AMERICUS — Beginning on March 4 the First Friday Association of Americus (FFA) in cooperation with the local arts and business community, will host a downtown-wide open house. Local artists will exhibit their work in downtown galleries as well as participating businesses. The participants will open their doors to guests at 5 p.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. Admission to all activities is free and everyone is welcome to attend. The event is scheduled to recur on the first Friday of each month.
Residents and visitors are invited to take the opportunity to browse and discover throughout downtown. Multiple locations will be participating with activities ranging from exhibits and demonstrations to live performances and music . Food and refreshments will be available from local establishments and some galleries and exhibits will offer them as well. A monthly playbill will be published by the FFA detailing the various sights and sounds of each event. Residents will find these playbills around downtown at participating businesses. Those interested are also encouraged to find and like the “First Friday Americus” Facebook page for up to the minute information.
The FFA was formed recently to cultivate downtown Americus’ economic and cultural enrichment by providing a platform for entertainment and social engagement to the general public on a regular basis. The First Friday Association wants to make this a tradition of fun with primary emphasis on visual arts, performance entertainment, film and live music.
The First Friday event is not unique to Americus. This event has been held monthly in cities around the country for the last 30  years, notably Phoenix, Philadelphia and Oakland, to name only a few. The FFA is excited to share in the success and history of this event and bring its appreciation of a vibrant artistic community to Americus. The national movement of First Friday events has been helping to revitalize and invigorate main streets and downtowns across the country. By offering a vehicle for the arts community as a whole to display and promote their works, the events concentrate activity that would normally be dispersed over an entire region or area. This concentration of activity in the downtown area has proven to be beneficial not only for the artists participating in the event, but for local merchants and the host city’s economy as a whole.
Information about participation and/or attendance can be found by contacting the FFA at firstfridayamericus@gmail.com or one of its board members. All downtown businesses are invited and encouraged to participate; no formal sanction is required. The FFA’s board of directors are Nema Etheridge of Cafe Campesino, Robin Humphreys of the Americus Center for the Arts and the Arts Council, Derek Huss of Flint Valley Properties, Jennifer Wells and Phil Vinson of Mobile Glass Blowing Studios.