Old City has held First Friday since 1991. Originally launched to bring people to an up and coming neighborhood by having art galleries stay open and serve wine and cheese the first Friday of each month, the event is still going strong. Old City is now thriving, with new apartment buildings and a diverse mix of businesses.
The First Friday of September turned out to be a rainy one. So rainy my phone kept buzzing with flash flood alerts. But I live in the neighborhood, so I grabbed an umbrella and hit three events.
The first event was held in the lobby of The Bridge at 2nd and Race, one of the new apartment buildings in the neighborhood. Here’s a picture from another evening when it wasn’t pouring.
In the lobby they had a display of photos mounted on acrylic from a local company The Facemount. They also had Denise Fike, a fashion illustrator, doing quick portraits for free. Here’s Denise and the illustration she did of me, which now sits on my bookshelf.
Stop number two was United by Blue’s store on the ground floor of The Bridge for an event to celebrate their collaboration with Danner Boots.
They were serving up free bison sliders and shrub malt beverages from Quaker City Mercantile. The Quaker City van was parked out front. I had two sliders and a grapefruit shrub.
Stop number three was Art in the Age at 116 North Third, the subject of one of my first posts. They were hosting a book signing for Session Cocktails, a book of low alcohol cocktail recipes designed for long drinking sessions. I got a cocktail and a signed copy to end my evening.
That Philly Life: Urban Exploring in Philadelphia 