Oceanside CA– If attendance is any indication of success, the future of the Oceanside ArtWalk is bright. The inaugural ‘First Friday ArtWalk’ was held, in downtown Oceanside, last night. A larger crowd than expected walked the free tour of restaurants, shops, businesses and the library.
“It is wonderful to see people circulating around downtown” said Rick Wright, Executive Director of MainStreet Oceanside, “People are discovering all the new businesses and seeing all the changes happening downtown.”
Lupe and Katie Joselyn made the trip to Oceanside from San Marcos for the ArtWalk. “This is really great” said Katie “This is our first ArtWalk” added Lupe, “We have an ArtWalk in San Marcos but we haven’t been able to attend because it’s on Sundays. It was great to be able to come here for this.”
Live music, free refreshments and, of course, art was available at many locations, downtown. Businesses not participating in the event also felt the benefits with long lines at many of the downtown restaurants.

Aly Uglow whose store Plethora Galleria survived the delay plagued Mission Avenue construction project said, “The crowd from the ArtWalk has been unbelievable” continued Aly “We have had a lot of new faces here, people who had no idea the shop was here.” Aly hopes to supplement the ‘First Friday’ event with her own ‘First Saturday’ event in the near future, at the Galleria.
Artist Ally was the hub of the activity with a crowd that was hard to navigate through enjoying the music and art on the ally. “If they can develop this, the ArtWalk will make Oceanside a soulful place” said Marvin Free, of Oceanside.”Oceanside has all the right ingredients and now she’s finding her soul.”
The inaugural event was sponsored by the Oceanside Museum of Art, The Hill Street Country Club, Carlos Miaco, LocalArtWalk, San Diego Supervisor Bill Horn, El Camino Country Club, Angel Print and MainStreet Oceanside.