On the first friday of June, a few of us from the Orange team took a trip across the bay to Oakland First Fridays. When I lived in Denver, I went to First Friday on Santa Fe or Tennyson Street almost every month, but I hadn’t explored what the Bay Area had to offer until now. The experience in Oakland was much different than I had in Denver. It seems that First Friday in Oakland has grown into much more than open galleries with some random cheese plates, a bit of wine, and a few food trucks outside. In true Bay Area fashion it has grown into a huge festival-like atmosphere! The streets were packed with people, random street vendor tents, classic cars/low riders, music, and of course food trucks/tents.
I’m disappointed that I didn’t force myself to venture away from the crowded main street and search out some of the galleries. First Friday is always a nice occasion to see what artists in your community are working on and gain a little inspiration for your own work. I didn’t get that from this adventure, but nonetheless, it was a nice night out with the team. Instead of art on a gallery wall, we got to take in the people around us while enjoying some beer and food.
We stopped for a few beers at Telegraph Beer Garden . . .
Tried to eat some crazy fries made out of entire spiraled potatoes and drenched in cheese . . .
And enjoyed the overall scene around us.
Hopefully the next First Friday adventure will contain more art, but for now, I think our first (at least my first experience) was a success.
