Crowds gather for First Friday where money raised goes to local charities. Brianna Rodriguez | The Crow’s Nest
By Brianna Rodriguez
Rows of alcohol stands line Central Avenue, painting a path for locals to enjoy an abundance of beverages while helping charity organizations.
First Friday takes place on the first Friday of every month between Second and Third streets and runs from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Crowds of people swarm the street, many with a drink in hand.
Tina, a partygoer who chose not to provide her last name, took shots with her friends under one of the tents.
“I heard about this event from friends and I looked it up,” Tina said. “We met friends, we met people.”
First Friday is an event to get drunk for a good cause and hear local bands. If food is on your agenda, it is conveniently located near local restaurants such as The Oyster Bar and Caddy’s On Central.
Each year, a different charity benefits from the event. This year, it’s The Breakfast Optimist Club, an organization that focuses on youth education and children’s health.
“It’s our main fundraiser and we love doing it,“ said Sue Curcio, the club president. “All of the money that is raised goes to different children’s causes.”
Each month, a different organization acquires funding from drink sales. This month, The St. Petersburg Alumnae Panhellenic Association hosted the sale of alcoholic beverages in order to raise money to provide scholarships for students who are part of Greek organizations.
“We are a party group,” said Pat Lins, treasurer for the association. “We are all college graduates of Greek sororities. There’s representatives from all the Greeks here. We give out three $1,000 scholarships every year unless we raise more money for more scholarships.”
Lins said this was a great way for the organization to raise money but also change up the required monthly meetings to include something more exciting.
