First Friday Gallery Walk - Downtown Raleigh

What is First Friday?

First Friday is one of downtown Raleigh's most popular recurring events.  It's an evening out on town that brings people from all parts of Raleigh to enjoy local art, music and food.  Each First Friday is different, as local art galleries, museums, and restaurants usually feature different kinds of art from local artists, helping cultivate Raleigh's own creative class. Typically, downtown residents and visitors alike walk through different venues each First Friday, making the city really come alive, usually between the hours of 6-9 pm.

The following videos give you a taste of different venues and events that happen around First Friday.

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) helps local businesses and artists take advantage of First Friday, by giving them a web page to advertise events.​ for visitors to know what is happening each First Friday.  The DRA also has a map of the venues​​ that typically participate in First Friday.​

First Friday Venues

It's hard to say there's an official list of First Friday venues, given that they change every month, both in the actual locations and in the exhibitions or events they might host.  For that reason, the following is only a list of pages that highlights the different types of venues that might participate in First Friday from time to time.  

• Art Galleries / Studios / Museums
• Retail Businesses
• Restaurants