Yeah, I'd like to see somebody file with the PTO for a trademark on "First Friday." That would be interesting.

Well, I just searched the PTO and there are a bunch of them. The "First Friday" filings are all 'dead' status. There are several with city names that are still live, such as First Fridays Atlanta, First Friday Las Vegas, etc.

It does seem silly to give a "cease and desist" on the basis of intellectual property, but so does saying that the only reason Bearden did their even on the "first Friday" was because some marketing consultant told them to.

Did they not see this coming, or do they need a marketing consultant to tell them everything?

Maybe this will lead to more walk-ability in Bearden? Not likely, I know but hope springs eternal.

-Sugarfatpie (AKA Alex Pulsipher)

"X-Rays are a hoax."-Lord Kelvin

I remember very vividly my first First Friday experience. It was 6 years ago at one of Preston Farabow's parties and I was watching up close as Sideshow Benny pierced his genitals!! Didn't he (Preston or someone at Ironwood)coin that phrase? The MP or somebody ran a story about that a few months ago. This reminds me of the "Sundown" vs. "After Sundown" a few years back. I have a cousin on Facebook who lives in a small Pa. town. A few weeks ago I saw she and her friends were discussing their First Friday plans. Why not let it be an all over Knoxville thing. There is certainly time to drive from Gay St. to Bearden and enjoy both. Its all about the free wine to me. Haven't seen Sideshow in a while, bring him back!

I wold think downtown's FF is solid enough not to act insecure about competition. If nobody goes anymore, and I'm starting to fall in that group, it's because it's too crowded.

Haven't seen Sideshow in a while, bring him back!

Maybe he's had enough.

I remembered also that Clinton has been having First Friday's for about a year and Maryville I think has a Fourth Friday. How many places can you sue and who all had it before Knoxville.

I think Knoxville may have been the last city to have a FF. I'm glad it's here and enjoy it each month, but I can't imagine going to Bearden for it.

I'll go with Bearden. You can park and not have to deal with the downtown attitude. Great marketing downtown. You could build a fence next.

from "first fridays" in wikipedia:

In cities such as San Jose, Honolulu, Anchorage, Albany, Phoenix, Richmond, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, San Antonio, Kansas City, Louisville, Augusta, Tallahassee, Las Vegas, Burlington, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Denver there are Gallery hops and "art walks" where many of the art galleries in town will have gallery openings and open their doors to anyone who wishes to see works in progress. The idea is that galleries will attract people to the downtown and enrich the art community by pooling their openings together into one monthly evening. Additionally, these are "see and be seen" events that serve as a block party or social gathering open to the general public. These events are not limited to art, and may involve other stores such as cafes and restaurants remaining open as well as including other events such as fire twirling acts, belly dancing, street musicians and other performers, and pub crawling.