First Friday could return in January, mayor says

The future of First Friday is unclear, as Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said the event is postponed until next year.

During a regular press conference on Thursday, Berkley confirmed that the popular monthly arts-and-culture street festival held in the downtown Arts District has been suspended for November and December, with hopes to resume in January.

Berkley called the event a “tremendous asset for the city” as an economic boost, but wants to ensure safety above all.

“First Friday is not an opportunity for gangs to roam around the Arts District and brandish weapons and kill each other,” said Berkley

During the First Friday event on Oct. 2, 15-year-old Carth Onasi Jacobs-Rodgers was killed in a shooting and two other teenagers suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The shooting, which appeared to have stemmed from a fight, happened on the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Main Street at approximately 10:17 p.m., according to Las Vegas police.

Berkley confirmed there are no talks of moving the event to Fremont Street, but, “at very minimum,” a curfew for ages 18 and older could be implemented. Although, she said plans are “still very fluid.”

Additionally, there are discussions of metal detectors and a larger presence from the Las Vegas City Marshals and Metropolitan Police Department.

“We want to ensure that we don’t want them to keep the peace after something happens,” said Berkley. “We want to make sure that the people that are coming to First Friday are not disruptive or dangerous.”

In lieu of First Friday, the 18b Arts District Association and Arts District Action Coalition have put together an Art Crawl on Nov. 6 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The crawl consists of 23 Arts District businesses and 23 featured artists.

Contact Emerson Drewes at [email protected]. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.