Our local merchants plan exciting, engaging in-store events including food and beverage tastings, local art exhibits, retail trunk shows, live music, family activities, and entertainment in a special and unique way you'll only find in Downtown Boise. Stop into your favorite establishment or check out someplace new!
Events typically run from 5–9pm, but each merchant creatively plans their own event so check each listing below for individual hours and details.
House of Wine
1008 W Main St • 208-297-9463
Shop Food & Beverage Activity
Come join us at House of Wine for our exciting “April First Thursday” event April 2nd!
For this night we'll put aside our regular wine by the glass options and offer a COMPLIMENTARY three wine tasting from famed local producer, Telaya Wine Co.! We'll also have local favorite YUMMS Charcuterie offering samples of their delicious products.
The festivities begin at 5pm and last until 8pm. This is a free event and no registration is required. We look forward to welcoming you!
Banana Ink + Inkwell Paperie
214 N 9th St • (208) 345-1288
Art Shop Kid-Friendly Activity
Join us at Banana Ink and celebrate National Poetry Month and National Letter Writing Month with Inkwell Paperie!
Rediscovered Books - Boise
1576 W Grove • (208) 376-4229
Art Shop
Join us at Rediscovered Books on April 2nd between 4PM-7PM to tour beautiful handmade quilts and chat with the quilters themselves. Members from the Stories to Stitches Book Club and Boise Basin Quilters Guild will be our featured artists for the month of April. These quilts will be displayed throughout the entire month in our in-store Event Space for all to admire and enjoy.
Everyone is invited to this artist reception whether you are new to quilting, are a seasoned expert, or are simply an admirer of hard work and dedication.
Lenses & Brushes
404 S 8TH ST, L100 • 2085902612
Art Shop Food & Beverage
Join us at Lenses & Brushes for First Thursday on April 2 from 5:30–7:30 PM as we welcome featured artist Jeffery Oliver for our April Artist Series. Jeffery is a contemporary fine art photographer working across film and digital formats, creating images through digital, traditional darkroom, and alternative photographic processes. His work reflects a deep exploration of image-making techniques and creative expression. Stop by to experience his work, connect with the artist, and celebrate Boise’s vibrant creative community.
Art Source Gallery
1516 Grove St • 208-331-3374
Art Shop Music Food & Beverage Kid-Friendly Activity
Join Art Source Gallery for the opening of “Artistic Evolution,” featuring the artwork of Russ Garn, during First Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. April 2, 2026.
Garn’s expressive works in pen and ink with watercolor combine architectural accuracy with bold, cubist-inspired design. The exhibition reflects his evolving creative process and commitment to exploring new styles and ideas. Visitors are invited to experience the emotional depth and visual energy of his latest work. Free and open to the public.
The Basque Market
608 W Grove St • (208) 433-1208
Shop Food & Beverage
Join us for April First Thursday at The Basque Market 🍷
We’re bringing a taste of our travels to you with a special evening inspired by our trip through Rioja Alavesa! We'll be featuring wines from Solar de Randez alongside a lineup of pintxos that capture the flavors of the region.
Pintxos kick things off at 5 PM, with our signature paella served fresh at 6 PM. Come sip, snack, and taste your way through The Basque Country!
Boise Art Museum
670 Julia Davis Drive • (208) 345-8330
Art Shop Kid-Friendly Activity
Find inspiration and get creative at BAM during First Thursday! Admission is “pay what you can,” and the Museum is open late, until 7 p.m., to encourage Access for All. Experience BAM’s current exhibitions, including “Jeffrey Gibson: They Teach Love | from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.”
🎨 Drop in from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. and get creative in our FREE Studio Art Exploration program in BAM’s Education Studios. Collage a colorful, geometrical artwork using paper shapes, inspired by artist Jeffrey Gibson.
Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
🎁 Stop by the BAM STORE to find unique and creative gifts for all ages.
Curbside Books April Pop Up
1105 W Idaho St • (208) 344-8010
Art Shop Music Food & Beverage Kid-Friendly Activity
Curbside Books' Trolley Gallery First Thursday pop up event on April 2nd from 5-9pm will feature works from local linocut artist Jessica Evett.
Look for the red trolley parked in front of the Record Exchange. Grab a coffee drink special inside the store and enjoy some live music from buskers outside near the trolley when you're perusing art. Curbside Books' mobile bookstore/pop up art gallery will hold a variety of Evett's editioned prints, monoprints, upcycled textiles, handmade patches, bookmarks, cards, and linocut zines. Describing her style as "beauty and the beast," Evett's work ranges from fun creatures for the young at heart to subtle jabs at the heart of the matter. For the DIY crowd, there will be a Stamp Your Own Stuff station. Bring a garment or patch and put a bird on it (or skull, or a few other creatures) with a variety of Evett's pre-cut stamps and fabric ink as long as supplies last. $5-10 dollars per stamp, light or dark garments. The Record Exchange will offer coffee drink specials and live buskers throughout the evening. Visit Evett's Instagram @jessicaevettartist for examples of work and available stamps, then visit the Trolley Gallery and Record Exchange as part of your First Thursday!
JD's Bodega
161 N Capitol Blvd • (208)519-5516
Shop Food & Beverage Kid-Friendly Activity
Swing by JD's Bodega on your First Thursday journeys and grab a free popcorn and play a game of pinball on us. Check out all the delicious snacks and local vendors that we carry.
Mixed Greens
213 N 9th St • (208) 344-1605
Art Shop Food & Beverage Kid-Friendly
Mixed Greens is hosting Veer Wine Project and Wild Capri for April's First Thursday.
Veer Wine Project will be giving out samples and have wine for sell. Wild Capri will have samples of a variety of home and body products. Stop by to support local businesses!
Idaho Art Gallery
702 W Idaho St • (208) 733-4134
Art Shop Activity
Opening Reception: Florilegium by Emily Farish
Join us for the opening reception of Florilegium, a solo exhibition by New York–based artist Emily Farish, on Thursday, April 2 at Idaho Art Gallery in downtown Boise.
Farish is widely recognized for her monumental charcoal drawings of flowers, transforming fleeting botanical subjects into powerful, large-scale compositions. Working from flowers gathered and studied in her studio, she meticulously records each bloom’s subtle imperfections—rumpled petals, bending stems, insect nibbles, and even the tape and staples used to pin them to her studio wall.
Join us for art, conversation, and community in the heart of downtown Boise.
Liquid Lounge
405 S 8th St • (208) 287-5379
Art Shop Music Food & Beverage Activity
Free Comedy Show at Liquid Laughs Underground!
- Come have some fun at Boise's newest comedy show JUST THE TIPS! This is a free, tip-friendly show featuring the best local, regional, and touring comedians that will take place on the first Thursday of every month at Liquid Laughs Underground!
-This month's headliner will be Eli Singleton of Bozeman, MT! Eli is a regular at Last Best Comedy Club and he's also a booker/producer for Don't Tell Comedy in Montana. He's opened for many big names and done the road all over the Western U.S.
-He will be joined by longtime friend and Bozeman comic Stone Casad, Zander Yuan of Pocatello, ID as your host and a couple other special guests!
- THIS IS A FREE SHOW! Seats are first come, first served so get here early, have some dinner and drinks downstairs and let's party!
Graeber & Company Lifestyle Salon + Facial Bar
420 W Main St • (208) 343-4915
Shop
Visit us during our regular business hours all day and receive 10% off any Aveda, Oribe, Epicutis or Smashbox products.