Second Saturday is, as the term would suggest, the second Saturday of a month. Some communities designate Second Saturday for specific community events, with the goal of encouraging the population to get active and explore their community. In regions where several neighboring communities want to hold similar events, they may agree to stagger them, holding First Friday, Third Sunday, and so forth to spread the events out so that people can participate in all of them.

One of the most common Second Saturday events is a gallery walk, often designated with signs, chalk drawings on the pavement, and so forth so that people can easily identify participating establishments. Neighboring art galleries may collectively agree to hold art openings on Second Saturday, keeping their doors open late into the evening with receptions so that people can look at the art and meet the artist. Live music, food, and other forms of entertainment may be offered. Bookstores may also get in on the act with author appearances, poetry readings, and so forth on Second Saturday, tying events into the arts theme. Other retailers may provide space on their walls for art displays and stay open on Second Saturday as well.

Usually, organizing a Second Saturday requires a cluster of businesses close together that are willing to coordinate. In compact downtown districts, a Second Saturday may be marked with lots of pedestrians mingling on the sidewalks and in the streets, and some cities actually close down intersections for Second Saturday to encourage community gathering. Coffeehouses, restaurants, and other establishments may also stay open late on Second Saturday, and participants may be able to go dancing, attend art workshops, and engage in other activities at a well-organized Second Saturday.

Many communities tie Second Saturday into tourism promotions, featuring their Second Saturdays in brochures designed to attract people to the area. Some savvy hotels and inns even offer Second Saturday arts-themed packages, in which people who visit on a Second Saturday weekend get tickets to a theater production or concert on Friday as part of their stay.

One advantage to designating a specific day for arts-related events is that the day gathers momentum over time. People don't need to remember specific dates of gallery opening and other arts events, because they can assume that these events will take place on Second Saturday. Promotional materials for Second Saturday also never get old, as long as addresses and phone numbers of listed establishments are current, and visitors often enjoy the continuity and consistency, knowing that there will always be something to do on the Second Saturday of the month if they want to visit.