Arts Council of the Valley to take part in the Best.Weekend.Ever.

The Arts Council of the Valley First Fridays Downtown program provides an artful launch for the Best.Weekend.Ever. event coordinated by Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance.

In-person opening receptions and other arts experiences are planned during First Fridays Downtown at these venues: Gaines Group Architects (141 W. Bruce St., Suite 201); Hess Financial (380 E. Market St.); Horizon Gifts (111 N. Liberty St.); OASIS Fine Art & Craft (103 S. Main St.); Ten Thousand Villages (181 S. Main St.); The Virginia Quilt Museum (301 S. Main St.); Smith House Galleries (311 S Main St); and Wilson Downtown Gallery (83 S. Main St.).

An online map provides information on each venue (valleyarts.org/first-fridays-map).

Then, on Saturday, Sept 4, ACV offers more opportunities to experience the arts:

• Come by Court Square Theater for free tours AND free popcorn between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., along with a chance to meet new Managing Director J.P. Gulla. The theater is located at 41-F Court Square.
• Also at Court Square Theater, beginning at 1 p.m., Valley Playhouse actors will entertain you with a free reading of Harvey, Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy about a tall invisible rabbit and his human friend.
• Visit Smith House Galleries, 311 South Main Street, between noon and 4 p.m. to see Here + There: Exploring Multi-layered Identity through Photography. The exhibition features photographic collages by seven Harrisonburg High School students, all of whom have lived as refugees. In addition, Deborah Pugh’s The Keepers of Secret Selves: Photography as a Counter-Narrative to Ageism is in The Upstairs Gallery. Tour both exhibitions online at valleyarts.org/current-exhibition.
• Gather at the Language of Love sculpture behind the Smith House between 2 and 4 p.m. for a Community Sculpture Painting Day. Using stencils representing the multicultural makeup of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham area, you’ll help artist Jeff Guinn paint the area’s newest piece of public art. Visit the Facebook event page for details on how you can take part in this fun, community-building activity (fb.me/e/4u2i6QU00).

Support for ACV is provided by 2021 Cultivating the Arts Platinum Sponsors Kathy Moran Wealth Group, Matchbox Realty, and Riner Rentals.