer and a five-run fifth inning, its fourth straight win, and entered Wednesday two games behind Sugar Land in the PCL second-half race with 17 to play. The second-half winner faces Las Vegas for the league title. The final regular-season homestand is a six-game showdown with first-place Sugar Land at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark: Tuesday, Sept 8 at 6:05 p.m., Wednesday, Sept 9 at 12:05 p.m., Thursday, Sept 10 at 6:35 p.m., Friday, Sept 11 at 7:05 p.m., Saturday, Sept 12 at 6:05 p.m. and Sunday, Sept 13 at 2:05 p.m. Comets news

Sooners open under Friday night lights. No. 10 OU hosts UTEP on Friday, Sept 4, at 7 p.m. in Norman, a rare Friday home game moved off Saturday to dodge the heat. Streams on SEC Network+, then it is off to Michigan on Saturday, Sept 12, at 11 a.m. OU schedule

Cowboys start the Eric Morris era in Tulsa. Oklahoma State opens at Tulsa on Saturday, Sept 5, at 2:45 p.m. on ESPNU, looking to avenge last year's 19-12 loss before hosting Oregon on Sept 12. OSU schedule

This Week in Oklahoma City History

On September 7, 1904, Epworth University welcomed its first class of 116 students to a brand-new brick building on what was then the northwest edge of Oklahoma City. Champions like developer Anton Classen had convinced two feuding branches of the Methodist church to jointly build the school, and the campus around NW 18th and Classen filled so fast that a streetcar line was extended to reach it. By 1907 Epworth had more than 400 students and had opened the first medical school and the first law school in the new state of Oklahoma. Money troubles and church disagreements shut it down in 1911, but the institution wandered to Guthrie, came back, and in 1924 took the name it carries today: Oklahoma City University. The original 1903 building still stands at 1901 N Douglas as Epworth United Methodist Church, and Classen High School was later built on the old campus grounds. Not bad for a school that opened 122 years ago this Monday. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

Deadlines & Public Notices

• Free dog adoptions at the OKC Animal Shelter — through Saturday, Sept 5 — the shelter is at capacity with about 700 pets in its care, and adoption fees are waived for fully adoptable dogs (look for the blue kennel card); all come spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. City of OKC
• Community Public Safety Advisory Board meeting — Tuesday, Sept 8 — open to any resident who wants to weigh in on police and fire oversight. City of OKC meetings
• Next City Council meeting — Tuesday, Sept 15, 8:30 a.m., Council Chamber, 200 N Walker Ave, 3rd floor — the agenda posts 48 hours ahead; fill out a Request to be Heard form outside the chamber to speak. City Council calendar

Before You Go

That's the issue. Stay cool out there, and if you are heading to Bricktown for the Comets or Bandwagon, remember the streetcar is your friend when parking gets tight. This week's question: what is your go-to OKC meal when it is 99 degrees out, cold noodles, shaved ice, something else? Hit reply and we will share the best answers next week. And if this saved you a search or two, forward it to a neighbor who could use a quick catch-up on their city.