Our subURBAN! lifestyle
By : J. David Chapman/September 25, 2025
Some weekends remind me exactly why we chose to live in the heart of downtown Edmond. This past one was a perfect example.
Friday evening, two state Division I college football teams (TU vs OSU) squared off under the lights, a game big enough to land on national television. In most cities, that would be the event of the night. In Edmond, it was simply the backdrop. Every restaurant and bar seemed to have the game on, but they also had something else—live music. From our downtown home, we wandered from venue to venue, catching four different sets without ever starting a car. The hum of conversation and the rhythm of guitars blended with the cheers of football fans, creating a uniquely Edmond soundtrack.
Saturday morning brought a slower start, with breakfast just a block away at one of the metro’s most iconic diners. After plates of eggs and coffee refills, we strolled another block to the Edmond Farmer’s Market. It’s a place where the community shows its colors—tables overflowing with late-summer produce, baked goods still warm from the oven, local honey, hand-made crafts, and neighbors greeting one another as if it were a weekly reunion.
By midday, it was time to settle in for more football, this time an SEC matchup on TV. At halftime, we walked down to Frenzy Brewing, where Oktoberfest was in full swing—live polka music, steins clinking, families filling long tables. As the OU game wrapped up, the streets outside were closing for Heard on Hurd, Edmond’s monthly street festival. Food trucks lined the curbs, bands set up on stages, and thousands of people filled the downtown blocks. We wandered through the crowd but had to keep moving; a few colleagues were waiting just east at a local watering hole called the Flat Tire before kickoff at Chad Richison Stadium.
There, the UCO Bronchos hosted Washburn. Tailgating, free game-day shirts, and a fireworks show after the win capped the night. From there, it was only a pleasant walk home.
Sunday morning, we made the short stroll to Redemption Church, the spiritual anchor of our downtown life. Looking back, I realized this weekend captured everything the city’s leaders dreamed of creating – a vibrant, walkable, subURBAN! lifestyle where community, culture, and convenience collide. We’re grateful not just to live here, but to live in it.
J. David Chapman, Ph.D., is chair of finance & professor real estate at The University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).