✨ BENSON FIRST FRIDAY ✨
🗓️ May 1 | 📍 Benson Creative District
May is here and Benson is waking all the way up! Join us for a First Friday filled with art, music, community, and the return of BFF’s summer season.
Celebrate May Day across the district as we welcome back our BFF Summer Artist Markets, kick off the Summer of Petfest, and step into the 14th Summer of BFF.
Yeah, we're so ready for summer!
✨ Benson First Friday is brought to you by BFF Omaha ✨
The mission of BFF Omaha is to build community through arts engagement in the Benson Creative District and beyond! Become a Friend of BFF today and get exclusive PERKS every First Friday! Support BFF Omaha and become a Friend at the Artist Market or the BFF Happy Hour!
🎨 BFF SUMMER ARTIST MARKETS
📍 Military & Maple | 62nd & Maple
⏰ 6:00 - 10:00
Shop local and support Omaha artists at the BFF Artist Market. Discover handmade goods, original artwork, prints, and one-of-a-kind finds from a rotating lineup of makers and creatives.
PETFEST SUMMER: MAY
📍 Petshop Gallery, 2725 N 62nd St
⏰ 6:00–10:00 PM FREE
Starting May First Friday, PETFEST takes over the Petshop backlot all summer long. From May through September, we’re bringing your favorite PETFEST bands to every First Friday.
Join us May 1 for the Friend of BFF Happy Hour at Petshop, followed by sets from Vempire, Dead Poets, and Hair Person.
Huge shoutout to our PETFEST sponsors:
Fiber First, Benson Brewery, Ted and Wally’s, Ming Toy Gallery and Central Skate Shop
Tilt 23 at Ted and Wally’s
Tilt23 presents a First Friday lineup at Ted & Wally’s featuring live music from Calin James, NRP, Taylor Carnell, Marq Bumble, and Rilé and Andy, plus free scoops for BFF members.
✨ Openings in the BCD Galleries ✨
PETSHOP | 2725 - 2729 N. 62nd St. | April 3 | 6:00 - 10:00 | @petshopgallery
Petshop Gallery presents underbelly, a new body of ceramic work by Amelia Rosenberg. Her practice explores storytelling, lineage, and the natural world through detailed sculptural forms.
May Day: Celebration of Spring, Community and New Beginnings
May Day in the Benson Creative District, presented by Giant Joy Collective, is a free, all-ages celebration featuring artmaking, maypole dancing, a puppet performance, and a community procession to welcome spring.
BFF Gallery | 5901 Maple St. | April 3 | 6:00 - 10:00 | @thebffgallery
(Self)Portrait explores identity, likeness, and difference through a series of photographs featuring the artist and her twin sister.
MaMO | 2725 N. 62nd St. | April 3 | 6:00 - 10:00 | @bffmamo
Little Joys is an assemblage of 365 objects collected over the course of a year, each representing a small, everyday moment that carries a deeper personal story.
Ming Toy | 6606 Maple St. | April 3 | 6:00 - 10:00 | @mingtoygallery
Featuring more than 40 paintings installed throughout the gallery’s main floor and lower level, the exhibition explores emotion and spiritual reflection through geometric abstraction, color, and pattern.
Trudy's Artist Studios | 2814 N. 60th St. | April 3 | 6:00 - 9:00
Undercurrents at the Dock returns for its fourth session during Benson First Friday. This monthly series brings together local artists and performers for an intimate evening of live art, music, and poetry in a small but mighty DIY space.
Benson Theatre | 6054 Maple St. | April 3 | 5:00 - 12:00
Mayday! Mayday! Fight the Patriarchy, a unique, diverse-genre showcase featuring a DJ, two comedians, and musicians weaving together blues, hip hop, punk, indie, folk, and heavy vibes.
and so much more!
Check back Thursday night for the final event listings! Not seeing your event? Email jp@bffomaha.org to get on the list!
💛 FRIEND OF BFF PERKS
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
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!
Friend of BFF Business Members:
ASL Interpreting Services • Access Period • Blue Line Coffee • The Bay • Central Skate Shop • Dahlia House • FiberFirst • Gregg Grossman, Inc. • Heather Tedesco, Realtor, BHGRE • Jake’s Cigars • Maven Social • Metropolitan Community College • Ming Toy Gallery • Nebraska AIDS Project • Omaha Roller Derby • RAIL + STEAM • Removery • SET the Bar • Shipment Vintage • Slowdown • Snowy Sundaes • Star Deli • StudioDaze Omaha • Taco Co. • The Sydney
💛 THANK YOU TO OUR BENSON FIRST FRIDAY SUPPORTERS
Mutual of Omaha • Ted & Wally’s Ultra-Premium Homemade Ice Cream • Nebraska Arts Council • Nebraska Cultural Endowment
Produced by: BFF Omaha • Benson Creative District