Editing First Friday (public event)

"'''First Friday'''" is a name for various public events in some cities (particularly in the [[United States]]) that occur on the first [[Friday]] of every month.

These citywide events may take on many purposes, including art gallery openings, and social and political networking. American cities have promoted such events to bring people to historic areas perceived as dangerous, using the "[[safety in numbers]]" mentality to combat [[urban decay]].  In some cities this monthly event may occur on the first Saturday of each month instead of Friday or on "Third Thursdays".<ref>{{cite web|title=TAG :: Tacoma Art Group - 3rd Thursday Tacoma Art Mingle {{!}} 3rd Thursday Tacoma Art Mingle|url=http://www.tacomaartgroup.org/|website=www.tacomaartgroup.org|access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Home|url=http://downtownjoplin.com/|website=Downtown Joplin Alliance|access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Third Thursday|url=http://downtownjoplin.com/thirdthursday/|website=Downtown Joplin Alliance|access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=3rd Thursday Loop / Events / Home - Toledo|url=http://www.dotoledo.org/Events/3rd-Thursday-Loop3|website=www.dotoledo.org|access-date=17 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118052844/http://www.dotoledo.org/Events/3rd-Thursday-Loop3|archive-date=18 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Additionally, these are "see and be seen" events that serve as a [[block party]] or social gathering open to the general public. Some of these events may be centered on political networking by Republicans and Democrats, but usually First Fridays are art and entertainment destinations. They may involve [[pub crawl]]ing, other retail establishments such as cafes and restaurants, and performances by [[fire twirling]] acts, [[jazz music]]ians, [[belly dancing]], street musicians, or others.

"First Fridays" is also a nationally recognized networking event targeting Black professionals held on the first Friday of every month in various cities throughout North America. These events started in 1987 and provide urban professionals an opportunity to socially network, exchange and share ideas on professional, educational, political and social issues.

==Art gallery openings==
Some cities hold "gallery hops" and "art walks", in which a number of the town's [[art gallery|art galleries]], museums, or artists' studios, both commercial and [[non-profit]] [[501c3]] organizations, will open their doors on Friday evening. The idea is that galleries will attract people to the downtown and enrich the art community by pooling their openings together, sometimes, as in the case of art6 and Artspace in Richmond, Virginia (when in [[Jackson Ward]] at 6 East Broad Street) into one monthly evening in a historically located designated [[arts district]] .

Among the cities with art-oriented First Friday events are: [[Albany, New York|Albany]], [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], [[Bellingham, Washington|Bellingham]], [[Binghamton, New York|Binghamton]], [[Boston]],<ref>{{cite web|title=First Fridays {{!}} icaboston.org|url=https://www.icaboston.org/calendar/first-fridays|website=www.icaboston.org|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref>  [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia (Missouri)]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.como.gov/citychannel/2017/04/11/things-to-do-in-columbia-first-fridays/|title=Things to Do in Columbia: First Fridays|work=City of Columbia|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]],<ref>{{cite web| url = http://denverartwalk.squarespace.com/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091111125426/http://denverartwalk.squarespace.com/| archive-date = 2009-11-11| title = Tennyson Street - First Friday Art Walk and Stroll}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=First First Friday, 2016|url=http://www.westword.com/event/first-first-friday-2016-7461289|website=Westword|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> [[Fort Collins, Colorado|Fort Collins]], [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]], [[Hood River, Oregon|Hood River]], [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]], [[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]], [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], [[Kalamazoo, Michigan|Kalamazoo]], [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]],<ref>{{cite news|title=2017's First Friday means new art|url=http://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/01/05/2017s-first-friday-means-new-art/96157550/|access-date=6 January 2017|work=Knoxville News Sentinel}}</ref> [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]], [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Jay|title=Turn your 2017 New Year wishes into art at First Friday Las Vegas|url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-tr-las-vegas-first-friday-20170102-story.html|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=3 January 2017 |access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Friday Art Trail – The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts |url=https://lhuca.org/ffat/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Miami]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Saati|first1=Briana|title=First Friday Art Walk Guide: All the Culture on Display at Downtown's Inaugural Event|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/first-friday-art-walk-guide-all-the-culture-on-display-at-downtowns-inaugural-event-6499202|website=Miami New Times|access-date=6 January 2017|date=4 April 2013}}</ref> [[Missoula, Montana|Missoula]], [[Peoria (Illinois)]], [[Scranton]], [[Art Murmur|Oakland]], [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Paseo Art Walk|url= https://www.thepaseo.org/paseo-first-friday-gallery-walk|access-date=22 September 2022|date=22 September 2022}}</ref> [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]],<ref>{{cite web|title=What To Do For First Friday In Philly This January|url=http://www.uwishunu.com/2017/01/celebrate-first-friday-philly-january-6/#sm.000nnbzwxvrrcxq114e2340gzulvn|website=Uwishunu - Philadelphia Blog About Things to Do, Events, Restaurants, Food, Nightlife and More|access-date=6 January 2017|date=5 January 2017}}</ref> [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] (Maine), [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]],<ref>{{cite web|title=First Friday {{!}} Artspace|url=http://artspacenc.org/events/first-friday/|website=artspacenc.org|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Art Galleries on First Fridays in Richmond, VA|url=https://www.visitrichmondva.com/things-to-do/arts-culture/galleries-first-fridays/|website=www.visitrichmondva.com|access-date=6 January 2017|language=en-us}}</ref> [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]], [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]], [[Santa Rosa, California|Santa Rosa]], [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]], [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]], [[Tulsa]], [[York, Pennsylvania|York (PA)]], [[Marietta, Ohio]], and [[Ypsilanti]].

