February 1, 2019, was my first time to attend Lubbock’s popular downtown event called First Friday Art Trail, a program of LHUCA. This event occurs every first Friday of the month and is located in Lubbock’s Cultural District, specifically starting at LHUCA, the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts. The event is free and is held rain or shine from 6-9 pm. While I attended, I decided to make a guide of all the highlights and tips I discovered while attending this event for the first time.
1. Limited Parking
The whole town of Lubbock comes out to this event, so the parking is very limited and packed. The event starts at 6 pm, so my advice to anyone who has never been is to go early! You should expect to drive around for a little bit to find parking, but don’t give up hope because this event is worth the chaos!
2. Interactive Exhibits
There are multiple buildings and areas where there are places to look at beautiful and interesting art. All the exhibits are free entry, which is always a plus! Charles Adams Gallery was my first stop, which is a medium sized building with mostly paintings inside. Feel free to walk through the different art pieces here. It should only take around 15 minutes to see it all. The majority of the art is for sale too, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Next, I visited the LHUCA, which is the largest First Friday Art Trail exhibit of art displayed in multiple large rooms since I visited in February, there was a Valentine’s Day-themed exhibit where you could write on a red or pink piece of paper and tape it to the wall. This was a way of being a part of the art exhibit.
3. The Bar
A fun little thing that the First Friday Art Trail offers inside some of its exhibits is a beer and wine bar. Domestic beer and an assortment of wines are available for purchase. You can walk around LHUCA or some of the other exhibits with a glass of wine in hand and enjoy the whole experience.
4. Food Trucks everywhere!
Don’t eat before you arrive at the Art Trail because there’s an assortment of food trucks outside the galleries with all different types of food. There are Asian, BBQ, tacos, and even dessert food trucks. I could not pass up on the BBQ, so I split some pulled pork quesadillas with a friend from the Chopped and Sliced food truck and it was delicious. You could even stop by the ice cream food truck for dessert. Careful though, the line felt like a mile long!
5. Live music is a plus.
There was also live music at the Art Trail!. I would definitely recommend grabbing some food and heading over to enjoy some music.
The best part about First Friday Art Trail is that you don’t need to be an art guru to have a good time at the Trail. There’s such a variety of things to do and art to see that it’s entertaining for all ages. Whether you just come to eat from the food trucks and enjoy some music or see what the newest artist has created, you are sure to leave satisfied. Come out to see what next month’s art trail has to offer. First Friday Art Trail is held the first Friday of every month in Lubbock’s Cultural District downtown.
