Responses to Police Presence at October First Friday

(image from Gallery 5's flickr)

When the mayor attended September's First Friday (you can check him out here in RVATV's video "Last Friday" or read about it here), it seemed a show of good faith on the city's part- an acknowledgment of the exciting things happening in that area of an otherwise questionable part of Richmond.

What does it mean one month later when there is a palpable police presence, First Friday attendees have to wait in line to enter venues due to occupancy limits being strictly enforced, and the police make a show of shutting down a beloved First Friday tradition (Gallery 5's fire performers)?

First Fridays is currently seeking signatures for petitions to create a Downtown Arts District- you can find out where to sign one of those here.

What else can we do to let the city know that their concern for "safety" is not helping the growth of culture in an area of the city that desperately needs it?


Gallery 5 added a comment to their original post here.

Style wrote about the crackdown here and here.

The Hat had some questions about last Friday's events here.

The Richmond Times Dispatch also reports here.