Haunt the Dome isn’t just a Halloween celebration in the long-vacant halls of a former bank located underneath the geodesic gold dome inspired by Buckminster Fuller. It’s also a fundraiser for a good cause.
The Oct. 27 event is organized by Warriors for Freedom, a nonprofit organization based in Oklahoma City designed to help United States military combat veterans integrate back into community life.
Founded in 2012, Warriors for Freedom Foundation has about 15-20 fundraisers per year to facilitate its mission of providing veterans fun activities like golfing, fishing, hunting and motocross with likeminded community members. These events help establish civilian connections and provide fun collaborative activities at a time when veteran suicide rates are at an all-time high, according to Amber Moulder, the organization’s executive director.
“A lot of times when veterans get out of the military, they’re speaking in acronyms and in a language many of us don’t know. They have an incredible skillset and don’t always know how to express it,” Moulder said, noting that the organization works to pair each veteran with a civilian with a similar background during group events like golf or fishing.
Moulder paired with Dreamweaver Productions and Wild 104.9 FM to create the Haunt the Dome event, which is a 21-and-over event. Moulder said that despite living in Oklahoma City since 2001, she had never been inside the iconic Gold Dome at 1112 NW 23rd St. until preparing for the event, which makes sense since the building has been through various stages of development since Bank One closed its location in the late 1990s. The building is currently for sale, but the owner allows it to be rented as an event space.
“I think part of the reason we did the event is that there are a lot of people that have never been in the dome,” Moulder said. “It’s a pretty cool space.”
General admission tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door, and a $30 VIP ticket allows access to beer, food from S&B’s Burger Joint and free plays at a variety of board and card games.
A Halloween costume contest will be held to win restaurant gift cards, and DJ Triple 8 will play music the entire evening, turning the old bank lobby into a dance floor.
There will be multiple cash bars in addition to glow-in-the-dark beer pong. A gift card pool will allow guests to pay $5 to receive a gift card of at least $10, and possibly more.
“It needs some renovation, and it’s up for sale,” Moulder said of the Gold Dome. “It has incredible bones, and I hope that someday somebody goes in there and restores it because it would be really cool to be completely restored.”
Visit warriorsforfreedom.org.
