First Fridays – the arts and community festival – routinely attracts 30,000 participants to Telegraph Avenue in Oakland each month.
A collective of art galleries and local vendors came together in 2006 to start an arts walk. Over the years, First Fridays has expanded to include food vendors and community organizations. Free and open to all, with low costs for merchants to participate -- the Koreatown Northgate Community Benefit District now runs First Fridays.
Here’s Venessa McGhee with First Fridays:
“It's no secret that there's, you know, a rise in crime and things like that, but if there's a positive, safe space created in Oakland, it should be supported. A lot of community members and, you know, people in the city have just been really, like, bummed out about it. They're like, this is so sad to see such a great event go away. We hope that this is truly temporary.”
Adamant that they do not want to pass on the rising costs for First Fridays onto their vendors -- the Community Benefit District is exploring public and private sources to secure the future of the event. They hope the hiatus that starts in January will only be temporary.
