Arts Council of the Valley announces First Fridays of the Valley January events

The Arts Council of the Valley is giving its First Fridays program a makeover, one that sets the stage for expansion over the next few years.

First Fridays of the Valley rolls out this week with 23 venues. An updated interactive online map (valleyarts.org/first-fridays-map) was designed to help residents and visitors plan their evening arts experiences.

Kathy Moran Wealth Group is Exclusive Sponsor for the 2022 First Fridays of the Valley program.

“The First Fridays program began in 2009 as an April-October partnership between ACV and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance,” ACV Executive Director Jenny Burden said.

Originally called First Fridays Downtown, the program – now coordinated by ACV – has grown into a full-year community event that includes retail shops, restaurants, galleries, and museums, bringing hundreds of people of all ages out to experience art at participating venues the first Friday of each month, she noted.

To launch the new name in the new year, several First Fridays of the Valley venues plan to host art receptions Jan 7.

Unless otherwise noted, events are scheduled 5-7 p.m.:

• Asbury United Methodist Church (205 S. Main St.) exhibits Winter Scenes, with works by multiple artists in various mediums. Visit during the 5-8 p.m. opening reception! asburydowntown.org
• Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce (800 Country Club Road) joins the First Fridays fun with an opening reception (6-8 p.m.) for Robert Bersson’s Inspired By Nature: Spray Paintings, 2019-2021. chamber.hrchamber.org/events/calendar
• Hess Financial (380 E. Market St.) will also exhibit enamel spray on paper works by Robert Bersson, in an exhibition titled Paintings, 2021. Meet the artist and enjoy refreshments during the First Fridays of the Valley opening reception. fb.me/e/Kkq4vxVS
• Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center (710 S. Main St.) opens Visions and Light, featuring fine art photography by Erin Harrigan and acrylic on canvas paintings by Bahir Al Badry. Meet the artists and listen to live music by the JMU Jazz Combo from 5-8 p.m. Jan. 7. Food and beverages are available for purchase at Quill’s lobby bar and Montpelier Restaurant. www.hotelmadison.com
• Lola’s Delicatessen (122 S. Main St., Ste 103) joins the First Fridays of the Valley program with an opening reception (5-8 p.m.) for Age of Flora, featuring archival ink-jet works by Chelsea Asha. fb.me/e/31ih77on8
• OASIS Fine Art and Craft (103 S. Main St.) invites you to an opening reception (5-8 p.m.) for a retrospective exhibition of watercolors and acrylics by Charlie Tibbits, Paul Kline, and Roy Roberts. facebook.com/events/324398482600231
• Sage Bird Ciderworks (325 N. Liberty St.) is open 4-11 p.m. Jan. 7, with an Artist Reception in its North Wing Gallery from 5 to 8 pm. Embroidery artist JoAnn McGranahan will be on hand to discuss her exhibition: Convergence: Explorations of Thread on Canvas. Charcuterie fixings and cider are available for purchase. facebook.com/events/442048720810516?ref=newsfeed
• Smith House Galleries (311 S. Main St.) hosts an opening reception for Art is Relative: A Marshman Family Exhibition, with works ranging from sculptures and automatons to paintings, photography, and fiber arts. valleyarts.org/current-exhibition
• Wilson Downtown Gallery (83 S. Main St.) offers pre-packaged refreshments during a Home for the Holidays art reception, with works by: Pamela Tittle, Penelope Matallana, Colleen Kivley, Viktoriya Samoylov, Lynda Chandler, Emily Leary, Emily Quesenberry; Holly Bess Kincaid and her Skyline Middle School students; Angel Moreno and her students from Thomas Harrison Middle School. wilsondowntowngallery.com
• The Wing Gallery at The Perch (85 W. Gay St.) features oil on canvas works by Brittany Dyer during an Artist Reception Jan. 7 from 5-8 p.m. theperchworkspace.com/events/the-wing-gallery-brittany-dyer

Other 2022 First Fridays of the Valley participating venues include: Arts Incarnate, Community Mennonite Church, Explore More Discovery Museum, The Friendly Fermenter, Gaines Group -more- Architects/The Depot, Horizon Gifts, Look West Gallery @ The Mark-It, Park Gables Gallery/VMRC, Rockingham Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Rocktown Yarn, Ten Thousand Villages, Village Juice & Kitchen, and Virginia Quilt Museum.

Support for First Fridays of the Valley – and ACV’s other programs – is provided by 2022 Cultivating the Arts Platinum Sponsors Kathy Moran Wealth Group, Matchbox Realty, and Riner Rentals.