[[Richmond, Virginia]] is among the largest First Fridays art walks in the nation. It draws nearly 20,000 people from all over the state of Virginia and nation, showcasing its artistic side and opening restaurants and art galleries all over [[Broad Street (Richmond, Virginia)|Broad Street]], [[Manchester, Virginia|Manchester area]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Art Galleries on First Fridays in Richmond, VA|url=https://www.visitrichmondva.com/things-to-do/arts-culture/galleries-first-fridays/|website=www.visitrichmondva.com|access-date=7 October 2017|language=en-us}}</ref> and [[Downtown Richmond]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bass|first1=Scott|title=Broad Street Revivalists:The galleries and businesses of First Fridays Art Walk are the 2009 Richmonders of the Year|url=http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/broad-street-revivalists/Content?oid=1367342|access-date=7 January 2016|issue=January 06, 2010|publisher=Style Weekly|date=January 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/collection_2cfb6e12-9e7a-11e2-8b91-0019bb30f31a.html | title=First Fridays Art Walk}}</ref> Artspace<ref>{{cite web|last1=Frostick|first1=Dana|title=artspacegallery.org|url=http://www.artspacegallery.org/outreach.htm|website=www.artspacegallery.org|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> and Art6 Gallery<ref>{{cite web|title=Artists Collect, Too, II Art6 Gallery Richmond|url=http://1995-2015.undo.net/it/mostra/18322|website=1995-2015.undo.net|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> were two of the first anchor galleries for First Fridays on Broad Street in Richmond.

One of the oldest First Friday's is located in Boston's [[SoWa|SoWa Arts District]] where more than 80 artists open their studios to the public every First Friday. The [[SoWa]] Arts District is located at Harrison Ave and Thayer Street in Boston's South End.  In 2015, [http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-art-district/ USA Today's 10BEST] readers poll voted the [[SoWa]] as the second best arts district in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-art-district/|title=Best Art District Winners: 2015 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards|website=10Best|access-date=2016-04-09}}</ref>

==Social networking==
Some First Fridays promote arts and culture combined with social networking, like [https://web.archive.org/web/20161202204046/http://www.typfirstfridays.com/ First Fridays] in [[Tucson, AZ]]. Other smaller-scale First Fridays serve as social gatherings for groups of friends or people new to an area and may involve no art.

They may also include the large First Friday events such as those in Phoenix, Arizona, attracting up to 20,000 attendees to hundreds of spaces.

Various cities areas have First Fridays centered on politically conservative networking.  The pioneer of these events<ref>{{cite news|last=Zak|first=Dan|title=Off the clock and it's still party time on Capitol Hill with dueling happy hours|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/off-the-clock-and-its-still-party-time-on-capitol-hill-with-dueling-happy-hours/2011/06/03/AGkg4lJH_story.html|access-date=May 31, 2014|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|date=Jun 5, 2011|agency=Washington Post|location=[[Washington, DC]]}}</ref> began in [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref>{{cite web |title = It's First Friday |url = http://www.itsfirstfriday.com}}</ref> but similar events have found success in Virginia, Nevada,<ref>{{cite web |title = First Friday Nevada |url = http://www.firstfridaynevada.com}}</ref> and Arizona.

