ARTS DISTRICT – SEPT. 2014

9/03/14
The Return of First Friday
On August 1, First Friday returned from a one month hiatus and presented Wonderland – and what a wonder it was!
According to Charles Ressler, “there never has been a status quo for us since we’ve had First Friday.” With attendance at the larger events now estimated at 30,000 and the smaller events at 15, 000 t0 16,000, First Friday Las Vegas continues to grow.
Some of the ongoing changes to the event include:
Sustainability initiatives
- Year 1: 2 to 1 recycling vs. garbage
- Year 2: Dropped Styrofoam from the event
- Aug. 1: Replace water barrels with concrete blocks to keep tents secure
This saves 84,000 gallons of water. And now that the event is 1/3-powered by solar energy, First Friday is asking for the community’s ideas about how to power the event even more efficiently.
In August the Wonderland Exhibit featured a special group of 15 local performing and visual artists selected from 50 submissions. From a walk-in kaleidoscope and a Tea Party performance by Steampunk Guild to a maze from DeadGirls and Robots, August artists took the event to another place.
First Friday Present and Future Programming
First Friday staff continues to help program other downtown neighborhoods – expanding First Friday into the whole of downtown Las Vegas. After the highly successful partnership with Keep Memory Alive and the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, there will be two to four more such events in the next 12 months. Also, First Friday will continue to work with the Downtown Container Park in co-creating a concert series. The artist bazaar (in the main 18b, The Las Vegas Arts District footprint) continues to draw in more and more visitors each month.
There are also plans to create a consortium of First Fridays throughout the country. And First Friday is beginning to build events that occur other times during the month – including Drink & Draw, which is now a weekly event.
Now that the First Friday team consists of 10 people, plus an ever-growing number of volunteers, the group continues to concentrate on building community through art and entertainment with their ever-changing plans and inspirations.
Check out this month’s First Friday on September 5. (First Friday on Facebook or First Friday website)
Photo: Courtesy of First Friday Las Vegas