Oakland First Fridays is currently in jeopardy of losing our event. Our last expected event would take place in October of 2022. We are asking our beloved community to come together to save this event from going away, Please donate (GoFundMe OR CashApp $OaklandFirstFridays)
If you are interested in volunteering or joining a Oakland First Friday Committee to raise funds, Please contact us at volunteers@oaklandfirstfridays.org.
Oakland First Fridays is Oakland's nonprofit signature monthly celebration of arts, culture, food and community. It happens on the first Friday of the month from 5pm-9pm on Telegraph Avenue from West Grand to 27th Street. It draws up to 30,000 people from Oakland and the surrounding areas to celebrate our unique community. It is a free event open to people of all ages, and we keep vendor fees low so we can create opportunities and reduce barriers to entry for Oakland’s small businesses and artistic entrepreneurs. Monthly themes focus on the communities of Oakland including LGBTQ Pride, Black Love, Latin Pride, Youth, Women and more.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT FOR OAKLAND FIRST FRIDAYS!
Check them out!
.png)
Our limited edition
✨Oakland First Friday Logo T-shirt✨
is available for purchase! Help us fundraise to keep our cause alive. T-shirts will be available for sale starting May 6th and will continue to be available every First Friday event at our booth on 26th and Telegraph! Can't wait to see you rep our stuff 😎
T-Shirts are $25 each ranging from sizes XS-3XL
.png)
September celebrates Oakland Pride and we wanted to kickstart the month with Oakland PROUD! While our sister across the Bay might get the national rep, Oakland boasts the third-highest rate of LGBT-headed families in America. The diverse community brings forth a diverse economy that we love to showcase, promote, and uplift at our events.
We had lots to be proud of this past First Friday! New and seasoned vendors came down to share their work and craft giving attendees different worldly tastes to try and one of kind purchases from retailers. Activation zones gave everyone, regardless of age, something to experience! Thank you to Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley for providing a safe and engaging Playhouse Village for our Kids Zone. Other activation spaces included street soccer with Neighborhood Sports Club, an outdoor runway fashion show with Celebrity Stylist Mario Benton, collaborative painting with Bay Area Mural Program, dance spaces with drum circles, and karaoke brought to us by The Homeplace Collective.
Entertainment on our Main Stage had our attendees moving and grooving the entire night! The Flannels, a teenage band (composed mainly of students from Oakland's School of the Arts) making jazz feel like a party! Their high energy performance had the crowd dancing and even starting a kick line! Another teenage feature this month was the dance crew, Pressure! An upbeat performance among the crowd had us cheering and screaming for more. Their slogan "Pressure Makes Diamonds" rings true, we were AMAZED at their talent! And coming back for a 15 minute set was our winner of last month's Oakland's Got Talent, Jovial! She brought the same authenticity that engaged the crowd and secured her talent show win! And closing out was Carmen Jones with her Tribute to Teena Marie! With her powerhouse vocals and funk music, it was a soul stirring way to end our Oakland PROUD celebration!
Thank you again to all our sponsors and Oakland First Fridays supporters! See you next month!
.png)
August was all about Family Fun! We were thrilled to host returning and new vendors - many of which are family owned and operated! We know things are best produced when it is homemade with love. Oakland First Fridays hosted its very first talent show, Oakland's Got Talent!, that featured performers from all different walks of life. Backstage was buzzing but so was our crowd that extended down Telegraph! A huge thank you to everyone who participated and made this night extremely special and congratulations to our three winners! To view a recap of the show, check it out here
In between talent show participants, we had three special performers take our stage on 27th and Telegraph! Yarin Glam brought that perfect blend of R&B and Pop! She performed original songs like "Realness" from her first EP! She kept the crowd energized in between her songs! Originally from Belize, King Kosh Music had the audience lively with his Caribbean/Afro Beats! Performing with his two dancers, audience members were singing and dancing along with him! And coming off hot from singing the national anthem at the Giant's game the night before, Justin Garner closed out the night with covers and original songs!
Beyond the Booth: INSTAGRAM LIVE
Join our Instagram live Friday, August 26th @7:30PM!
Every month we highlight a few of our vendors and their road to entrepreneurship. Hear what local business owners have to say! View past Instagram lives on our YouTube channel & Don't forget to subscribe!
JUNE INSTAGRAM LIVE
MAY INSTAGRAM LIVE
APRIL INSTAGRAM LIVE
MARCH INSTAGRAM LIVE
In 2019, we applied for several grants from The California Arts Council. We've been awarded both a Local Impact and an Artists in Communities grant to help support local artists. The programs pitched will be adapted to accommodate COVID restrictions.
