What do you miss most – going out to eat, concerts, hanging out with friends? All of it! What I really miss are First Fridays. In our little town, on the First Friday of the month everything opens in the evenings – galleries, studios, music in the streets, local theater, food – AND friends and neighbors and all of those acquaintances are all out and about.
First Fridays started as a way of drawing more people into art galleries, but now it’s a community event. It creates local character, builds friendships, offers little discoveries – a hidden room in a bookstore or a new cheese at the café. I miss the Dixie cup of wine and a cheese cube and buying art. I miss looking at other people’s creative work and hearing a local band play on the street.
First Fridays build community, bringing in familiar faces and introducing new ones. For me, it is always a pleasure to bump into someone I sort of know, but we’re both there together looking at a painting and learning something new. It’s like magic, our community has just grown.
It could be argued that with Covid 19 we are in the greatest shared experience of our lifetimes, albeit spent alone or in tiny pods! But, home is more than just our tiny place – it’s the whole neighborhood.
Wishing everyone health and staying safe – and I’m dreaming of that happy day when we can share a beautiful First Friday! I will not take community for granted anymore.