New ownership fuels optimism for First Friday

Even the new owners of First Friday Las Vegas aren't sure what the future holds for the downtown arts district.

But at least the organization behind the monthly street festivals has a future after investors plunked down $50,000 to buy the name, mailing lists and web addresses associated with the event.

That's enough for now for folks associated with the 18b Arts District, which has been home to First Friday Las Vegas events for nearly a decade.

"First Friday might have died had they not come forward exactly when they did," said Dick Geyer, president of the arts district neighborhood association and board member of Whirlygig, Inc., the nonprofit entity that sold the First Friday name.

"I honestly don't know what would have happened Friday, Oct. 7, had they not come forward."

While the buyers -- four people associated with online shoe seller Zappos.com along with a downtown developer -- don't yet know what the future holds for First Friday Las Vegas, they're making short-term plans to hold the October event and laying the groundwork to expand the organization over the long term.

Joey Vanas, managing partner of the newly formed First Friday Las Vegas LLC, said Friday that the group plans to spend another $50,000 in startup costs and will budget about $20,000 to $30,000 for monthly expenses.

The idea is to broaden interest in the event through social media and online marketing and expand operations to attract people to the arts district more frequently.

"It is a marketing vehicle, and it is not about one day of the month," Vanas said. "These artists are there all the time. These galleries are there all the time. The scene is there every day."

With Vanas, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, partner Fred Mossler and downtown developer Andrew Donner are investors in the project.

Vanas is a marketer and has helped Hsieh develop personal projects, including a bestselling book about the Zappos company culture. Donner is a downtown cheerleader who has put together deals to redevelop the Lady Luck casino, to build a new city hall and to relocate Zappos from Henderson to the existing city hall building at Las Vegas Boulevard and Stewart Avenue.

Vanas will be in charge of day-to-day operation of the First Friday entity. He said the new owners bring capital, marketing savvy and corporate sponsorship connections that weren't available to the old regime.

"It is very hard for one or two people to manage something this size," Vanas said. "We can add some people and some infrastructure."

The deal came together as Whirlygig was on a two-month hiatus from organizing First Friday events, a street fair aimed at connecting artists in the arts district with more foot traffic.

It involved blocking streets, providing space for vendors, coordinating parking and transportation and encouraging arts district businesses to stay open late on the first Friday of each month.

"The structure of the street festival makes people very comfortable," said Cindy Funkhouser, owner of an arts district business and president of the previous First Friday organization.

"We've had artists out here on the street sell things for $1,000 or more. I'm not saying it happens all the time, but it does happen."

But after nine years, fees and fundraising couldn't keep up with expenses, and, in August, Whirlygig announced it would take a break from producing the event.

During the hiatus is when the Zappos-led investors stepped in, saying they envisioned the event as an important part of their new neighborhood that should grow to include more people.

"We knew we didn't want it to go away, and it looked like it was in danger of doing so," Vanas said.

Whether the arts district is ready to support more frequent events remains to be seen.

Much of the district is characterized by vacant buildings, dark streets and empty lots. Foot traffic in spots where there are bars, restaurants and galleries is sporadic.

That is a big challenge for new organizers because to be successful, it will not only need to introduce new people to the arts district, it will need to be sure there's enough to see and do in the area to hold people's interest beyond one day per month.

"We've always, always dreamed of having people down there 30 days a month and not one night," Geyer said. "But once you get there what's there if there isn't the music and the people in the street and the party and the atmosphere?"

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@ reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.