We’ve lived in Charleston for almost five years, and during that time we are trying to save as much money as possible to afford our sailing adventure. So when someone uses the f-word (no, not that one!) my ears perk up.

Free events are my jam! Between finding free events and volunteering as a means of getting in to festivals for free, our social calendar is booked steady and we rarely spend a dime.

The best date night in Charleston just happens to be free, and it’s one of Charleston’s best-kept secrets. It’s got everything – gorgeous downtown Charleston, free food and wine, and a huge variety of art from local artists!

That’s right, we’re talking about First Fridays on Broad!

Why does no one know about this event? Well, the Charleston Gallery Association technically only sponsors/advertises four events per year, but most galleries stay open late every single First Friday (the first Friday of each month, the event runs from 5 to 8pm). Even on the CGA website there’s hardly any information about the event. Charleston City Paper has a First Friday page on their site, but it’s static and has very little information, plus they link to the wrong site.

Why is this event so great? First of all, you wander through beautiful historic Charleston as the sun sets. Second, in between wandering, you stop at different galleries, each with their own personality and variety of artwork. Third, nearly every gallery provides small servings of wine and hors d’oeuvres. And all of this comes at no cost to you. Of course, if you pick out a piece of artwork that you simply can’t live without, it might end up being a very expensive date night!

We attended First Fridays almost every month. The big nights are the ones sponsored by the CGA, which means more galleries are open and there’s usually a lot more food. These happen in March, May, September and December. However, even on the off-months there is plenty to see. There were probably two occasions where we went out and hardly any galleries were open.

After attending so many First Friday events, we got to know the galleries and even some of the people. We have our favorite route to walk – the event is more than just the galleries on Broad St, there is a map available on the CGA website or you can usually pick up a map at the first gallery you go into. One of our favorite galleries is Robert Lange Studios, below is art from Nathan Durfree, hosted at RLS.

We love exploring the architecture of the galleries. Many are located in old buildings, and there are a few that have upstairs areas or courtyards to explore.

One last local tip: it’s not easy to find free parking in Charleston. Parking garages and meters cost about the same, so if those are your options I’d park in a garage. But, there are some streets with a very ambiguous sign that actually means free parking after 6pm. The sign says “2 hr parking, residential district” but then a smaller sign underneath says “9am-6pm, Mon-Fri,” which means it’s residential parking during the hours posted. If there’s no sign with the hours, assume that area is residential ONLY. We usually parked on Legare St, just off Broad.

I consider this to be one of the best events in Charleston, and highly recommend it to everyone!