{"id":737249,"date":"2026-07-01T16:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/737249\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T16:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:47:11","slug":"boulder-first-friday-art-districts-to-be-connected-by-bus-routes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/737249\/","title":{"rendered":"Boulder First Friday art districts to be connected by bus routes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calling Boulder\u2019s upcoming First Friday an \u201cartwalk\u201d is technically a bit of a misnomer. Unless you are looking for a punishing trudge across Boulder this Friday, moving between the city\u2019s newest creative activations will require transportation. Perhaps the name \u201cArtwalk-Bus ride-Walk again\u201d is more appropriate here.<\/p>\n

On Friday, a new citywide initiative will attempt to bridge the long-standing gap between the downtown arts scene and the NoBo Art District by utilizing existing HOP and SKIP bus routes. By stacking the schedules \u2014 downtown from 4 to 7 p.m. and NoBo from 6 to 9 p.m. \u2014 organizers are offering a coordinated, cross-city route designed to get people out of their cars, onto public transit and in front of local creators.<\/p>\n

The project is supported by an $8,500 Boulder Vision Grant<\/a> for organizations awarded by the city to the Boulder Chamber Foundation for its \u201cTransportation Connections\u201d project, according to Sarah Harrison, senior program manager for grants in Boulder\u2019s Office of Arts and Culture.<\/p>\n

\"ArtworkArtwork by artist Kate Fitzpatrick, right, is seen at the \u201cStreet Wise Arts\u201d pop-up gallery in the NoBo Artisan Gift Shop on Sept. 4, 2025. First Friday artwalk returns to North Boulder on Friday. (Matthew Jonas\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Harrison said the $8,500 grant is meant to activate Boulder\u2019s existing transit network by encouraging residents and visitors to use the SKIP and HOP buses or walk between First Friday events downtown and in NoBo.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic transport will serve as a cultural connector,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cCurrently, attendees tend to stay within a single district, limiting artists\u2019 collective reach. This project bridges that gap through coordinated cross-district promotion, transit-centered wayfinding, and collaborative programming that gives each district a compelling reason to send visitors to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

NoBo has been Boulder\u2019s established First Friday anchor for well over a decade. The district traces its roots to 2009<\/a>, when a group of artists launched a free North Boulder event after many local art venues closed during the recession. Since then, the organization has grown into a nonprofit arts district with hundreds of members, monthly First Friday art walks, galleries, working studios and artist-run spaces along and around Broadway.<\/p>\n

Downtown\u2019s First Friday presence is much newer. The New Local launched Downtown First Friday on April 3<\/a> in collaboration with Pearl Street galleries, restaurants and small businesses, building a west Pearl-centered art walk around a part of Boulder better known for shopping, dining and tourism than open studios.<\/p>\n

\"NoBoNoBo Art District’s Director of Exhibits Nod Norkus gets airborne inside an installation at the NoBo Bus Stop Gallery last summer. First Friday will fill both North Boulder and downtown Boulder with exhibits galore this weekend. (Nod Norkus\/Courtesy photo)<\/p>\n

Until now, the two First Friday scenes have largely functioned as separate Friday night choices: NoBo\u2019s long-running, studio-heavy crawl from 6 to 9 p.m., and downtown\u2019s newer Pearl Street version from 4 to 7 p.m. The July 3 First Friday asks whether a map, a bus route and a few hours of overlap can turn them into one connected evening.<\/p>\n

Marie-Juliette Bird, founder of The New Local, has been open about the difficulty of keeping a brick-and-mortar arts space alive on West Pearl Street. Downtown Boulder has visitors, restaurants, hotels and retail, but a busy commercial corridor is not the same thing as a healthy local arts ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Bird said she imagines a First Friday where University of Colorado Boulder students come down University Hill, downtown hotel visitors are encouraged to go north, and people from farther away explore arts and culture across the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst Friday is a nationally recognized movement and a wonderful mechanism for revitalizing neighborhoods and supporting local arts, culture and small business,\u201d Bird said. \u201cMore connectivity between Boulder\u2019s neighborhoods should cultivate a thriving, citywide First Friday, where everyone benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bird said the grant support helps build awareness and momentum, but she does not describe the launch as a finished product.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically, it will take time and sustained support to grow citywide First Friday into a thriving, recurring event,\u201d Bird said. \u201cThis is an exciting first step.\u201d<\/p>\n

