What started as a grassroots effort to attract more foot traffic downtown, First Fridays has become one of Columbia's most-attended monthly events, and it keeps getting bigger.
First Fridays has become a staple for visitors, vendors, musicians and businesses, bringing large crowds of visitors both local and out of town. The event now stretches beyond the square to feature other gathering areas such as food truck parks and Maury Alliance's Strolling on 6th block party along West 6th Street.
In June, the event celebrated its seventh anniversary, and in doing so brought new changes to better enhance the First Friday experience, while also upgrading safety measures for pedestrians and creating new ways to raise funds for downtown and tourism-related projects.
"First Fridays became so big, so well attended and popular that it surpassed the threshold in being required to have a mass gathering permit by the city," Columbia Tourism and Marketing Director Kellye Murphy said. "It was time to manage the event beyond the fact is has been an organic event for seven years."
The new changes include temporarily shutting down a portion of the square and West 7th Street to traffic, allowing more space for walking, while also minimizing the risk of an accident.
"There were some safety issues, pedestrian and vehicular. There have been some close calls, and so this is for the safety and wellbeing of everyone who attends this event," Murphy said "Closing the streets makes it a much more family-friendly event when you feel more comfortable to walk within an enclosed area and not have to worry about things like being run over by a car or not having enough room on the sidewalk."
Closing down the streets also allows for new First Friday features, such as a Cruise-In featuring classic cars, as well as a curated vendor market.
"[June] did so well, and I think it surprised everyone. We had more vendors apply than we had booth space available, and the same thing for July," Murphy said. "We are making sure we have a good cross-section of people that are participating as vendors."
Changes include new vendor fees
While the changes are aimed to create a safer, more inclusive experience, some of the benefits also come with a price for some, including a new $25 vendor fee required for anyone wishing to showcase their works.
Murphy said any money generated from the vendor fees will not go directly to the city. Instead, it will feed back into the Columbia Main Street Corporation to better enhance future events and projects.
In response to the new fees, a Change.org petition was created with concerns that the new fees might not only prevent certain vendors from being eligible but could lead to other restrictive regulations down the road.
The petition has since garnered 140 votes, not gaining much traction, and was to raise awareness of the changes, Clayton Smith, Columbia resident who created the petition, said.
"For me, it's all about what will come next. Anytime there is that kind of involvement and oversight, it just makes me nervous," Smith said. "It's definitely about awareness, but I also want to figure out if there is more broad appeal, because at the end of the day homegrown involved community, to me, is super important."
"The city is not taking any bit of the money that comes in from First Fridays," Murphy said. "That is all being utilized by Columbia Main Street Corporation for beautification of downtown and future projects for downtown."
And while First Fridays' growth will likely continue, keeping the spirit of how it began remains a top priority.
"Columbia Main Street still wants it to feel very organic, and still feel very much like a community event," Murphy said.
Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Revamped First Fridays 'a surprising success' but not without new vendor fees
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