Gay Street will be closed to vehicles again in June − this time, for a block party

You'll be able to walk through the center of Gay Street vehicle-free June 7 for the fifth Friday in the past year.

But this time, it's part of the First Friday art exhibition held downtown every month, separate from the city's experiment that closed the 400 block of Gay Street to vehicles on select weekends late last year.

The event was originally planned for May 3, but the city postponed it due to rain. First Friday will continue as usual May 3 at The Emporium.

On June 7, the entire 100 block of Gay Street − between West Vine Avenue and West Jackson Avenue − will be closed to vehicles from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. for what the city is calling the inaugural First Friday Block Party.

The party, itself, will be hosted by the Arts & Culture Alliance from 5 p.m. to dark with live music, dozens of local artists and five new exhibitions inside The Emporium.

Like all First Friday events, the party is free and open to the public.

Open streets need activities, like the inaugural First Friday Block Party

For four weekends in November and December, the city ran a weekend pilot program that turned the busy 400 block into a pedestrian plaza between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Knox News checked it out for ourselves and researched similar experiments in other cities. In our reporting, we found experts believe open streets are most successful when they have activities, like what the Arts & Culture Alliance has planned June 7.

Last year's experiment didn't have that, though some businesses took it upon themselves to bring games into the streets. At the time, the city said it would evaluate the success of the experiment before deciding whether to try it elsewhere.

100 block growing as downtown Knoxville business, arts district

The 100 block is considered the heart of Knoxville's award-winning arts district, so closing Gay Street in this location makes sense for the June 7 event. The downtown arts scene revolves around The Emporium, which houses the Arts & Culture Alliance and is next door to the UT Downtown Gallery.

While the 100 block also has been considered a historically residential downtown block, Chismoso Cocktails & Comida recently became the newest business to open there. Other 100 block businesses include Tern Club, Harvest and Jacks.

First Friday has been a signature Knoxville event for the past 20 years. As its name suggests, First Friday happens the first Friday evening of every month and is hosted by the city, in partnership with the Arts & Culture Alliance.

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Gay Street partially closed for First Friday in downtown Knoxville