It was a festive celebration on the last First Friday of this year in Oakland, as the event takes a two-month hiatus in hopes of returning next year.
The city may be in the midst of making deep cuts to public safety, but Friday night was about a community coming together and spreading joy and love.
Oakland at 23rd and Telegraph turned into a winter wonderland as children played in the fake snow. But it wasn’t even the highlight of the evening.
“Wait, is it the real Santa Claus,” Spiritual asked.
The kids got a taste of the holidays and Spiritual was excited to share a few items from her wish list with Santa.
“A robot that can remind me to be good,” she said. ‘You know what, actually. I want a doll. A real doll. Actually, that’s what I want.’
This event was not just for young people. Aunt, who is 81, has lived in Oakland most of her life. She has seen the city go through ups and downs, but events like these restore hope for the future.
“It means Oakland is still alive,” Auntie said.
It’s a chance for the vendors to promote their business and for people to put money directly back into the community. Desirae Rosgen of Noah’s Jamaican Jerk Chicken said First Friday is a huge boost for their business.
For now, they rely on these types of events to keep their businesses going.
“Events like this are certainly very helpful for small businesses that are on their way to becoming more brick-and-mortar,” Rosgen said. “Being more traditional.”
However, this event relies on sponsors every year to keep it running. Organizers are continually raising money to bring back the street fair. The goal for 2025 is to hold the next First Friday in March.
“It’s really a labor of love and how much we repeat every month, so we want to see this continue and it means so much to the city of Oakland,” said Courtney Russell with the Koreatown Northgate District.
