LIVE! on the Plaza Goes Back to Sunday Afternoons. The Open Doors Change With It.

Bar Sen and Ma Der Lao Kitchen sit next to each other on North Blackwelder. They spent the summer pulling Plaza District foot traffic toward the east end of the district, and both are closed on Sundays and Mondays. On Sunday, November 8, that schedule starts to matter, because LIVE! on the Plaza moves from a second-Friday evening to a second-Sunday afternoon for the winter.

The Plaza District Association's calendar states the change plainly:

"LIVE! on the Plaza monthly block party goes back to 2nd Sundays from November 2026-January 2027 during winter months"

The calendar calls November's party a push to market "the return of 2nd Sunday LIVEs for the winter months." A noon-to-4 block party on a Sunday doesn't run like a Friday night one, though. The shops matter more, the Blackwelder kitchens drop out, and a single theater fills one December afternoon on its own. For three months, the center of the district moves back to the 16th Street storefronts and the Plaza Theatre.

Noon to 4 Is Shop Hours

On a Friday night, the retail is background. The shops on NW 16th keep weekend hours that close early, and the bars and kitchens carry the evening. Move the party to Sunday afternoon and the timing flips. Almost every shop with posted Sunday hours is open for the whole four-hour window.

Hours below are as currently posted on each business's Plaza District directory profile, so confirm before you go.

Most of those doors close at 5, one hour after LIVE! ends. If you're shopping, the afternoon block party gives you the full row. On a Friday night you'd get whatever was still open after dinner. Two names are less certain. Bad Granny's Bazaar at 1759 NW 16th lists "occasional Sundays" with no regular hours, and Good For A Few at 1705 NW 16th, Suite B, opens Sundays by appointment only.

The Kitchens That Stay Open

East of the 16th Street core, Bar Sen at 1630 N Blackwelder and Ma Der at 1634 N Blackwelder keep their Sunday and Monday closures. So does Pie Junkie at 1711 NW 16th. On Sunday afternoons, eating happens back on 16th Street and the blocks right around it.

Here is what's posted as open through the noon-to-4 window and after it:

• Aurora, 1704 NW 16th St., 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. It's the brunch option, and it closes an hour before the block party does.
• The Mule, 1800 NW 16th St., 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, per its own website.
• Empire Slice House, 1804 NW 16th St., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, the latest of the 16th Street kitchens.
• New State Burgers & Spirits, 1705 NW 16th St., Suite A, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
• Oshiki Japan, 1738 NW 16th St., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
• Roxy's Ice Cream, 1732 NW 16th St., noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, opening when the block party does.
• Concrete Cowboy Coffee, a block north on NW 17th Street, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, per its own site.

The bars on Blackwelder keep going. Ernie's Boondock at 1708 N Blackwelder and RadBar at 1601 N Blackwelder both post weekend hours from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Up-Down OKC at 1629 NW 16th keeps the same weekend hours, and Grand Royale at 1749 NW 16th opens daily at 2 p.m. The dining that pulled people there over the summer is what's missing on Sundays.

The Theater in the Middle of the Block

The Plaza District has another anchor that runs on afternoon hours this season. Lyric's A Christmas Carol plays November 25 through December 26 at Lyric at the Plaza. The show page bills it as the 2026 edition, with new sets and costumes. The Plaza Theatre is at 1727 NW 16th St., and the box office is next door at 1725. That puts the theater between Aurora, Grinmore and Dog Daze on one side and Dig It! and Out on a Limb on the other.

Evening shows start at 7:30 p.m. and matinees at 2 p.m. Lyric lists the runtime at about two hours, including one 15-minute intermission. That timing sets up the busiest afternoon of the season. On Sunday, December 13, the ticket calendar lists a 2 p.m. matinee. December's LIVE! on the Plaza runs from noon to 4 that same day. A two-hour show starting at 2 lets out right around the time the block party wraps up, so the theater crowd and the block-party crowd will be on the same sidewalk at once.

The show's other details fill in the rest of the calendar:

• An ASL-interpreted performance is scheduled for December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
• Two youth casts alternate. The Holly cast is listed for December 13, and the Ivy cast for November 29.
• Group rates start at eight people, through Lyric at 405-524-9312.
• The ticket calendar also shows Saturday, December 12, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and a Sunday matinee on November 29 at 2 p.m.

Thanksgiving Weekend Runs Saturday, Then Sunday

Shop Small Saturday falls on November 28, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The association's calendar describes it as a "heavy focus on small business foot traffic for holiday season." Visit OKC's listing gives the same date and hours. It closes an hour later than most of the shops' regular Sunday hours, and it comes the day before the November 29 Lyric matinee. That weekend, the district has a full shopping day on Saturday and a theater afternoon on Sunday, with no block party between them.

The Café That Won't Change the Sunday Map

Arnold's Cafe has been announced for 1625 NW 16th St., Suite B. The Journal Record reported in September that it will be a locally owned, French-inspired coffee shop with a planned fall opening. The café's own site still says "Coming Soon" and "Opening Early Fall 2026," and it has a sign-up for an opening-date alert. The planned hours in that same Journal Record report are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, closed Sundays. Whenever it opens, it adds a weekday and Saturday coffee stop near the west end of 16th Street. Sunday mornings before the block party stay with Aurora and Concrete Cowboy.

The Winter Calendar, in Order

1. Sunday, Nov. 8, noon–4 p.m. The first winter LIVE! on the Plaza, listed at 1745 NW 16th St.
2. Wednesday, Nov. 25. A Christmas Carol opens at the Plaza Theatre with a 7:30 p.m. show.
3. Saturday, Nov. 28, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Shop Small Saturday across the district.
4. Sunday, Nov. 29, 2 p.m. Lyric matinee.
5. Saturday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. ASL-interpreted performance of A Christmas Carol.
6. Sunday, Dec. 13, noon–4 p.m. December LIVE! on the Plaza. The event listing calls it the year's final block party, with a focus on holiday shopping. A 2 p.m. Lyric matinee runs at the same time.
7. Saturday, Dec. 26. A Christmas Carol closes.

The second-Sunday schedule runs through January 2027, according to the association.

If you own a home within walking distance of 16th Street, these winter Sundays show which storefronts carry the district when the party moves into daylight. That foot traffic is part of what a Gatewood address is worth. If you're thinking about what your house might bring next spring, West Real Estate Company can put together a valuation that accounts for this block-by-block detail. Request Your Home Valuation.