COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Getting out and exploring Colorado Springs and the surrounding area doesn't need to break the bank.
We're highlighting businesses, organizations, and happenings that you can engage with for under $40; the focus for this article (and outing) is the recurring, monthly event (or, truly, a series of events) known as First Fridays in Downtown Colorado Springs.
First Fridays (named due to their placement on the first Friday of each month) see a large number of galleries, creative spaces, and other small businesses presenting new art exhibitions, hosting live music, providing space for artist meet-and-greets, and holding a wide variety of special events.
"It's fun to see people walking up and down the streets," said Karen Standridge of Gallery 113, "it feels like you're in a big city."
"Hundreds of people walk through the doors on First Friday," stated Gundega Stevens, co-owner of Auric Gallery, "not just here, but all the other galleries as well."
There's a lot to see throughout Downtown, and a truly enormous amount of art and creativity on display; specifically for this story, we primarily focused on Auric Gallery, Gallery 113, and Cottonwood Center for the Arts.
"What's nice about Cottonwood," said John Khoury, executive director of the Cottonwood Center for the Arts, "is that we have a 40,000 square-foot building. So, not only do you get an introduction to a new show, which is featured and put out on the First Friday of every month, but additionally, you have the opportunity to walk around and meet some of our 146 artists that have studios here."
First Fridays provide a space to support local businesses, see creativity on display, maybe listen to a local band, and definitely connect with local artists throughout Downtown.
"They come into the gallery," commented Standridge, "they meet several of our local artists who are here, we chat with them about our work, [and] we chat with them about Colorado Springs."
"It's community," said Stevens, "it's people getting together to visit with the artists and visit with each other, it's just a big party basically that we throw once a month."
While there are certainly opportunities to spend some cash on First Fridays, checking out these spaces and connecting with local art (as well as artists) is free.
"The artists have spent a lot of time creating this artwork," finished Stevens, "we've spent a lot of time putting it on display, we just really want people to come see it."
If you're looking for additional information regarding locations hosting First Friday events, check out this list compiled by the Downtown Partnership.
Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs also host their own First Friday events. For additional information, check out this list at Peak Radar.
Also, if you're looking for transportation options around downtown, consider the free downtown shuttle, which runs along Tejon Street.
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