Mary Miller

Norfolk’s inaugural First Friday of 2026 was a great time, said performer KELO SOUL.

The Hampton Roads rapper and other musicians performed a set at the block party event on April 3. The event, while crowded, was peaceful and attendees enjoyed themselves, said KELO, whose real name is Marckel Bonds.

“I didn’t see anything that made me feel unsafe,” Bonds said.

But that First Friday might also be the last. The event series is now paused after complaints from street-level businesses, and its future is uncertain, according to Mary Miller, president and CEO of the Downtown Norfolk Council, the event organizer.

Miller said Granby Street business owners complained the April 3 event didn’t do enough to funnel attendee money to their businesses. That, combined with litter issues and the crowd size — an estimated 6,000 people showed up, which was more than double the expected attendance — led to a DNC decision to pause the event, Miller said.

“Our goal is always to do things that is going to support the economy of downtown and support our businesses,” Miller said.

The Downtown Norfolk Council receives much of its funding from property owners in the downtown improvement district — a city designation that allows property owners to pay higher taxes for a higher level of service than local government provides — so the organization has the obligation to listen to their concerns and those of their tenants, Miller said.

Miller said her organization spoke with Norfolk city officials about the decision, but said it was solely a Downtown Norfolk Council call. Representatives for the city did not respond to a request for comment.

The First Fridays announcement was made April 17, the day an all-ages curfew took effect for the first time at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The timing caused some to question whether the cancellation was in response to the curfew. But Miller said that was not the case, and discussions about pausing First Fridays were already taking place before Virginia Beach approved the curfew.

Miller said organizers are still trying to figure out the future of the event, noting discussions are in the early stages. She said the planning would involve both Granby Street businesses and the community.

However, she said it’s possible the organization cancels the events outright.

Bonds called such a move unfortunate, and said the cancellation of public events hurts the people who could benefit the most, including the creative community. He also disputed claims the event did not do enough for businesses, saying Baxter’s sports bar was packed that night and even Neon District businesses like Glow Juice Bar

“There’s a saying in Hampton Roads that you should always go to the first one, because there might not be a second, and it’s continually proven to be true,” he said.

He encouraged artists and others to organize their own events, saying it can happen and has happened with city approval.

First Fridays was held until 2021, when it was abruptly stopped, with organizers citing staffing and logistics issues. Then, the series came back in the fall of 2025, when two events were successfully held. Miller said those two events had a smaller crowd size — around 2,500 to 3,000 people — and met the goals organizers set of letting downtown workers commune after work with downtown residents and go to restaurants.