First Friday has been promoting the arts and downtown Williamsport for 20 years, and this Friday, August 6, First Friday will celebrate this milestone anniversary in a big way.

Before we detail what the celebration will consist of, let’s look back and see how First Friday started and evolved.

First Friday began as a collaboration between Williamsport Lycoming Arts Council (later shortened to LYCOMING ARTS), Williamsport Main Street Committee, Our Towns 2010, and the Downtown Merchants Association (now WBA). Soon, WBA, as part of the First Friday committee, began adding artists inside the stores, and a party atmosphere ensued. On the First Friday of every month, downtown Williamsport would celebrate the arts with musicians and visual artists showcasing their art in coffee shops, galleries, and on the streets. Add gallery openings and other performers, and First Friday took off!

“WLAC (Lycoming Arts) added three student galleries: grade school, high school, and college originally housed within downtown businesses. We have grown to Lycoming Arts having its own gallery, workshop, and storefront space,” said Debi Burch, Lycoming Arts President. “First Friday opened the door for more collaborative efforts like Heart of Williamsport’s Storytelling project ‘What Matters to Us’ to a seat at the table for the 2-year Lycoming County 2016 Comprehensive Plan,” added Burch. “We believe in the social and economic value of the arts, which strengthen relationships and build a quality of life that supports community development. The arts have been a driving factor in support of our downtown’s revitalization. As Shanin Dougherty, a co-chair of the event points out, “the arts mean business.” Burch went on to say, “Two years ago, the largest employer in our county recognized the value and sense of community brought to our area through the First Friday event. UPMC added their support first as the sponsor of Advocacy Alley and then became the primary event sponsor of First Friday in 2020.”

According to Burch, “2020 was a difficult year; we missed seeing everyone and especially supporting our community. We found ways to reach out via social media with free workshops that parents could view and do with their kiddos using regular household items. 2020 was also the actual 60th Anniversary of Lycoming Arts! It makes this year’s celebration even more fun for us,” Burch said. “Our First Friday committee co-chaired by Beth Armanda and Shanin Dougherty along with the entire First Friday committee have had this celebration as a focus all season. We planned for what is always First Friday for kids in August as our big celebration month.”

The First Friday celebration each month has been thoroughly ingrained into many people’s social and cultural calendars and is a highly anticipated event each month that has produced some wonderful memories. I can speak of this from my own personal experience. My first date with my late, beloved wife, Mary, took place at First Friday in April 2009. I treasure the memory of that particular First Friday, and together, we attended numerous other First Fridays until her death in 2014.

At this month’s celebratory event, there will be artists, vendors, and food as always with the addition of a special performance by the band CLYDE FROG at the intersection of Fourth and Pine, the United Way Kids Carnival in Pine Square, the Kiwanis Kids Carnival in Mural Canyon, viewing of a re-release of “Williamsport Art Attack,” which chronicles the first ten years of First Friday, by WVIA, a tent showcasing our local Culinary artists and our Art2GO! mobile art cart will be making paper beach creatures to take home. The Lycoming Arts/UPMC ‘Selfie Wall,’ which launched last month, will feature fun chalk art allowing people to pose, pic, and post via social media. The Lycoming Arts team will be passing out t-shirts and balloons. Burch emphasized, “We are looking forward to a real party, so come out and join the fun!”