Oakland First Fridays turned 20 this year on the same stretch of Telegraph Avenue it has used for years, from West Grand to 27th Street. By July, it had about half the vendors it used to draw. Some longtime sponsors had stopped coming back, and the team putting on each event was down to one full-time and one part-time employee. Two dates remain on the 2026 schedule, November 6 and December 4.
With fewer booths in the street, more of the night depends on the businesses that stay open behind them: the bars, plant shop, and halal market that line the route, plus a handful of Uptown openings from this summer and fall. Those storefronts give the festival its year-round anchor, and several of them trace their start on Telegraph to the festival itself.
A Thinner Festival, by Its Own Numbers
The figures come from the organizers and from KONO, the Koreatown Northgate Community Benefit District that runs the event.
| Earlier baseline | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendors | "Over 100" | "50-something," as of July 2026 |
| Festival staff | Four employees | One full-time, one part-time, as of May 2026 |
| Cost per event | $35,000 to $45,000, including about $8,000 for private security | |
| Vendor fees toward that cost | About $15,000 | |
| City "legacy festival" support | $7,043 for 10 events in FY 2024-25 | $10,113 expected for 10 events in FY 2025-26 |
The city money covers Oakland Police Department services and some Fire Prevention Bureau permits and fees. It doesn't go toward the stage, the music, or the staff. The city's no-strings festival grant program, which once gave $20,000 grants to free events like this one, ran out of money in 2024. That leaves sponsors to fill the gap, and organizers told The Oaklandside in May that some sponsors had backed away. Festival coordinator Venessa McGhee and KONO executive director Shari Godinez connected those departures to news coverage that tied the festival to incidents that happened elsewhere downtown or hours after it ended.
The shortfall became visible in June. A lack of sponsorship canceled the main entertainment stage at the June 5 event, though vendors and musical acts still filled Telegraph. McGhee told CBS San Francisco that "we really need the funding." On June 18, she said the festival was still "absolutely in danger of ending." Godinez also cited a second, quieter cause for the vendor drop: a new bike lane took away vending space.
The festival has found ways to keep going. It drew support from neighbors like Chris Cheeseman, co-owner of Todos Cantina, who said in May that "now more than ever, they need our support, and we are standing by them." No public total for new sponsor or city money since May has been reported.
The Businesses Still There After Load-Out
Vendors start setting up at 3 p.m., and the festival shuts down no later than 9:45 p.m. By 11:30 p.m., Telegraph is fully reopened to traffic. The storefronts along the route are open before and after that window, and in July The Oaklandside walked the route to ask what the festival does for them.
- Beeryland and Legionnaire Karaoke Saloon, near 23rd Street. Owner Jason Lujick runs both bars. He said that even with festivalgoers buying food from street vendors, Beeryland makes "at least $3,000 to $4,000 more than on an average Friday."
- Of Soil and Moss, on Telegraph near 23rd. Bessma Khalaf's plant store has been on the avenue for 13 years. She said First Fridays means staying open later, "but it's only once a month, and it's usually worth it."
- Double Standard, near 25th Street. Owner Ali Tahsini said the festival's crowds once helped bars like his "become recognized, which otherwise they might not have been."
- Marwa Market and Grill, near 25th Street. Temur Khwaja has run his business in Oakland for about 20 years. He moved it to Telegraph because of the visibility First Fridays brought.
Khalaf described the payoff in terms of the next day:
"Customers come back, even if they don't buy something; they'll come back the next day, 'cause I'm open on Saturday, and be like, 'I didn't buy anything yesterday, but I loved it, and I remembered, and I came back.'"
Khalaf sold at street fairs herself before she opened her shop. Godinez said that path is common. She knows of more than a dozen First Fridays vendors who now have their own brick-and-mortar stores. So when the vendor count drops by half, the effect goes beyond fewer booths on one Friday. Fewer people are trying out a business on Telegraph, which means fewer candidates for the next storefront.
New Doors on and Near the Route This Fall
Even with the festival under strain, Uptown has kept adding places, and several sit within a short walk of the closed-off blocks.
Holders House at Gold Palm, 1900 Telegraph Ave. at 19th Street. Gold Palm closed in early June. It reopened for October with a month-long residency by chef Sarah Kirnon, who ran Miss Ollie's in Old Oakland for a decade. Her menu is Caribbean-inspired, Gold Palm handles the cocktails, and the bar sits in the historic Oakland Floral Depot Building. It's open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, plus some other nights when the Fox Theater has a show. "We are hoping this is just the beginning of a fresh new chapter for Gold Palm," co-owner Daniel Gahr told Nosh, adding that the bar hopes to be "back open for nightly service in some capacity beyond October." Plans after October haven't been announced.
Game Parlour, 2300 Valdez St., Ste. B. The San Francisco board game cafe soft-opened its Oakland location on September 8. The menu runs from savory waffle sandwiches to sweet mochi waffles.
Sweet Fingers Jamaican Restaurant, 1707 Telegraph Ave. This longtime Oakland restaurant closed its Foothill Boulevard location in April and soft-opened in Uptown in July. The menu includes oxtail plates, curry goat, jerk chicken wings, and whole fish. Its website lists the Telegraph address with current hours and online ordering.
Bolo's Bites, 25 Grand Ave. This sandwich shop took over the former Cafe Umami space. It serves reubens, pastrami, and subs made with house-roasted turkey, and it shares a block with Mama's Boy Pizza, Farley's, Mela Bistro, and the Oakland Athletic Club.
Oakland Athletic Club, 59 Grand Ave. Six local partners took over and renamed this sports bar in late spring. They planned an upgraded all-day food program and a dedicated viewing area for women's sports. It's open daily and lists the Oakland Roots and Soul, the Oakland Ballers, and the Valkyries as official sports partners.
There/There, 468 25th St. This cocktail bar opened on May 29. Owner Alli Li said, "I want to make things fair, but I also want people to be able to afford to come out regularly and hang out."
Farther south, downtown merchants launched Oaktown Thursdays in June, on the stretch of Telegraph from 17th Street to Broadway. Founder Sean Sullivan, who owns Fluid 510, said the goal was to showcase Oakland's art scene "and then send them into these local businesses right after." He was careful not to overpromise: "We can't guarantee that every single merchant's gonna see a surge in business, especially right away." First Fridays and Oaktown Thursdays share the same aim of getting street crowds into the shops.
The Two Dates Left on the 2026 Calendar
The official schedule lists two more events this year, both on Telegraph from West Grand to 27th Street, generally 5 to 9:30 p.m.:
- November 6, "Oakland Gives." Art, music, food, and community programming, plus coat and toy drives for local families.
- December 4, "Seasons of Joy." A holiday celebration with a winter-wonderland theme and soulful holiday music.
The official 2026 schedule ends with December. In past years, organizers paused the festival from January through March because of production costs, fewer vendors, and winter weather. This year's season opened on March 6. McGhee has said the festival draws "10, 15, 20, 25,000" people, and that "if everyone gave one dollar, that alone could change the trajectory of where we are financially." The festival's website links to a support fundraiser for anyone who wants to give.
A November 6 visit could start with dinner at a Telegraph storefront, then a coat for the drive, a stop at Of Soil and Moss before it closes, and a Saturday trip back for whatever caught your eye.
We've watched many East Bay corridors grow from the businesses that hold the street between events, and Telegraph is a clear example. If you live near Uptown and want to talk about what the avenue's next year could mean for your block or your home, the Souza Niroomand Team is glad to share what we're seeing. Let's sit down and talk.
