First Fridays by the Onyx Society

www.myspace.com/onyxsocietyfirstfridays
June 1, 2007
9pm – 2am
Cityplace
$20 admission
Cash bar

First Fridays. Remember the concept? The first Friday of every month there was a networking/social event for African-American professionals in most major cities. I think the concept originated in Chicago; if I’m wrong let me know in the comments section. Eventually they became more social event than networking event; and eventually patrons included professionals and non-professionals alike. The events were popular about 10 years ago but eventually attendance began to wane and the events died a slow death. Imagine my surprise when I learned that First Fridays had risen from the grave here in Dallas. But maybe the afterlife is where these events should stay.

June’s First Friday was sponsored by the Onyx Society. After extensive research (or an attempt at extensive research) I still don’t know what the Onyx Society is, how you gain membership, or why you would want to be a member. Thankfully, I didn’t need any of the answers to those questions in order to attend the event. The modus operandi of First Fridays hasn’t changed much. There were four party rooms – a steppers room, an old school room, a rap/hip-hop room (one day I’m going to figure out exactly what “hip-hop” means – is it a genre of music, a culture unto itself, a little bit of both?), and a VIP room. Consequently, party goers ranged in age from 23 to 60. Big spread huh? Most of the older guests spent their time in the steppers room. The youngest patrons spent their time in the rap/hip-hop room. The VIP room seemed to be a haven for 30 somethings and 40 somethings who were somehow affiliated with the Onxy Society. Oddly enough, the Old School room remained empty for most of the evening.

Despite its attempt at providing something for everyone, the event was not well attended. I was there for roughly three hours and at its pinnacle, perhaps there were 200 people scattered throughout three of the four rooms. I still don’t understand why the old school room was so unpopular. Perhaps it was the location. You had to search for it a little. The two rooms that were most popular (steppers and rap/hip-hop) were on the third and fourth floors respectively and the floors were connected by a convenient set of stairs making it easy to move back and forth between the two. Speaking of the steppers room…if I knew how to step (some of you may know it as swing dancing), I am sure I would have had a BALL. There was no shortage of dance partners and it looked like so much fun. Note to self, call your uncle and get him to teach you to step ASAP.

In the final analysis – First Friday was a disappointment. It had its good points – great music, lots of free parking, a convenient location, and plenty of sitting areas in case you met someone you wanted to get to know better. But none of those things matter when you’ve got no one to dance with and no one to talk to. Still, I would be willing to give it a second chance. It may be at the bottom of my list of fun ways to spend a Friday night, but at least it’s on the list.