On any other day, dusk will settle, the streets of downtown Raleigh will clear and shop owners will pack up and call it a day. But on First Friday, the downtown brims with liveliness and interaction. First Friday is a citywide event held on the first Friday of every month. Local businesses stay open late into the night to receive thousands of visitors from across the city. Restaurants, bars, exhibitions, galleries and a slew of other venues draw Friday night venturers as they stroll through art exhibits and spill into the streets.
Alex Martin, senior in business administration, regularly frequents the event.
“I love First Friday and try to go every month,” Martin said. “The art and music is always changing and I see everyone there.”
Martin is not the only N.C . State student that regularly heads downtown for the event. Although families, men and women of all ages can be found mingling along Fayetteville Street, N.C . State students make their presence known as well. Whether they’re looking for food and wine samplings or contributing their works to the city’s art galleries, University students constitute a large part of the gathering.
“I never miss the Fish Market because this is the gallery where N.C . State design students get to feature the products of their imagination,” Martin said.
Apart from simply touring exhibitions and galleries, Raleigh’s strong art and design presence makes First Friday fertile ground for students to gain insight. As a graphic design student, Megan Brooks took advantage of one of her previous First Friday visits.
“I do graphic design [so] it is a great event to walk [through] for inspiration and [it’s] also a lot of fun,” she said. “I saw Raleigh as a very southern town and not artsy at all. My opinion has now changed. It is a great starting point as a place to show your own art and also a great place to meet people with similar interests.”
From Glenwood South to Moore Square, participating local businesses keep the Friday night celebration going for miles. Live music, shops, nightclubs, restaurants and even museums ensure the city remains awake and lively for hours – a window of opportunity for students to connect to their city beyond campus boundaries.
“Students get a lot of voices in their ears saying this is a great time to have new experiences and learn about yourself and the world around you,” Katherine Hensley, a graduate student in history, said. “First Friday can be a deviation from the normal routine, a chance to experience art, food, music and the charm of [a] southern city.”
Downtown Raleigh is easily accessed through N.C . State’s late night bus service, Wolfprowl . This offers further encouragement for students to participate in the event and contribute to the community network that First Friday has become.
“First Friday expands your horizons about what’s going on in Raleigh,” Hensley said. “…There’s no reason not to go and move beyond the confines of Hillsborough Street.”
The exposure to culture, tradition and talent First Friday provides everyone is a product of continuous contributions from businesses, working professionals in the city and N.C . State students. The end result has created a bridge between the University campus and the rest of the city.
“Anything that brings talented folks to Raleigh is good for the city and good for the NCSU community,” Hensley said. “When the city thrives, we thrive.”