In many cities, First Fridays events place an emphasis on [[African American]] [[social network|networking]] and business opportunities for [[African American]] professionals. First Friday is the top networking event for African American professionals and consistently attracts over 16,000 people each month across North America according to First Fridays United.

The First Fridays monthly events originated in 1987 as an outlet for African American professionals to mix, mingle and network.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Byrne|first=Dara|title=Public Discourse, Community Concerns, and Civic Engagement: Exploring Black Social Networking Traditions on BlackPlanet.com|journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication|date=Dec 17, 2007|volume=13|issue=1|pages=319–320|doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00398.x|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Adam|title=Why is First Fridays the best African American event in Nashville?|url=http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/why-is-first-fridays-the-best-african-american-event-in-nashville/Content?oid=1188684|access-date=May 31, 2014|newspaper=Nashville Scene|date=Jul 17, 2003|agency=Nashville Scene|location=[[Nashville, Tennessee]]}}</ref>  During the 1980s it was common for an individual to be the only black professional working in their company.  First Fridays [[happy hours]] become a way for these professionals to meet in a social atmosphere while exchanging useful information.  The concept spread rapidly and First Fridays chapters now operate in 39 cities across North America and seven countries worldwide, including [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Binghamton, New York|Binghamton]], [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]], [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]], [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]], [[Hattiesburg, Mississippi|Hattiesburg]], [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]], [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] [[London, England|London]], [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[New York City, New York|New York]], [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], Phoenix, [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], [[Rio de Janeiro, Brazil|Rio de Janeiro]], [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]], [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[St Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Normandy, France|Normandy]], [[Scranton, Pennsylvania|Scranton]], [[South Bend, Indiana|South Bend]], [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]], [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]], [[Tokyo, Japan|Tokyo]], [[Toronto]], Washington, D.C., and since May 2016 also in Switzerland [https://www.biel-bienne.ch/fr/first-friday.html/1240 Biel/Bienne] <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.firstfriday.ch|title=First Friday}}</ref>

In 2002, several First Fridays operators created First Fridays United, which is a company founded to organize the existing First Fridays chapters in 30 cities into one group to share information, resources and solicit corporate sponsors and advertisers. The organization sponsors a series of international events in addition to the monthly networking happy hours. Today, First Fridays reaches over 450,000 urban professionals through email, internet, and event marketing and has had numerous Fortune 1000 corporate clients.<ref>{{cite web |title=First Friday United: About Us |url=http://www.firstfridaysunited.com/aboutUs.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203071224/http://firstfridaysunited.com/aboutUs.php |archive-date=February 3, 2011 |access-date=27 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WHAT IS FIRST FRIDAYS UNITED? |url=http://www.experts123.com/q/what-is-first-fridays-united.html |access-date=17 January 2017 |website=www.experts123.com}}</ref> Chanin Walsh was one of the first to create a marketing plan for First Friday in Doylestown which turned the “art gallery model” into an all-merchant benefiting event.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} Brown Dog Design Doylestown |url=https://browndogdesign.com/about |access-date=2022-12-02 |website=browndogdesign.com}}</ref>

== Controversies ==
First Friday events focusing on the arts have often come under attack for specific components of the events that are politically popular such as drag shows, explicit art, among others. One prominent example of this sort of controversy occurred in Lubbock, Texas in fall 2024. At the July event, there was a drag performance sponsored by CASP that attracted political attention from the local city council. In response, the city council revoked some public funding from the event.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=First Friday unites community amidst LGBTQ+ art funding controversy |url=https://radio.kttz.org/2024-08-02/first-friday-unites-community-amidst-lgbtq-art-funding-controversy |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=KTTZ |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* Zak, Dan. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/off-the-clock-and-its-still-party-time-on-capitol-hill-with-dueling-happy-hours/2011/06/03/AGkg4lJH_story.html "Off the clock and it's still party time on Capitol Hill with dueling happy hours"]. [[Washington Post]].
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100806061128/http://firstfridaynewjersey.com/templates/home3.shtml First Friday New Jersey]}}
* [http://www.firstfriday.ch First Friday Biel Bienne Switzerland]
* Republic Bank [http://www.firstfridayhop.com/ First Friday Hop] in Louisville KY
*[http://www.firstfriday.art/ First Friday dot Art]

[[Category:Community building]]
[[Category:Culture of the United States]]
[[Category:Urban planning]]