Description
Last Thursday on Alberta. After fifteen years of an evolving, creative, and ever becoming more popular happening. This artistic, micro-business incubating, display of talent celebration happens year round with restaurants and galleries throwing their doors wide open to celebrate our vibrant local artists. Dry months brings out the art vendors and as it becomes warmer the music begins to play.
May thorough September brings the largest crowds of artists, performers and buskers claiming their spot to vend, perform, busk and oh yes, parade. Any empty spaces are filled in with food vendors, body workers, non-profits, and political activism. During these summer months Last Thursday is the second largest event in the city behind our beloved Rose Festival.
In steps Friends of Last Thursday (FoLT) committed to facilitating a fun, safe and sustainable monthly public art festival that culturally enriches the community while fostering neighborhood respect. With 17,000 participants in the peak summer months, this group is focused on addressing the issues involved with sustaining this event in a people-powered approach. This group has saved LT from a painful death, the result of politics, collapse, self implosion and or backlash from one of many angles. FoLT will now hold a permit for LT and are geared to steer the event back towards supporting artists and performers and providing the services to allow it to continue into the future. FoLT earns and scrounges funds and gathers the volunteers each month, providing security, education of the vendors about expectations, removal of trash and recycling, street closure and logistics.
