First Friday events are held on the First Friday of the month. Enjoy special happenings in many downtown shops, restaurants and museums– including featured shop promotions, art displays and demonstrations, family activities, live music, refreshments, with many venues open later into the evening.
July First Friday is July 3
Celebrate our downtown businesses and our community in a different way!
Front Street will be closed to traffic for outdoor dining.
On First Friday, please join us all day as our shops welcome back in-person shopping and restaurants resume limited dine in service, along with a special event at Brookside Museum.
We also invite the community to join in posting their own messages of positivity to our local small businesses and services on the
First Friday Facebook Event Page.
We look forward to returning to our regular in-person First Friday activities in August!
Remember to purchase your First Friday Fanatic pin for $1 at most First Friday venues and use it every First Friday for special discounts at participating First Friday businesses.
First Fridays is proudly brought to you by the Ballston Spa Business & Professional Association.
Presented By:
Pull down locations below for more details.
First Friday Locations
Front / Low / Charlton Streets
Brookside Museum-Saratoga County Historical Society
6 Charlton Street
Join Brookside Friday, July 3 from 2 – 6 pm and enjoy a delicious holiday meal and support a great cause!
For over forty years SCHS has provided high quality K-12 educational programming sharing and preserving our local history. COVID 19 has impacted what we share. Please help us continue to be able to provide high quality programs for our entire community.
SCHS/Brookside Museum will be selling complete, freshly-made chicken barbecue dinners to go on July 3, 2-6 pm. Meals include:
1/2 chicken ,baked potato, baked beans, roll, drink and a cookie. Cost is $12 per meal.
Children’s meals come with a special Fourth of July themed Arts and Crafts goodie bag.
News
2020 Chocolate Fest Winners
Here are the winners the the 7th Annual Ballston Spa Chocolate Fest: Judges Choice: Beverage: Henry’s Tavern, Mint Chocolate Martini Dessert: Tie! Next Door Kitchen & Bar, Chocolate Strawberry Bark and Jessicakes Saratoga, Canadian Nanaimo Bar Pie (at Corina Contemporary Jewelry) Savory: The Front Street Social Club, Chocolate Chipotle Meatballs People’s Choice: Beverage: Two Birds Marketplace, Mexican Hot Chocolate… Read more »
2020 Chocolate Fest Information and Chef Application
What is Chocolate Fest? As part of our monthly First Friday Events, we present our February family fun event – the Ballston Spa Chocolate Festival on Friday, February 7, 2020. Area restaurants, bakeries, and chefs are all welcome to compete in a chance to showcase their talents and tastes by preparing small sample sized… Read more »
September First Friday Re-Cap
September’s First Friday brought out visitors and scavenger hunters, celebrating this year’s final Movie in the Park, Mary Poppins Returns. Adults and children alike visited our participating businesses and local shop owners to enjoy all the special happenings around the Village and hunt for a Mary Poppins Returns character hidden in each business. Their reward… Read more »
6th Annual Chocolate Fest–and the Winners are….
Chocolate Fest—How Sweet It Was! Several hundred chocolate fans came out on a frigid February evening to stroll the village and sample a delicious assortment of chocolate specialties offered by chocolate chefs, ranging from sweet to savory to beverages. The competition for our taste buds was fierce! Here are the winners for the 2019 Chocolate… Read more »
2019 Chocolate Fest Participation Information and Chef Application
What is Chocolate Fest? As part of our monthly First Friday Events, we will continue to present our February family fun event – the Ballston Spa Chocolate Festival. Area restaurants, bakeries, and chefs are all welcome to compete in a chance to showcase their talents and tastes by preparing small sample sized chocolate offerings to… Read more »
The People and Places of July’s First Friday
Some of the friendly faces and special places on July’s First Friday. ” ngg_triggers_display=”never” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]
2018 Chocolate Fest-February 2, 2018
Our Chocolate Fest judges, Vic, Lanie, Bill, Glenn and Noah, had the tough assignment of tasting ALL the entries— a chocolate smorgasbord! And the judges’ choices for the best of the 2018 Chocolate Fest are— Savory: Chocolate pulled pork with slaw by Sweeney’s at 50 Shades of Hair Dessert (Sweet): A TIE Assorted Chocolate cheesecakes… Read more »
May First Friday–Ribbon Cutting, Student Artwork and Tasty Treats
May’s First Friday saw a celebration of student artists with displays in several venues throughout downtown. We also officially welcomed CMK & Associates Real Estate to the village with a ribbon cutting, joined by the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County. ” ngg_triggers_display=”never” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]
April First Friday “Pick A Reading Partner” Photos
April’s First Friday brought out families to visit many of our downtown businesses and enjoy listening to readers, as we celebrated “Pick A Reading Partner Night” with Ballston Spa elementary schools. Thank you to all our “mystery readers” who volunteered their time and to all the venues who hosted them! ” ngg_triggers_display=”never” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]
2017 Chocolate Fest–How Sweet It Was!
Hundreds came out on a chilly February evening to stroll the village and sample a delicious assortment of chocolate specialties offered by chocolate chefs, ranging from sweet to savory to beverages. Visitors also enjoyed art shows, special sales and music on the First Friday. The competition for our taste buds was fierce! Here are our… Read more »
December 2015 First Friday
Printable list of events for December 4 First Friday
First Fridays in Ballston Spa Photos
The first Friday of every month participating stores are staying open late. From 6pm-9pm there will be Live Music-Art Exhibits-Story Telling-Poetry Readings-Demonstrations and more.