That first step features a packed downtown lineup<\/a> on Friday, which includes live music and an open mic at Velvet Elk, screen printing with Nora Graven at The New Local, music by Nevada Road at Savannah Bee Company, and a wandering minstrel performance by Singing Bones. Other downtown stops include BMoCA, Museum of Boulder, Rocky Mountain Regenerative Medicine, The New Local\u2019s \u201cWomen of the Living West\u201d exhibition, TNL Annex\u2019s \u201cTerm VII\u201d group exhibition, Boulder Bookstore, Boulder Brim and Open Studios\u2019 Art at PARK Coworking.<\/p>\n

For singer-songwriter Finn O\u2019Sullivan<\/a>, anchoring that open mic at Velvet Elk is an opportunity to bring a personal touch to the stage. As the featured performer for the evening, O\u2019Sullivan plans to ask each performer for a fun fact or the backstory of a song that matters to them, aiming to create an environment where local creators feel genuinely connected to the room.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Sullivan grew up in Boulder, playing local rooms, such as The Laughing Goat, before studying songwriting at the University of Colorado Denver. O\u2019Sullivan said she\u2019s spent a lot of time lately talking with friends and family about artificial intelligence, digitization and what it means to make art when so much of culture is moving onto screens.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can never replace a genuine human connection,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cStuff like this feels like the best way to combat that to me. I think that\u2019s so beautiful, and really the way we need to be communicating with each other right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making connections<\/p>\n

Connecting those downtown spaces to the rest of the citywide map depends on changing a familiar local habit. On First Fridays, people tend to pick a district and stay there.<\/p>\n

Darcy Kitching, executive director and senior manager of transportation at Boulder Chamber Transportation Connections, said organizers learned during planning that downtown and NoBo have not historically seen much movement between the two spots on art walk nights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn talking with my collaborators, I\u2019ve learned that the two districts haven\u2019t historically had much movement between downtown and NoBo,\u201d Kitching said. \u201cPeople tend to choose one or the other to visit on First Fridays.\u201d<\/p>\n

The July 3 effort is not built around a special arts shuttle, but instead uses buses Boulder already has.<\/p>\n

\"Marie-JulietteMarie-Juliette Bird, Founder of the New Local, poses for a portrait in the gallery in Boulder on May 10, 2024. (Matthew Jonas\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The HOP circulates through downtown, University Hill, and the CU Boulder campus, passing near The New Local galleries on Ninth Street. The SKIP, managed and operated by the Regional Transportation District, runs along Broadway, connecting south Boulder, downtown, and the northern edge of the NoBo Art District.<\/p>\n

Kitching called the idea \u201cHOP and SKIP to First Friday.\u201d Organizers are heavily targeting local commuters and residents who already hold city-subsidized EcoPasses or Neighborhood EcoPasses, a demographic that includes residents of Boulder Housing Partners communities.<\/p>\n

For those without an existing pass, standard RTD fares will apply, though riders can use prepaid mobile tickets on the RTD MyRide app or use contactless \u201ctap-n-ride\u201d options by tapping a debit card, credit card, or mobile wallet.<\/p>\n

To help clear any financial hurdles on launch night, Kitching plans to personally buy and distribute 50 to 100 paper bus tickets across both districts in exchange for participating in a quick survey. Attendees looking for a ticket can look for Kitching throughout the evening \u2014 she will be carrying a distinctive blue clipboard that reads, \u201cAsk Me How to Hop & Skip to First Friday Galleries!\u201d<\/p>\n

In practice, the route is straightforward for art walkers \u2014 all one must do is park once, move through downtown, then take the SKIP north on Broadway. Kitching said the SKIP allows visitors to get off near Violet Street and walk north through NoBo, rather than driving from one stop to another or skipping the second district altogether.<\/p>\n

