Posts Tagged ‘weather’
Awesome Art & Warmer Weather = An Amazing First Fridays
Posted by Christina in Uncategorized on March 29th, 2010
First Fridays Art Walk / Richmond, VA
April 2, 2010
The next First Fridays Art Walk will continue to bring Downtown alive as the April 2, 2010 event will feature a wealth of activities, including an award winning public art installation by renowned architect Peter Culley, anticipated anniversary celebrations at 1708 Gallery and Gallery 5, plus numerous exhibitions, lots of live music, artist demonstrations and vendors, and always, the unexpected. And the forecasted warmer weather will certainly make the event a popular one. Along with free entertainment, visitors to First Fridays will find unique shopping opportunities, highly ranked restaurants, and some of Richmond’s best hotels in the surrounding area. Downtown is Richmond’s top cultural destination for a night on the town or an exciting creative weekend getaway.
April 2nd is notable as the second installment in a three month-long effort known as, “First Fridays East.
” This exciting spring project is a new collaboration between Curated Culture and some of Downtown’s top cultural venues located just east of the heart of First Fridays, between 6th and 9th Streets, including Library of Virginia, Richmond CenterStage, St Paul’s Episcopal Church, and UR Downtown. Each venue will feature a variety of free activities and entertainment between 5:00pm-8:00pm on April 2 and again on May 7.
Visitors to “First Fridays East” will be treated to powerful exhibitions, artist talks and demonstrations at the Library of Virginia and at St. Paul’s, while a diversity of great live music will be featured at Richmond CenterStage and UR Downtown.
CenterStage will present a night of local jazz with the Richmond Youth Jazz Guild Small Ensemble, Richmond Jazz Composers Alliance Quintet, and the Richmond Youth Jazz Guild Large Ensemble, and UR will host the University’s Bossa Nova and Samba Ensemble (featuring Kevin Harding on guitar) as well as The Octaves, UR’s all-male a capella group. As with First Fridays, “First Fridays East” will feature something for everyone!
Free parking is available at St Paul’s Episcopal Church beginning at 5:00pm. Free parking is also available at the Library of Virginia parking deck from 5:00-8:00pm.
Highlights of the upcoming April 2 First Fridays Art Walk:
- “Light House 1: Jackson Ward, RVA” – lighted public art installation to be reinstalled at Visual Art Studio parking lot (208 W Broad St). Created for the original 2008 InLight Richmond event organized by 1708 Gallery, “Light House” was the award winning piece, and is a representation of a Jackson Ward house, but is seen only by the glowing presence of the interior and exterior at night. It is produced by an extensive team of artists led by Peter Culley, head of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts expansion project, and this reinstallation is part of the celebrations leading up to the VMFA’s grand opening. http://www.spatialaffairsbureau.com/
- “First Fridays East” – Start off your First Fridays evening with special events in the eastern area of Downtown between 5:00pm-8:00pm at the Library of Virginia (artist demos & exhibition), Richmond CenterStage (live local jazz throughout the night), St Paul’s Episcopal Church (exhibitions & tours of the historic Tiffany windows), UR Downtown (live Bossa Nova & Samba music.)
- Richmond CenterStage will also be hosting a Food Drive for the Central Virginia Food Bank, so bring plenty of cans goods to help those in need in our community.
- 1708 Gallery celebrates the 20th Anniversary of their popular Annual Art Auction. “Home is Where the Art Is” will feature a diverse range of artworks by 70 artists. This is always a not-to-be-missed event in the creative community since it’s a great opportunity to acquire sought after artists while supporting Richmond’s oldest nonprofit galleries. Honorary Chair of this year’s anniversary celebration is Alex Nyerges, Director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
- Gallery 5 kicks off a month-long celebration of its 5th Anniversary with a special photography exhibition featuring work by a dozen photographers celebrating the gallery’s last 5 uniquely creative years. Live music, theatre, and poetry to accompany the exhibition.
