wait, what happens at first friday

Around 9:30 or so this past Friday, I found myself at Aisle 9 in the Old City. I bumped into a friend of mine in traffic, who informed me that he was headed there, and I followed suit.

Once there, I ran into some friends, and saw several Knoxvillians who I've seen around town. Some of the usual folks who make the rounds at 1010 and Fluorescent, and many others. There was a DJ spinning in the front, and there were people hanging out - talking, laughing, dancing, drinking.



After a while, I noticed that a couple uniformed men had come in. They were fire marshals, and they were looking to see if there were too many people inside. It was then that I realized that I'd spent the past 45 minutes in a grocery store on a Friday night, and that I was having a great time.




This, my friends, is the beauty of First Friday. How incredible is it that once a month, you can't find a parking space downtown, and that the streets are filled with folks from all over. How great is it that every gallery, shop and restaurant are filled with new art for your experiential pleasure.



I recently tried explaining First Friday to an artist friend of mine who lives in Nashville. Needless to say, it took a few tries for her to get the picture.

her - "Wait, wait, wait, you mean that one store has new art and an opening every month?"

me - "No, like I said, it's the whole town. Basically every place that has walls in downtown, has new art and an opening ... every month."

her - "Huh ... Knoxville is a lot cooler than I've ever wanted to give it credit for (her words, not mine)."

So, thanks Fire Marshals for giving me enough of a reality check to realize what a great city we've got. Here's to a great October and an even better November.