Arts Council of the Valley’s First Fridays of the Valley provides a chance to celebrate the arts – and the start of the first weekend – each month.
On Friday, Oct. 7, 16 venues will host visual and/or performing arts experiences.
Venues hosting arts events Friday (5-7 p.m. unless otherwise noted):
- Arts Incarnate (75 N Mason St.) opens a new art exhibition of paintings/collages in encaustic, wax, and salt by Sarah Phillips. Meet the artist during a 4:30-7 p.m. reception and then enjoy a concert of world music by Project Locrea from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The Project Locrea ensemble will perform compositions inspired by the folk music traditions of Bulgaria, Argentina, Peru, China, Ethiopia and the U.S.
- ArtWorks Gallery (131 Grace St.) opens a new Design Program Exhibition, Amsterdam, with a reception.
- Asbury United Methodist Church (205 S Main St.) hosts a reception for City Scapes, an exhibition of paintings and photographs by various artists.
- Court Square Theater (41-F Court Square) offers Rocktown Improv First Friday Wind Down at 7:30 p.m. (suggested donation $5 per person).
- Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art (820 S Main St.) welcomes you to a reception for Nekisha Durrett’s installation of monumental text panels encrusted with the soil of Washington, DC’s Brookland neighborhood where her father grew up. True Grit is open now through Oct. 15.
- The Gaines Group at The Depot (141 W. Bruce St., Suite 201) welcomes you to a reception of paintings by Wendy Lam. Enjoy refreshments, meet the artist; see her intricate depictions of bees, fish, and insects, and whimsical portrayals of cows and sheep.
- Horizon Gifts (60 W Market St.) highlights prints by Deviant Kreations and music by Troutmouth. Meet the artist and share in the fun from 5-8 p.m.
- Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center (710 S Main St.) holds a 5-8 p.m. artist reception for Fading Summer on the Farm, Rebecca Ryan’s exhibition of acrylic on canvas works. Food/beverages are available for purchase at Quill’s lobby bar and Montpelier Restaurant.
- Lola’s Delicatessen (122 S Main St., Suite 103) invites you to an opening reception for Shadows, Specters, and Sorcery for the Month of Samhain, an exhibition of Bryant Beverly’s graphite and colored pencil works.
- OASIS Fine Art and Craft (103 S Main St.) welcomes you to Friends of the Earth, a new exhibition of watercolor and acrylic works by Marsha Heatwole. Meet the artist and enjoy live music by Cousin Jimmy’s Stringband during the opening reception.
- Park Gables Gallery at VMRC (1491 Virginia Ave.) hosts a reception for the 36th Annual Members Show of the Shenandoah Valley Watercolor Society.
- Sage Bird Ciderworks (325 N Liberty St.) opens Barefoot, an exhibition of oil paintings by Cyndi Gusler. Meet the artist and enjoy complimentary charcuterie in the North Wing Gallery during the 5 to 8 p.m. Artist Reception. Gabe Ravel & Friends provide live jazz in the taproom from 7 to 9 p.m.
- Smith House Galleries (311 S Main S.t) hosts an opening reception for Lands and Lives Not My Own, an exhibition of collage and mixed media works (many of them kimonos) by Williamsburg artist Caroline Garrett Hardy. Meet the artist (whose work can be found in The Vatican Museum and Windsor Castle, among other locations); enjoy indie-pop music by singer-songwriter Tarini as you sample light refreshments. Smith House Galleries will also be open Second Saturday (Oct. 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) for another chance to visit with the artist
- Virginia Quilt Museum (301 S Main St.) holds a reception for a juried exhibition of 32 contemporary works by the North Carolina and Virginia Region of Studio Art Quilt Associates. Enjoy refreshments and see “Let the Sun Shine In!” featuring works offering a ray of hope and perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Wilson Downtown Gallery (83 S Main St.) invites you to an opening reception. Enjoy light refreshments and be among the first to see a new exhibition of acrylic paintings, “Selected Works by Dietrich Maune.”
- The Wing Gallery at The Perch (85 W Gay St.) “Mountains in Motion,” Andrew DeVier-Scott’s new exhibition and reception. Talk with the artist about his landscape and adventure photography – as well as his custom wood frames.
Other 2022 First Fridays of the Valley venues are: Community Mennonite Church, Explore More Discovery Museum, Frame Factory & Gallery, The Friendly Fermenter, Green Hummingbird, Harrisonburg Baptist Church, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, Hess Financial, Look West Gallery @ The Mark-It, Pale Fire Brewing Co, Rockingham Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Rocktown Yarn, Ten Thousand Villages, and Village Juice and Kitchen.
Support for First Fridays of the Valley – and other Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) programs – is provided by 2022 Cultivating the Arts Platinum Sponsors Kathy Moran Wealth Group, Matchbox Realty and Riner Rentals.
For more information, visit valleyarts.org
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Crystal Graham
