Not expecting it to almost be warmer in New Jersey than in Nevada’s Mojave Desert, we arrived in Las Vegas just in time for March’s First Fridays, when the Downtown Las Vegas Arts District comes alive.
Having discovered Charleston Avenue (and The Arts Factory) in 2015, we kept a third eye out on updates about the Arts District and Downtown Las Vegas (Down for Anything) over the years. As community arts supporters, we are always looking for ideas on how other communities besides our own Northern New Jersey colleagues promote the arts and artists in unexpected ways. Avid trail and city bikers, once we heard that Downtown Las Vegas, since 2016, has a bike share program (https://bikeshare.rtcsnv.com/) for $5 a day, we were on our way!
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Downtown Art District – First Fridays, Las Vegas
We arrived a day early (Thursday), so we had a chance to see the “traditional strip” and wound up at Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacations resort, and were delighted to see their lobby heart sculptures in partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital prominently displayed. We crossed the street to the T Mobile Arena, one of the strip’s newer promenades and were charmed by Marco Cochrane’s Bliss Dance, a 40 ft sculpture, which arrived in Las Vegas by way of San Francisco and originated at 2010’s Burning Man.
Crossing Las Vegas Boulevard on our way to our hotel on the North strip (within walking and biking distance from the Arts District) we were delayed due to the truck parade from the Spring NASCAR Races which were set for the same weekend. The train whistle 18-wheeler tractor trailer horns blared as of dozens of gleamingly shiny trucks were escorted down the boulevard by specialized Las Vegas police vehicles.
Day 2-Friday
Still on East Coast time, headed out to RTC Bikes at 10am and got them across from the Strat (Stratosphere Hotel). Riding through the newer “City of Las Vegas” arches that welcome you to the Downtown and in less than a 10 minute ride we were in the heart of the arts district! It has a Miami Wynwood air to it, but less commercialized with a genuine funky feel.
and more funky and real. Riding the bike lane on Main Street, we were at the Golden Nugget and Fremont Street area in no time. The streets were fairly deserted, with only construction crews and delivery vehicles sharing the road with us.
Heading east on green bike trails to Maryland Parkway and the East Freemont district, we settled for lunch in a courtyard behind a unique sculpture of two intertwined tractor trailer cabins on the grounds of Fergusons, a mid-century hotel turned boutique gift shoppes, a nostalgic tribute to the past while incorporating current conveniences.
At the maker space, next door I met Euclid at Desert Shadow, Emme of Emmergyyy and a Gallery to Go art vending machine replete with small art items. I fell for “Drunken Flower” by @Josephwatsoneart and watched it fall off the rack into my hands once I retrieved it from the lower drop-box.
We were super early for the First Friday event, free local art, music, & food festival as folks were arriving to set-up early Friday afternoon. It touts dozens of food trucks and at least as many live musical acts strategically placed along the back of the Arts Factory on Charleston Street. Main Street was also full of activity by 6pm. The first gallery we stopped at was Pricilla Fowler’s (a former Jersey Girl) and they were having a high school artist gallery show. Repurposed Propaganda was a space that added flair to familiar brands (and abandoned street signs) and was vibrant with a middle dance party, DJ’ing graffiti room and a back yard artist collective.
Experiencing the Downtown Arts District in its finest during a First Friday event was a visual smorgasborg that we only were able to consume a few choice appetizers. There is so much to explore from the murals and public art, while not even addressing the Container Park, Neon Museum and Boneyard, Mob Museum, all available and interesting without ever going through the Freemont Street experience or setting foot in a casino. It is a cultural treat of the finest kind and keeps getting better as more artists contribute their own story to this next century of Las Vegas culture.