Home » Hopewell Cruise Night Kicks of Summer of “First Fridays”

Hopewell Cruise Night Kicks of Summer of “First Fridays”

by Ryan Kennedy

Update: 5/4/16:  As reported in this article yesterday, the May 6 Cruise Night has been postponed due to weather and will now coincide with the June 3rd First Friday events.

Friday May 6 kicks off several months of “First Friday” events in Hopewell Borough, with the Spring ‘Cruise Night’ anchoring an initiative of the Borough’s 125th Anniversary and Economic Development Committees.  

Lisa Sprague (of Sophia Rose Designs) and Ryan Kennedy (MercerMe contributor and attorney at Stevens & Lee), members of the EDC in Hopewell and the 125th Anniversary committee have partnered to launch this initiative to promote local businesses in the Borough. Celebrating the art, dining and shopping that Hopewell Borough already offers, participating businesses and organizations will be open late for the “First Friday” of each month, starting this Friday.

Involved businesses will proudly display window clings to let people know they will stay open late on the first Friday of the month, with a design developed and donated by Janice Schroeder of Occasions Paperie.  Printing of the promotional material was donated by SpeedPro Imaging.

Art galleries, antique stores, gifts, toys and design shops are among the initial participants.  The Hopewell United Methodist Church on Blackwell Avenue has been having First Friday ‘open mic nights’ for several months and the committee hopes that the cross promotion will start connecting the dots between the exiting places that have made the Borough a walkable dining and shopping destination.

The current plan is to host the events each ‘First Friday’ May through Oct of 2016, anchored on each end by the Borough’s successful Cruise Night events.  People can stroll the streets of Hopewell, be tempted to wonder into the local businesses and shop, visit local art galleries, and then stay to dine in one of our wonderful local restaurants.  This Friday’s kick off will also feature classic cars lining Broad Street, live music and many restaurants offering special walkable versions of their best dishes.

MercerMe has created a google walking tour of participating businesses and Borough restaurants to check out during Cruise Night and upcoming First Fridays this year. Join us in trying to visit them all!

Trouble viewing the map? Click here.

Please note:  MercerMe contributor Ryan Kennedy is a member of the Hopewell Borough Economic Development Committee, one of the organizations mentioned in this article.  

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