- Richmond Public Library (Main Branch) celebrates National Poetry Month with the 2010 Brodie Herndon Poetry lecture at 7:00pm, featuring Kathleen Graber, author of the book Correspondence and winner of the 2005 Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize.
- Quirk Gallery artist vendors – a variety of artists and crafts vendors can always been found at the parking lot located next to the wildly popular shop, Quirk.
- Reggae group, Unity Sound, will perform at Metro Sound & Music for a free CD release show.
First Fridays Redux: It’s Never Too Early to Plan Your Weekend
Posted by Christina in Special Events at First Fridays, Uncategorized on February 15th, 2010
Updated: Friday, February 19 12:30pm
If you’re like me, you’re eager to get out of the house. So that’s why I’m excited to be visiting the First Fridays Art Walk venues this coming Friday night. Let’s just call it a “First Fridays Redux.” So join me on this Friday, February 19 and take in new exhibitions, unique shopping and some incredible dining. Here’s a run down of who will be open on Friday, but be sure to check back as we get closer to Friday for any updates. I’ll also be posting updates on Twitter, so be sure to follow me at: firstfridaysrva
See You Downtown!
Christina
Accommodations:
- Linden Row Inn – featuring exhibition The Muse Among Us and a premium cash bar / 6:00pm-9:00pm
Cultural Venues:
- Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Va – opening reception for the new exhibition, Take Our Stand, featuring guest speaker Dr. Kimberley Phillips, Professor of American Studies and History at the College of William and Mary, and refreshments and live music by Glennroy Bailey / 6:00pm-8:30pm
- Elegba Folklore Society – featuring Vandorn Hinnant’s exhibition Of Numbers and Other Mysteries / 6:00pm-9:00pm
Galleries:
- 1708 Gallery – opening reception of Forest For The Trees by artists Dana Sperry and Chad Erpelding / 6:30pm-8:00pm with Artist Talk at 6:30pm
- art6 – presenting Stayin’ Alive fundraiser featuring artsy yard sale, silent auction, door prizes, and refreshments / 6:00pm-10:00pm
- Corporate & Museum Frame – featuring the photography of Matt Cowan and Craig Rudlin / 7:00pm-10:00pm
- Gallery 5 – ticketed live music performance by: A Storm Of Light, Mia Vengeance, Might Could, Suzukiton / 7:00pm and $8
- Ghostprint Gallery – featuring Italian Art & Design / 7:00pm-10:00pm
- ISHQ Gallery – artwork by “Lost Boy,” Awer Bul. The works on display are both his and works by Sudanese refugees from the Kenyan camp that he held art workshops in. Proceeds from sales will directly raise money for United Families for Sudan’s project to dig a well in southern Sudan / 7:00-10:00pm
- Quirk – featuring Sane Enough, photography of Ann Bradshaw, and mixed media works of Debbie Quirk & Elizabeth Perkins / 6:00pm-10:00pm
- Studio/Gallery 6 – featuring Pattern Searching Animals, mixed media work of Todd Hale / 7:00pm-12:00am
- Visual Art Studio – featuring Forgotten Memories, new paintings by Chris Semtner / 5:00pm-9:00pm
Restaurants:
- Belvidere on Broad – open for dinner & drinks 5:00pm-close & the mixed media artwork of Jonathan Weston
- Bistro 27 – featuring dinner from 5:00pm-10:00pm and artwork by David Cochran
- Lemaire – open for dinner and drinks 4:00pm-1:00am
- LIft Coffee Shop – open 7:00am-7:00pm
- Popkin’s Tavern – open for dinner and drinks 11:30am-2:00am
- Tarrant’s Cafe – open for dinner and drinks 11:00am-midnight & featuring large-scale work by artist Janet Shaunessy
Winter Getting You Down? Downtown’s Got the Cure!
Posted by Christina in Special Events at First Fridays on February 12th, 2010
The wintery weather continues to hit RVA, so much so, that we had to basically cancel our regular First Fridays Art Walk event on February 5th, but you can enjoy new exhibitions, unique shopping, musical performances, artist talks, romantic dining, and theatrical performances this weekend.
