Does the thought of heading into the stores on Black Friday, elbowing through crowds and digging through merchandise, make you want to scream?
One Norman institution hopes you’d rather try an activity where the product is an experience and you create it for yourself.
Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., in Norman hosts a free Black Friday Karaoke event 10 p.m. Friday. Whether you leave the Thanksgiving table humming “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays” or you want to share a rendition of “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” Opolis’ 18,000-song catalog has you covered.
Co-owner Andrew Nunez, who runs the venue along with his wife Marian (both are former members of indie pop band Starlight Mints), said regular musical acts are tricky to book for the weekend after Thanksgiving, yet many people are eager for an activity that lets them escape the house.
“There are always a lot of people coming in from out of town on Thanksgiving,” Nunez said. “We want to give them something to do that weekend that’s a little more social than a regular show.”
Opolis has been hosting karaoke nights for several years, and this is its second annual Black Friday karaoke event. Links to two playlists will be posted to the venue’s website on Friday so eager patrons can start choosing whether to stick with favorites like “Don’t Stop Believin’” or try the latest Taylor Swift.
Nunez is proud of what Opolis offers to karaoke fans.
“Because it’s a music venue, the karaoke’s not just tucked away in a corner,” he said. “It’s on a big stage that a lot of well-known acts have performed on over the years, and we have a great sound system.”
The Nunez’ have diversified the offerings at Opolis over the nearly 15 years they’ve operated the music venue.
In addition to semi-regular karaoke, there are comedy nights most Sundays, lounge nights and even a trivia night.
It also has a full cocktail bar, and Nunez promises creative drinks available to try at these smaller evening events.
“Opolis started out just doing small indie rock shows, and we slowly worked our way above ground,” Nunez said. “We’ve concentrated on bringing in smaller traveling bands, bands that can’t play the bigger venues in the city. As a college town, Norman is perfect for that.”
In fact, Nunez doesn’t really want residents to choose between local, quirky activities and Black Friday shopping. He’s hoping central Oklahomans will do local shopping in downtown Norman before heading over to Opolis to belt out their favorites.
Print Headline: Center stage, Friday, Opolis hosts its second annual Black Friday Karaoke event.
