First Friday is an event held in many American cities and towns on the first Friday of each month. Some cities host it on other weeks of the month, so you may see Second Friday, Third Friday, or Fourth Friday instead. First Fridays not only help to support tourism for cities and towns, but they also encourage members of the community to engage with each other. This event brings out more people at once than a typical Friday evening might, so it is an opportunity to support local businesses, enjoy cultural experiences, and fit in some social interaction.

February 2nd – 4:53PM

March 1st – 5:35PM

April 5th – 7:23PM

May 3rd – 8:00PM

June 7th – 8:38PM (Sound Downtown Week 1 & First Day of Crazy Days)

July 5th – 8:42PM (Sound Downtown Week 5 & 4th of July Weekend)

August 2nd – 8:16PM

September 6th – 7:15 PM (Labor Day Weekend)

October 4th – 6:20PM (Artwalk Day 1)

November 1st – 5:32PM (Daylight Savings Time)

December 6th – 4:00PM (Cookies with Santa Day 1)

First Friday Dates & Sunset Times

First Friday’s in Beautiful Downtown Lewiston started in 2023.

We would love to have a minimum of 10 business who participate each month. They don’t have to be the same businesses each month but consistency is key to make this event successful.

Your participation in First Fridays is your “open mic” moment for your amazing businesses to display the benefit you bring to downtown. This encourages our community members to keep their dollars local and shop small. It also offers another opportunity for them to get to know who you are.

How does my business get involved?

Each business’s participation brings value to these events. That means providing your own advertising for the activities you are providing for each First Friday. This in combination with our overall advertising is what makes this engine run smoothly. We offer a media kit you can download with all the formats of the First Friday logo so that we are sending a unified message to all our audiences.

We want to encourage more foot traffic downtown. In order to do that we want to be able to advertise a reason for our community members to come downtown during the day as well as after work. We encourage you to stay open later to facilitate those coming down after work. If your business model allows, you can also open an hour or two later on slower days to alleviate the labor cost in staying open longer on our First Friday events. If you would like more suggestions on how to participate we would be more than happy to meet with you in person. We encourage you to stay open from 5PM-8PM.

What are some ideas to entice customers to stop at my location?

• Advertise your specials 2 weeks prior

• Post to the First Friday Facebook page

• Put your First Friday poster in your window

• Make sure your business is lit up

• Create an event on social media

Overall, you know what’s best for your business and the customers that come in to shop. Don’t feel like you have to book a musician every month. Sometimes just being open for extended hours makes a HUGE difference. We want this to be enjoyable for the businesses and community members alike.