First Fridays Late Night Art and Shopping Experience In Alton Starts On Oct. 3, 2025

ALTON - Alton Main Street presents First Fridays, a late night art and shopping experience which spans 19 locations across the Downtown Alton district. This series is held on the First Friday of October, November and December, providing shoppers with an opportunity to check out new shops and galleries and visit familiar favorites to experience art and great specials at each business.

Participants are offering a variety of discounts, refreshments, and giveaways. Every time you make a purchase you’ll have your passport stamped for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to any participating business. Park once and jump on the free shuttle bus which will be provided from 5:00-8:00 p.m., running a continuous loop between all locations.

On Friday, October 3rd, start your evening by picking up your First Friday passport at any participating shop or gallery, then hop on the shuttle or walk your way around the downtown district, gathering stamps on your passport along your journey!

Begin your adventure with a beverage or a snack to fuel your shopping excursion. Hit one of the food trucks down at FLOCK Food Truck Park & Bar and enjoy $2 off Specialty Cocktails Gift Cards! When you buy $25 you’ll get $5 extra.

Visit clothing boutique Coco+Oak on 3rd Street and grab 10% off your purchase of her selection of trendy outfits and accessories. Persnickety by Jen Farley welcomes you to their brand new larger location at 413 East Broadway with a hefty 25% discount on all Persnickety items (excludes Landmarks Vintage Items). Terrace Cannabis will also be on the shuttle loop where shoppers ages 21+ can enjoy 20% off any purchase of $25 or more.

At Country Meadows, guests will enjoy refreshments and special discounts while they check out dozens of vendors inside the resale space. At Picture This & More enter to win their giveaway and grab a snack to keep you going. Neighbor ‘Nside the Box has your sweet treat fix, sale items, and a raffle!

Down the street at Funky Planet Toys & Gifts, shoppers can play Arcade Alley Ball and the customer who gets the highest score wins a $15 gift certificate! Uncle Jeff’s T-Shirts is offering all of their in-stock creative, hilarious, and sometimes cheeky t-shirts on sale, 2 for $25.

Beloved Alton favorite Honeybee Vintage is wooing shoppers with 10% off storewide, and just a stop away is 1904 General Store which is offering 30% off any merchandise. Mom can’t really tell you no when you can save 10% storewide at both Mississippi Hippie and Mom Said No! You’ll also love your free gift with a $100 purchase.

Our friends at Jacoby Arts Center are back this year at their new location at 208 State Street! They’ll be hosting an opening for their installation, Hello, Itchy? with refreshments and live music. Stop in to meet the artist and see the vibrant pieces.

This year’s series brings five new shops into the fun! Jacoby Fine Violins will be welcoming guests with 10% off accessories and shop merch, plus they will feature live music in the store during each First Fridays event; October’s musical guest is Acoustic Potluck performing American folk, Early Country, Celtic, Swing, Jazz Standards, Blues, Beatles and some original songs. Downtown Alton’s newest art gallery, Elysian Gallery inside Mineral Springs, will be offering sweet treats and non-alcoholic beverages, free branded coffee mug with every $50 purchase, and a raffle for a $200 gift card. Stop in newcomer Mooneyham Art to shop a wide variety of local artists’ work, plus enjoy some refreshments. Plant Em is entering shoppers into a raffle for a 6” Monstera Thai Constellation plant; each plant purchased gets you a raffle ticket! And make sure to check out Alton’s new artist collective Bluff City Bazaar, where you will be entered into a drawing for a large bug dome from River City Oddities!

Downtown Alton’s resident art bar The Conservatory, filled with the KOOL work of Michael Snider’s Kooliverse, will also be a shuttle stop offering happy hour drink specials as a perfect location to grab a pick-me-up or end your evening.

Keep an eye out for "Where’s Wadlow", a 14” wooden figurine of Robert Wadlow styled as the familiar Where’s Waldow character which will be hidden at one of the locations. Find him to win a $100 gift certificate to any participating location! Mark your calendar for the remaining dates in the series: November 7th and December 5th.

For more information on the many ways that Alton Main Street is working to enhance and promote Alton’s historic downtown district, visit www.DowntownAlton.com.

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