Details below and on our www.firstfridaysrichmond.com website
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2010
- CORPORATE & MUSEUM FRAME – 301 West Broad Street
Photography by Matt Cowan and Craig Rudlin
6:00-10:00pm
Free
- GALLERY 5 – 200 West Marshall Street
Sweethearts for the Arts: A Blush-Worthy Benefit for Art on Wheels
8:00pm
$15
The fundraiser will include burlesque and variety performances, live music, and a date auction. Proceeds support the nonprofit Art on Wheels.
- GHOSTPRINT GALLERY – 220 West Broad Street
Italian Art & Design
6:00-9:00pm
Free Exhibition featuring furniture, glassware, ceramics and 2-dimensional works of art.
- RICHMOND PUBLIC LIBRARY – 101 East Franklin Street
Exhibition Reception & Richmond Writers Series event
7:00-9:00pm
Free
Richmond Writers Series:
Margaret Edds at 7:00pm, reading from her new book, “Finding Sara: A Daughter’s Journey” http://www.margaretedds.com
Exhibitions on View: Gellman Room - Pictural Colloquy, collection of works by local illustrator Tin Salamunic Dooley Foyer - Nocturne Paintings: Richmond artist, Tobin Karicher presents paintings exploring luminosity, atmosphere, and the subliminal Dooley Hall - Fantasy in Collage, digital collage with writing, drawing and photography by Christine StoddardUnderwater Creature Linoleum Series, linoleum block prints by Nina Starfish Second Floor Gallery - Portraits and Still Lifes, pencil and charcoal drawings by Richmond artist Robert Jones David Freed Gallery – features the Library’s permanent collection of prints of renowned authors by Richmond printmaker, David Freed Newbold Perkins Gallery – paintings by Anne Newbold Perkins, Richmond artist and former Richmond Public Library artist.
- THEATRE IV – Empire Theatre, 114 West Broad Street
The Song of Mulan
7:00pm
Adult $22; Senior & Student: $21; Child: $18
When Mulan learns that her ailing father is drafted into Khan’s army, she protects him by serving in his place. Disguised as a boy, she risks
everything to maintain family honor and earn the love of her nation. This noble Chinese folk tale features an extraordinary heroine, a dynamic and powerful score, gorgeous costumes and one of the most inspiring stories of all time. Performance for ages 4 and up
- VISUAL ART STUDIO – 208 West Broad Street
Chris Semtner: Forgotten Memories
5:00-8:00pm
Free
Semtner’s delicately rendered, mostly small-scale acrylic paintings on wood present a dark, mysterious, and dangerous world in which people are victims of their own fears and desires. His work has affinities with the surreal worlds of such writers as Kafka or Poe, but Semtner’s beautifully lyrical works simultaneously call to mind such disparate visual sources as Art Nouveau, Dutch genre painting, and ‘sixties horror movie posters.
- RESTAURANTS OPEN: Belvidere on Broad Lemaire Popkin’s Tavern Tarrant’s Café
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2010
- THEATRE IV – Empire Theatre, 114 West Broad Street
The Song of Mulan
Performances at 10:00am, 3:00pm, 6:00pm
Adult $22; Senior & Student: $21; Child: $18
When Mulan learns that her ailing father is drafted into Khan’s army, she protects him by serving in his place. Disguised as a boy, she risks
everything to maintain family honor and earn the love of her nation. This noble Chinese folk tale features an extraordinary heroine, a dynamic and powerful score, gorgeous costumes and one of the most inspiring stories of all time. Performance for ages 4
- QUIRK GALLERY – 311 West Broad Street
Our Favorite Valentines
11:00am-4:00pm
Quirk invites you to experience their favorite valentines, Orchids from Chadwicks Orchids, chocolates de Rochonnet Delights, pastries from Garnett’s Café, and handmade valentines from artist Stacy Moore.
