Roosevelt Row's First Friday Goes Virtual

By Katie Campbell, Steve Goldstein, Mark Brodie
Published: Friday, April 3, 2020 - 3:56pm

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first friday
Justin Stabley/KJZZ
Various vendor booths during First Friday in 2019.

MARK BRODIE: Steve, you are very good with calendars. So I probably don't have to tell you that today is the first Friday of April.

STEVE GOLDSTEIN: I know, Mark. And people are going to have to celebrate in a very different way now.

BRODIE:Indeed. You may not be able to enjoy an evening out with dinner or drinks or treat yourself to some shopping this weekend — some things that I know you are always keen to do. But one popular Phoenix attraction is bringing vendors and entertainment right to you.

GOLDSTEIN: Yes, it is Roosevelt Row’s First Friday, which would have typically brought you artists, food and performances in downtown Phoenix tonight. But with that not an option this month because of the coronavirus, organizers have taken the monthly street festival online.

BRODIE: That means you can still support local from the comfort and safety of your home. And you might even feel a little like you’re out on the town.

GOLDSTEIN: The First Friday virtual tour is available at rooseveltrow.org, featuring 360-degree map views with links to buy vendors’ goods online.

BRODIE: In fact, visitors will be able to find the street art First Friday has become known for and some items that might be otherwise kind of hard to come by right now — like soap.

JENNIFER O'FARRELL: Obviously, soap is a big deal. It’s kind of my speciality. So I’ve developed a formula of as-natural-as-possible liquid soap that I’m going to be introducing tomorrow, so that people will have a natural option that doesn’t break the bank.

BRODIE: That was Jen O’Farrell, founder of the Flowersong Soap Studio in Phoenix. She and other vendors participating in the virtual First Friday will have special offers for customers who shop online today.

GOLDSTEIN: Part of the draw of First Friday is the spectacle of it. But Nicole Underwood with the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation said it’s about a lot more than that.

NICOLE UNDERWOOD: It’s about the people. It’s about people coming together — people experiencing a place in unison and how they interpret that, how they respond to that, how they connect to each other.

BRODIE: You can join in the virtual fun now online at rooseveltrow.org/first-friday-virtual-tour.

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