San Pedro’s First Thursday celebrates an anniversary and growing crowds

San Pedro’s historic downtown district this week celebrated the 28th anniversary of its First Thursday Art Walk, an event designed to bring more folks into the area.

The anniversary came on the heels of a revamp and expansion in August (with a new “Night Market” designation) that is designed to bring in more vendors, renewed energy and more foot traffic.

The debut in August drew especially large crowds.

The event — held, as the name suggests, on the first Thursday evening of each month — has evolved over time as organizers continued looking for ways to attract more foot traffic and visitors.

The latest evolution comes under the banner of the Downtown San Pedro Historic Business Improvement District — also known as Discover San Pedro — and grew from a new partnership with Unidos Community Events. The goal was to bring 70 to 100 new vendors in, as well as to energize the waterfront arts and dining district. It is billed as the First Thursday Night Market.

Art galleries, shops and restaurants all roll out the red carpet for visitors. Sixth and Mesa streets is the latest hub of focused activity, with vendor booths, activations, food trucks, music stages and gallery access spanning across the district.

Unidos Community Events — producers of the Uptown Whittier Night Market — is bringing extended entertainment and new activities throughout the downtown San Pedro area as part of the revamped experience. The overall First Thursday event is generally bounded by Pacific Avenue, Harbor Boulevard, Fourth Street and Ninth Street, with key activities centered around Sixth and Seventh streets east of Pacific Avenue.