WELLSBORO, Pa. – After a pandemic year, Wellsboro businesses and residents are excited to welcome back their monthly warm-weather event, “First Friday.”
“The community is really excited to get back out and mingle again… and see how all the kids have grown in a year… and get together to enjoy First Fridays,” said local business owner of Pop’s Culture Shoppe, Anja Stam.
On the first Friday of every warm-weather month, downtown Wellsboro holds its monthly event called “First Friday.” From 5 pm-8 pm on these Fridays, the local businesses host family-friendly activities for kids, as well as ‘First Friday’ specials and deals and discounts at the stores and restaurants.
The activities include sidewalk art contests, carnival games, prizes, flower crafts, airbrush tattoos, and much more. All activities are free and anyone is welcome to participate.
“We love encouraging creativity, it’s always really fun to see the kids showing their talents,” said Stam.
Loren Nowak, the owner of local business Stain Glass Reflections, says the Friday festivities attract locals as well as tourists. He says businesses enjoy the increased traffic, and visitors are delighted at how much downtown Wellsboro has to offer.
“Local people have said to me over the years, ‘Finally we have something to do with our family on a Friday night,'” said Nowak.
The Friday events started in 2014, with the idea of staying open a little later on the first Friday of each summer with the goal of encouraging people to shop and dine in Wellsboro. Now, the town has the participation of almost all downtown businesses, as well as support from local artists, musicians, restaurants, churches, and non-profit organizations.
This year First Friday is hosted by Develop Tioga, an organization dedicated to promoting business and employment opportunities in Tioga County. The first Wellsboro First Friday began on May 4th and will run every month until October.