She said she would love to see hundreds of people make the cross-district trip on launch night, but she is also treating the first event as a baseline. She plans to be there, watching how people use the route and looking for growth over the first three months.<\/p>\n

Liz Compos, executive director of the NoBo Art District, said the point of the citywide First Fridays is not to turn NoBo into an extension of downtown.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoBo is still NoBo,\u201d Compos said. \u201cThat\u2019s not going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compos described the North Boulder district as a place where visitors walk into the spaces where artists are actually making work \u2014 indie galleries, working studios, warehouse spaces and rooms where the artist standing next to a piece may have finished it yesterday. Visitors can see this firsthand at Pinky Neon Gallery + Studio, where Compos herself is exhibiting alongside artists Wolfgang Reichard, Abby White and Josh Wexler.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat kind of intimacy is rare, and it\u2019s something we\u2019re really proud of,\u201d Compos said. \u201cBoulder has an incredible density of working artists, and NoBo is where so much of that creative life happens. This collaboration doesn\u2019t change any of that; it just means more people get a chance to experience it. Downtown\u2019s First Friday has its own wonderful energy, and we\u2019re excited to be part of an evening that lets people experience both. The contrast actually makes each neighborhood shine more, not less.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, Compos suggests taking the SKIP north and getting off near Violet Street or Yarmouth Avenue, then moving through the district on foot.<\/p>\n

The official event map<\/a> features 25 designated stops packed with creative showcases. At Mighty Fudge Studios, 4520 Broadway, the gallery will show new work by Jeffrey Packard, while the adjacent \u201cHOP & SKIP to First Fridays\u201d stop will anchor a live art activation featuring artist Mike Stable, \u201cThe Chip Artist,\u201d who will be painting potato chips outside and inviting people to join him.<\/p>\n

At NoBo on the Corner, 4600 Broadway, Gary Markowitz\u2019s \u201cBetween Horizon and Memory\u201d exhibition will be on display inside, while DJ San Juan performs a live set outside. Farther north at 4871 Broadway, Nu Bass Theory will play live electro-pop funk and jazz at the Roots Music Project, right next to the NoBo First Friday Market that showcases a variety of local artists and creatives.<\/p>\n

At the NoBo Bus Stop Gallery, 4895 Broadway, \u201cWhere We Roam: A Show for Public Lands\u201d will open with work by 20 Colorado landscape artists. Curated by Robin van Wageningen, the exhibition centers on ridgelines, forests, alpine lakes and open spaces, and asks visitors to consider the responsibility of protecting them.<\/p>\n

Other stops along the northern corridor include East Window\u2019s \u201cThoughts and Prayers\u201d exhibition by Berger & F\u00f6hr, a Q3 Art + Place exhibit at The Armory, and the NoBo Info Tent situated at the NoBo Art Center, which will feature live music by Brandori Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo creative neighborhoods, two distinct experiences, connected by a bus ride,\u201d Compos said. \u201cThe more people move through the city and engage with its artists and creative spaces, the better it is for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The New Local spearheaded downtown Boulder’s artwalk and starting this weekend, visitors can hop on a bus and head to the NoBo Artwalk after visiting downtown. (The New Local – Courtesy photo)<\/p>\n

\"Patrons<\/p>\n

Patrons browse works of art at \u201cTo the Moon,\u201d a solo exhibit by street artist SMiLE, at the Bus Stop Gallery in the Boulder area Sept. 4, 2025. (Matthew Jonas\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The NoBo Bus Stop Gallery at 4455 Broadway, home to In Loving Memory: The Art of Lisa Nesmith. (Dona Laurita\/Courtesy photo)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A band performs during a NoBo Art District First Friday event in 2025. (Dona Laurita\/Courtesy photo)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The New Local Gallery, 741 Pearl St., will serve as a central hub for downtown Boulder\u2019s First Friday art walk. (Bridget Dorr\/Courtesy photo)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

The New Local spearheaded downtown Boulder’s artwalk and starting this weekend, visitors can hop on a bus and head to the NoBo Artwalk after visiting downtown. (The New Local – Courtesy photo)<\/p>\n

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