It started a decade ago, with a map and some cheese cubes.

Back then, on the first Friday evening of the month, you’d follow a list of galleries on a cool urban art walk in downtown Oakland, take in the masterpieces, sip wine in a plastic cup, munch the ubiquitous cheese and call it a night.

But now. Oh, now. It has swelled into the city’s biggest monthly public event with a massive street festival drawing about 20,000 people, shutting down Telegraph Avenue between West Grand Avenue and 27th Street and branching out onto side streets in Oakland’s revitalized Uptown and KONO (Koreatown Northgate) districts, with vendor booths, music, dancing, food — and yes, art.

While everyone just calls it First Fridays, it’s really two events in one, run by separate groups: Oakland Art Murmur, which started it all and continues to organize the gallery walk, and Oakland’s First Fridays Festival, which runs the huge urban block party.

Whatever it is and however it happened, it’s a very Oakland scene: all manner of colors, careers, creeds, ages, abilities and styles. As you walk through the crowded streets, there’s a cacophony of competing sounds — salsa on this corner, a New Orleans brass band on another, hip-hop here, classical guitar there, plus a guy doing stand-up comedy in the middle of it all, merging in some sort of happy heartbeat of bass lines and bad jokes.

People are turf dancing, popping, locking, gliding or doing just downright contortionist moves to rival the performers in Cirque du Soleil. Others play ping pong in an outdoor beer garden/art gallery/classic-car showroom. The air is perfumed with the smoke of various vegetation. And people-watching is part of the fun: “Look at that guy in the all-denim bodysuit — oh wait, that’s tattoos!”

This is definitely a scene to be seen, but it helps to know what you’re doing. Here are a few tips to field the First Fridays fray.

GETTING THERE AND AROUND

First time? Go early, especially if you’re taking your kids along. The event runs from 5 to 9:30 p.m., and lots of 20/30-somethings use the street party as an appetizer to a night out in the burgeoning Uptown bar scene. So the later you go, the busier it gets, and you’ll find yourself pushing through the crowd like a salmon moving upstream.

Parking is a bear if you want to get close. Some pop-up lots will charge up to $35. Other lots and garages are more reasonable. And if you don’t mind walking a few blocks, you can find street parking, which is free after 6 p.m. Be aware of your surroundings when you walk back to your car, and don’t leave stuff in it.

Best bet: Take BART (19th Street station) or AC Transit, or a cab or car-share.

ON THE STREET

Even the vendor booths are not what you’d see at your average suburban art & wine fair. (No offense, suburbs.) You might find an old funky school bus morphed into a vintage clothing store. Or a table of sequined bike helmets by artist Seevon Chau, who specializes in “creations that raise vibrations.” You can sign up for cannabis home delivery. A guy is selling “Oakland versus Everybody” T-shirts, and yet another dude mans a “God booth,” with shirts reading “I (heart) God.”

There’s interactive art. ArtisMobilUs often puts up an “AnyBodyCanPaint” art wall — a huge plywood panel with paints for passers-by to dabble. Bands, from MJ’s Brass Boppers to the Phat Luv band are stationed on various corners. And don’t miss the eclectic shops along that stretch of Telegraph, from hair braiding to a haven of vinyl at EconoJam Records — think Dr. Dre to Loretta Lynn.

ART AND ABOUT

Oh yes, there’s art. Galleries galore, but most at First Fridays are on the side streets off Telegraph, in some of the old brick auto-repair shops from 23rd to 26th streets. You might try stopping in at Johansson Projects at 23rd, a contemporary gallery and ground zero for the original art walks. A few steps east on 23rd, a black velvet curtain drapes the entry to the Chandra Cerrito gallery, and the very nice Chandra is happy to explain the latest installation to the most clueless of gallery-goers. Up on 26th Street, prepare to feel all urban and edgy at Warehouse 416, where there’s a red-lit, pop-up bar, sometimes tended by Eva Destruction (her Burning Man name), plus perhaps maybe an art show with an oasis of plastic plants, a tarot reading booth or works by Damon Powell, an “artist and theologian.”

Art tip: If you just want art and no boisterous street party, Oakland Art Murmur also organizes a Saturday Stroll through galleries around town from 1 to 5 p.m. every Saturday. Visit www.oaklandartmurmur.org.

FOOD AND MORE:

Food booths toward the 27th Street end of the fest have vegan offerings, chicken wings, barbecue and more. But one fun must-try stop is the KP Asian Market at 24th. KP stands for Koreana Plaza, and the store is filled with huge packs of baked seaweed, a towering display of Spam cans, entire aisles of soy and fish sauce and a locked liquor cabinet with Louis XIII cognac for $2,999 that looks like it’s been there a long time.

But the best part is in the parking lot, where food tents are set up with women stirring big metal pots of bibimbap and pot stickers, and every item is a flat $5.

And don’t forget your surroundings. Uptown is the happening district in Oakland, and a new restaurant or bar seems to open every other day. Check out Make Westing, or the Lost & Found Beer Garden on Telegraph. Even some of the old spots offer extras on First Fridays. The Stork Bar has a free burlesque show at 9:30 p.m. and an ever-present weird collection of Barbie dolls. Uptown is also home to The New Parkway community movie theater, on 24th just off Telegraph, long known for its offbeat programming, cozy couches and yummy food/bevs.

Contact Angela Hill at ahill@bayareanewsgroup.com, or follow her on Twitter @GiveEmHill.