Many fans were very excited when they heard the announcement of Howie Dorough’s play…but that quickly turned to confusion when we learned where it would premier. I think many of us said (yes I’m including myself!) Omaha, Nebraska?!
Well as confused as we all were it turns out Howie knew what he was doing and had very good reasons. So I’m going to try to help explain both Howie’s reasons for choosing Omaha and why Omaha really is a fun city, yes even in winter!
First off let me say I have lived in Omaha since 2009, I have been in Nebraska since 2004 and honestly love living here so I am a little bias. That being said Omaha is a big city with a small-town feel, we have excellent night life, many fortune 500 companies, great economy, lots of activities for families, including one of the highest-ranked zoos in the world, we are growing quickly but on top of all of that we have some of the nicest people in the world!
We also have The Rose Theater, which is where Howie’s play will be premiering at. Some might think we’ll what’s so special about the Rose Theater, well let me tell you! First off this theater has been around since 1927 when it was a vaudeville theater, it has since been restored and is beautiful. It is home to the Omaha Theater company which is one of the largest professional touring companies in the nation. The Rose has been continuously growing and is in the process of building large theater education locations to house all their classes. (They have outgrown the current facilities!)
The Rose is truly one of the nation’s premier children’s theaters! It is a huge honor that the managers of The Rose asked Howie to do his play here, especially since they knew they could get it the exposure it needed! So I guess in the end it really wasn’t a weird choice it was the smart and right choice!
But still, that means that fans will be traveling to Omaha (many for the first time) and they have no clue what to do here! Again I’m going to try to help! The biggest attraction in Omaha is our world-renowned zoo. The Henry Dooley Zoo and aquarium is definitely something everyone should experience! But Carrie its winter we can’t go there, well many of the exhibits are inside, including the desert dome, the aquarium, the rainforest and much much more! If you have any free time you have to check out the zoo it is incredible!
Here are some other great things to see and do while in Omaha!
- Lauritzen Gardens
- The Durham museum
- The children’s museum
- The Joselyn art museum
- Fontenelle forest
- Union Pacific railroad museum
- Gretna outlet mall
- The old market downtown
There are also a lot of amazing places to eat in Omaha! Of course, we are well known for our steaks but we have lots or great locations for any taste.
Downtown (old market) has many amazing choices, but I do recommend that if you chose one of these restaurants you might want to try to reserve a table as the old market is very busy on weekends and tables go fast! These are just some of my personal favorite, there are many more. I have included places that range from cheap to expensive so take a look at their menu and prices before going!
- 801 Chophouse
- Blue sushi
- Hiro 88
- Upstream brewery
- DJs dugout
- Plank
- Roja
- Omaha Taphouse
- The Blatt
- There are many more but these are some of my fave downtown
All over Omaha there are amazing places to eat so here’s some that are further out from downtown.
- Gorats
- Anthony’s steakhouse
- Pitch
- Stokin goat
- Kona
- La Mesa
- Mangia
- Bonefish
- Fernando’s
- Sullivan’s
- Runza- this is a fast food place but if you come to Nebraska you should try it…..I personally don’t like Runzas but they do have awesome burgers and chicken strips!
The restaurants I list here are just a fraction of the amazing food we have to offer in Omaha. If you think you want a more off the beaten path or dive restaurant hit me up on Twitter or Instagram and let me know, I have some amazing places! Or if you have any other questions about Omaha please let me know, I love this city and want everyone to have an amazing time while visiting!
The last thing I will say about your visit is to remember….this is the midwest in winter so dress warmly. I would love to tell you what the weather will be like when you are here but Omaha is well known for crazy temp swings sometimes on the same days. It was 60+ on Christmas and then snowing the next day, so the weather is very unpredictable, however, so far we have no snow that has stuck to the ground! Again hit me up before you come and I can tell you what it’s like!
I can’t wait for all the Howie fans to come to visit my town! See you all here in Omaha, and if you can’t make it I will do my best to share everything I can so you all can feel like you are here! If you are planning to travel and want to try to meet up let me know I work crazy hours but I would love to meet as many fellow fans as I can! ????
Links for info:
- https://www.visitomaha.com/
- http://www.omahazoo.com/#slide1
- https://ohmyomaha.com/2018/01/must-try-restaurants-omaha/
- https://ohmyomaha.com/
- https://www.rosetheater.org/
Much love and happy travels
Carrie