- 1708 GALLERY – 319 West Broad Street
Artist Talk with Barbara Campbell Thomas
1:00pm
Free
Artist Barbara Campbell Thomas will present an Artist Talk at 1:00pm on her current exhibition Painting (in part, and in pieces), which comprises large pieced together paintings on paper, small highly layered paintings on canvas and a series of mid-sized collages made in tandem. All the work employs an intensely colorful and fragmentary abstract language of shape, line and texture.
- CHEZ FOUSHEE Corner of East Grace Street & Foushee
Pre-Valentines Dinner
Seating’s 6:00pm & 8:30pm
$40 per person
Visit www.chezfoushee.com for details and reservations
- GALLERY 5 – 200 West Marshall Street
Sleight of Hand II: A National Juried Contemporary Craft Show
7:00-11:00pm Awards ceremony 7:30pm
Free
This exhibition will feature works chosen by a selected panel of jurors. Award recipients will receive cash prices and gift certificates from Plaza Artist Materials www.plazaart.com Featuring works by: Kyle Shover, Jacquelyn Walther, Nathalie David, Nathan Hansen, Christine Alaniz, Diana Baumbach, Aimee Joyaux, Lucy Bergen, Amanda Outcalt, Danielle Stevens
Featuring Musical Performances By: Young Adult Fiction and Midair
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2010
- THEATRE IV – Empire Theatre, 114 West Broad Street
The Song of Mulan
2:00pm
Adult $22; Senior & Student: $21; Child: $18
When Mulan learns that her ailing father is drafted into Khan’s army, she protects him by serving in his place. Disguised as a boy, she risks
everything to maintain family honor and earn the love of her nation. This noble Chinese folk tale features an extraordinary heroine, a dynamic and powerful score, gorgeous costumes and one of the most inspiring stories of all time. Performance for ages 4
- GALLERY 5 - 200 West Marshall Street
Punk Rock Valentine’s Matinee
3:30pm
$8 single or $14 couple
Performances by: Off With Their Heads, Cloak/Dagger, Brainworms, Slow Death, Sexy Crimes
Urgent News! Wintery Mix Forces Closures During First Fridays
Posted by Christina in Special Events at First Fridays on February 4th, 2010
UPDATED: 5:50PM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH
Damn this wintery mix! Haven’t we had our requisite winter weather already?!
Unfortunately this third winter storm to hit the Richmond Region couldn’t come at a worse time, just in time for First Fridays! Yippie! (insert sarcasm)
I’ve spent most of the last two days taking calls, sending emails, watching weather reports, and praying for a turn in the forecast, but at this day’s end, it looks like we can’t change the 100% forecast of snow and sleet, so many of our Downtown businesses and organizations have decided to close for tomorrow evening but there will be a select group braving the weather to bring you great art and delicious dining.
We haven’t heard from everyone yet, but here’s the most current list of who’s open and closures for Friday, February 5, 2010. Please check back for updates!!
While it’s nearly impossible to get everyone in place to designate a postponement date, be on the look out for a possible make up date on Friday, February 19. (Weather permitting)
And don’t forget, that many of the sites have activities planned all month long so there are plenty of reasons to head Downtown on days other than just First Fridays. Our small business and cultural organizations need your support to keep operating, so show them all some love and get there soon!
WHO’S OPEN:
- The Belvidere on Broad restaurant
- Bistro 27 *offering dining specials & 1/2 price wine
- Lemaire
- Linden Row
- Popkin’s Tavern
- Tarrant’s Cafe
- Turnstyle
- Visual Art Studio
WHO’S GOING TO BE CLOSED:
- 1708 Gallery
- 9WG Studios
- art6
- Black History Museum & Cultural Center of VA
- Centenary United Methodist
- Chez Foushee
- Corporate & Museum Frame
- Eric Schindler Satellite Space Gallery
- ForInstance Gallery
- Gallery 5
- Ghostprint Gallery
- ISHQ Gallery
- Lift Coffee Shop *closing at 7pm
- Metro Sound & Music Co.
- Metro Space Gallery
- Quirk Gallery
- Renovation Resources
- Richmond Public Library – Downtown branch
- St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
- Studio/Gallery 6