ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Downtown St. Pete's favorite free block party is back after a brief two-month hiatus.
First Friday St. Pete was paused indefinitely in November due to what organizers said was a lack of funding.
The block party sprawled Central Avenue on the first Friday of each month for 20 years. But the $12,000 per month price tag — due to things like insurance, city sanitation, police, permits and production — became too high for organizers, the Breakfast Optimist Club, to handle.
So, less than two months later, local businesses stepped in to keep the party going.
First Friday St. Pete is now sponsored by several Downtown businesses including Mary Margaret's Olde Irish Tavern, Welcome to the Farm, Good Night John Boy, CMK Construction Inc. and My Florida Bath.
“You see that energy, that walkability of people going bar to bar, there are 25 plus bars on this block, I don’t think any of this stuff happens if there’s not a first Friday event that started this,” Pete Boland, owner of The Galley, said.
Business owners previously said they were happy to support the event because of the money it brings in.
"It is one of the best nights of the month for business. We do pull in the most money that weekend," Lauren Ambrosi, general manager of the Crafty Squirrel, said in November.
The return of First Friday ran from 6-10 p.m. on Jan. 5 on Central Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets. The event featured live music, local vendors, a lineup of food trucks, a 50/50 raffle and special food and drink deals from restaurants and bars on the block.
Guests 21 or older can purchase drinks and carry them in the marked-off section of the street as part of the event.
10 Tampa Bay spoke with one man who was attending First Friday for the first time, who said, "What can you say, it’s a beautiful night, beautiful people, and beautiful music!"
For more information on First Friday, or to find out how to sponsor the event, check out the event's Facebook page.