I suppose it is becoming more and more difficult to appease everyone: the artists who want to exhibit/sell their wares, the people who want to see and be seen in the place where it is trendy to see and be seen, the retail outlets ("galleries") that want to be venues, and the people who are there for the drinks and not the art, per se. The function of the "First Friday," which largely has become deemphasized in other cities already, has expanded and dissolved, simultaneously. It is not a place for pure art...the partiers want to party, the loungers want to lounge, etc.

Things change. As someone else mentioned, this is not the only venue for artists to display their works (on the street or in galleries.) It was nice for what it was...

Maybe it is time to rethink the whole thing to simplify. It gets less effective the broader the emphasis gets.