You may have noticed…again…that we have another little advertisement on this site. This time it’s with “Downtown in December.” According to its website, this is what “Downtown in December” is all about:

Only in Downtown Oklahoma City can you experience the thrill of outdoor ice skating, exhilarating snow tubing rides down the nation’s largest manmade slope, water taxi excursions along the winding Bricktown Canal, a magically-lit botanical garden, a spirited 5K run through Downtown, and plenty of holiday cheer for the entire family! This month-long family-friendly adventure attracts nearly half a million revelers to the City’s 10-block polar playground. Festivities begin the day after Thanksgiving and run through the New Year.

The event is managed and put together by Downtown OKC, the not-for-profit group that’s delegated with marketing, developing and promoting Downtown Oklahoma City. Even though the people who work there still don’t have a boss, you got to give them some credit. It seems like just yesterday that the only thing to do in Downtown was go to a Blazers game. Now when we go Downtown we get to make fun of the people who go to the Blazers games. Things sure have changed.

Anyway, after the jump you can check out a little Q & A I had with Kim Searls, the marketing manager for Downtown Inc. In it, we talk about where they hide all the homeless people during Christmas time, if there will be a Taco Bell across from City Hall, and what “special plant” is really grown in the Crystal Bridge. Check it out!

Q: I’ll go ahead and get this question out of the way. What is there to do in Downtown in December…and will there be hot chicks?

A: Ice skating, snow tubing and tons of free stuff! Visit downtownindecember.com to see it all. Yes, Lauren will be there, I spoke with her last week, she is hitting the ice and the tubes. The other chicks are usually cold because it is December.

Q: Lets say you happen to be good friends with a man made of cardboard. Lets say that man made of cardboard enjoys snow tubing. Are men made of cardboard allowed to go down the Chesapeake Snow Tubing thing?

A: With proper supervision. The cardboard man must be 48 inches to ride the big slope.

Q: Who would win a race around the Devon Energy Ice Skating rink? Avis Scaramucci or Ted Streuli?

A: It would be close but I think the smart money would be on Avis. I’ve heard that Ted is from back east and quite the skater, but Avis has some tricks up her sleeve. I understand she has been working with NASA testing an aerodynamic racing suit specially designed for her made of a special wind resistant leopard print Teflon fabric.

Q: Actually, now that Devon has replaced Braum’s as the ice rink sponsor, can we expect some better service?

A: Yes, we were unable to meet Braum’s contract requirement that the rink must be constructed of butter pecan ice cream. Devon is the new sponsor of the rink and you can expect a full service skating experience.

Q: During the Downtown Christmas activities, where do you hide all the homeless people?

A: We don’t hide them. They dress as snowmen and elves and just blend in.

Q: Tell me that the OG&E Garden Lights isn’t as lame as that Christmas light thing they do in Chickasha.

A: First off it’s in Downtown Oklahoma City so that gets rid of any lameness factor. Secondly, OG&E Garden Lights at the Myriad Botanical Gardens will be greener this year by saving energy and money with new LED holiday lighting. OG&E who has sponsored the downtown holiday lightscape for over 10 years, has replaced the lights lost last year during the ice storm with energy efficient LED holiday lights. LED holiday lights use 10 times less energy than incandescent mini lights and 100 times less energy than standard bulbs. Green is trendy and cool, not lame.

Q: Who gets to light the star on Sandridge Christmas Tree? Can you make sure whoever it is dressed up like the abominable snowman from the old Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer claymation thing?

A: Wow, I love that mean snowman; I wish. The Mayor has asked Thunder star Kevin Durant to jump up and slam dunk the star on the tree.

Q: What is a Sandridge anyway?

A: Sandridge is a small village between St Albans and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. The earliest recorded mention of Sandridge is in the year 796, the parish being part of the revenue of the Mercian Kings. It was given by Egfrith son of Offa in the first year of his reign to abbot Eadric second abbot of St Alban’s Monastery and to the monks of St Albans. It is a little know fact that Tom Ward is a St. Albans monk.

Q: Clark Matthews told me that there is a secret part of the Crystal Bridge that grows a “special plant.” He said you can only access it from the underground tunnels, and that’s why the tunnels look like an Asian rave. Have you ever been there? If not, have you ever been to an Asian rave?

A: Yes, I have been there. Have you ever seen the movie Adaptation? The rare ghost orchid in that movie is the special plant Clark speaks of. No, I have never been to an Asian rave, but I once went to a Chinese restaurant in Dallas at 4:00 am and when you asked for the “special tea” they would bring you a teapot full of screwdrivers.

Q: Is it true that Mayor Mick is trying to get a Taco Bell built across the street from City Hall?

A: Yes, that is true, but it was shot down by the Downtown Design Review Committee. The Chamber is currently lobbying to get the project done.

Q: When you all have the big Downtown Board of Directors meeting, does Cliff Hudson from Sonic bring the drinks?

A: Actually we have converted the secret underground Chinese city into a wine cellar for our board. Every quarter before the meeting, our operations director, Kathy (not only is she an expert at bird eradication, she is also a trained sommelier), and I venture down to the cellar, dust off a few bottles of Pétrus and decant the wine. The Thunder Girls then serve it to the board.

Q: Do the business owners in Downtown ever get bored and haze the Bricktown business owners?

A: They are too busy hazing each other in Bricktown. There is no need.

Q: The word on the street is that Brent Rinehart is the leading candidate to be the next President of Downtown OKC. What do you think about that?

A: I think our Downtown would have some awesome comic books. We already have one HVAC expert on staff but could always use a creative thinker with his graphic design capabilities.

Q: Mayor Mick told us he was in the same pool as Jerry Park. Lee Symcox told us that he was in the same betting pool as Mayor Mick. Where do you fit in to all of this?

A: I think I am more the pond type.

Q: Can we save the green space….please?

A: Yes, we are working on that! See Core to Shore.

Q: After December, is there anything to do in Downtown?

A: Yes, check Wimgo.