Carole's Column

        Carole Moran, President


First Friday is a Winner!

A beat-era coffee house? A 60's hippie march? Flower Power? FREE LOVE?! Well, not quite.

It's the monthly night out at the Las Vegas Arts District - a happenin' event which is possibly the most entertaining thing since Lake Mead poured over Boulder Dam.

It's called First Friday 'cause that's when it is and it's a mob scene. Parking is crazy. The art is radical. The people are varied. It happens between 6 and 10 p.m. at the Arts Factory at East Charleston & Casino Center Blvd. The parking is in back. The entrance is in back. The "scene" is in back.

And inside; the Arts Factory is a two-story building with more cubby holes than a rabbit warren. Artists and arts in every corner. People in suits. People in 60's garb. Artists with paint on their clothes. Art workshops with rows of supplies in open view. Yuppies meet the street. Do you like art? WHO CARES?! This is an EVENT.

When you tire of the crowds and activities at the Arts Factory, you can go across and down the street to the Iowa Café. An unlikely name for an unlikely hole-in-the-wall, it serves great food...if you don't mind waiting an hour or so. Only one lady on duty. She takes orders and prepares the food.

If you wait for your food indoors, there is live music. Live, loud, good music. If you wait outdoors in the alley, you miss the noise but may be hemmed in by an impromptu play set up to take the Café crowd outside between live music shows.

The Art District. Downtown. Next month -- the shuttle bus for the tour. There is simply not enough time to do it all in one visit.

JOIN THE FUN!