August 1st First Friday +
New American Arts Festival!
🗓️ First Friday, August 1 | 📍 Benson Creative District
🎉 The New American Arts Festival returns with bold art, live music, and global flavors — spotlighting the stories and talents of Omaha’s immigrant, migrant, and refugee communities. 🎨🎶🌍
🎨 August's First Friday poster by the one and only Sedra D’Mente
🖼️ Posters sponsored by our creative partners at BLICK
🌟 NAAF is made possible thanks to support from:
🚨 PETSHOP UNLEASHED VOL. 3
🎉 Part of the 12th Annual New American Arts Festival
We’re throwing it down backlot-style for PETSHOP: UNLEASHED VOL. 3: New American Arts Festival! We're celebrating artists of local immigrant, migrant, and refugee communities! 🎤🎨🛍️
🔥 Backlot Performances Include:
• Los Estereotipos
• Loss Benky’s
• Sapphire
• Sanjana Jayanti
• AIFS Youth Drumming Circle
🛍️☀️ BFF SUMMER ARTIST MARKET – PENULTIMATE EDITION! ☀️🛍️
Only two summer markets left! Come soak up the sunshine, music, and community magic while you can.
🎨 75+ vendors | Handmade goods, local art, jewelry, and vibes all night long!
📍🧡 NORTH MARKET – Military Ave (Maple → Binney)
→ Live Art by Brutal Doodles
→ Beats by DJ B
→ Community Partners: CIRA, Umuco Wacu, World Speaks, OLLAS
→ Madonnari Street Mural – part of NAAF 2025 w/ Rosa Chaidez Nelson
Chalk meets tradition in this interactive mural experience. Come witness a masterpiece in motion—created live by chalk artists and the community.
📍💙 SOUTH MARKET – 62nd St (Maple → Miami)
→ The KEY Designs Fabric Bus
→ D’Colores Art Bus
→ OPL Mobile Library
🎨 Madonnari Mural Workshop
📍 Outside Petshop & MAMO Galleries (2725 N. 62nd St - Benson Creative District)
Join us as we kick off preparations for the New American Arts Festival with our second annual Madonnari Mural Workshop — a free, family-friendly, hands-on chalk art experience!
This year’s mural is growing in both scale and impact, and we’re inviting the community to help shape it alongside Omaha’s immigrant and refugee communities. 🌍
Tilt23 Showcase
Ted & Wally’s - 6023 Maple St.
Performances outside Ted and Wally’s by Blackbird Rock Co., AIFS Youth Drummers, and Pablo Arza!
Friends of BFF get a FREE scoop of ice cream every First Friday!
Become a Friend of BFF today at bffomaha.org/friend
BFF OMAHA - Opening Receptions
Through years of film photography and quiet observation, Jun captures the everyday textures of life in Omaha and Guangzhou—two places that have shaped their artistic journey. This exhibition offers a personal archive of moments both fleeting and familiar, with printed works from Jun’s final years in Omaha and projected images spanning continents. Together, they reflect a search for meaning in the ordinary, and a desire to preserve what might soon be gone.
Inspired by her experience working at her family’s carwash, Indianapolis-based artist Margarita Velazquez transforms everyday materials into reflections on labor, care, and resilience. Always Shining: Beauty in the Grit uses glass, wire, and found car parts to illuminate the quiet power of repetition and imperfection.
Rooted in Korean tradition, JEONG speaks to the quiet strength of bonds formed through shared experience and enduring care. It reflects an unspoken interconnectedness—where relationships deepen not through words, but through time, presence, and mutual understanding.
ALSO OPENING IN THE BCD
Featuring framed drawings and writings from Schmitt’s personal sketchbook, the show examines emotional turbulence, the myth of the tortured artist, and the aesthetics of release. Outside, the accompanying installation Cloud Gazing transforms the alleyway into a sheer, colorful canopy—inviting viewers into a fleeting moment of vibrant, defiant joy.
Original artwork by Pennsylvania artist Christopher Fischer. Sure to offend and bedazzle the audience with his raw work.
Nebraska Skateboarding Archive - 1 Year Anniversary Show
Central Skate Shop - 2905 N. 59th St
Celebrate one year of the Nebraska Skateboarding Archive on August 1 from 5–10pm at Central Skate Shop. Featuring a video presentation, exhibit, giveaways, and a mystery release—don’t miss this look at Nebraska’s skateboarding history.
Conor Oberst Lookalike Contest
Floors, Floors, Floors - 7052 Maple St.
Calling all elder emos and local legends—dress like your favorite era of Conor Oberst and compete for glory at the First Friday Lookalike Contest!
MORE FIRST FRIDAY FUN!
❤️ Benson Brewery (6059 Maple St.) Window Display: Pratik Rayamajhi
❤️ Burke's Pub (6117 Maple St.) Window Display: Hortencia Hinojosa
❤️ Elevate Pole Fitness Polling Beneath the Stars
❤️ Eleven Eleven (6061 Maple St.) Featured Artist: Jennifer Novak Haar
❤️ Five Nine (6105 Maple St.) Meet Make Mail 5PM - 7PM
❤️ Jake's Cigars (6206 Maple St.) Featured Artist: Tom Larkin
❤️ Reverb Lounge (6121 Military Ave) Wake Sessions w/ Virgin Mary Pistol Grip, Tag Along
❤️ Super Groovy’s (6003 Maple St.) Featured Artist: Off Primary
❤️ Benson Bounty (6915 Evans St.) FREE You-Pick Flowers 4-8
❤️ Shakedown Street Tavern (2735 N. 62nd St) CTRL+ALT+DEL w/ DJs Crabrangucci + Callisto
❤️ Maple St. Construct (6003 Maple St.) Featured Artist: Off Primary
❤️ The Waiting Room Lounge (6212 Maple St.) Gallivant with Virgin Mary Pistol Grip, Dream Aura
Become a Friend of BFF and enjoy PERKS every First Friday!
Alley Cat Vintage: 20% off purchase
Benson Brewery: Half off draft beer (3-6 PM)
Beercade: $1 off all drinks
Burke’s Pub: Buy one apple pie shot, get another for a penny (3-6 PM)
Burrito Envy: Free cinnamon crisp with purchase
Central Skate Shop: 10% Off Purchase
Edge of the Universe: Free cookie with drink purchase
Jake's Cigars: Half off sangria on tap
Kai Tei: Buy one get one sake
Shaheen’s: 15% off any purchase
Snowy Sundaes: $1 off any drink
St. Andrew’s: $1 off tap beers until 7. $1 off Sangria all night
Star Deli: 10% off purchase
Ted & Wally's: Free scoop of ice cream
The Sydney: $1 off all drinks
Become a Friend of BFF HERE!
Thank You to Our First Friday Sponsors!
⭐ Ted & Wally's Ultra-Premium Homemade Ice Cream
Friend of BFF Business Members:
🔹 Gregg Grossman, Inc.
🔹 Heather Tedesco, Realtor, BHGRE
🔹 Metropolitan Community College
🔹 Slowdown
🔹 Taco Co.
🔹 The Garage by the Grey House
BFF Omaha: Building Community Through Arts Engagement!