Thursday, July 07, 2011

Saturday, come downtown for the City Wide arts celebrations, with shops, drinks, food and music.

If I were to expend the time and effort required to explain to you which entity was sponsoring a particular arts event in downtown New Albany this coming Saturday, there’d be no time left to drink beer as the day unfolds.

I merely thank all the folks making it possible, and leave it at that. Readers, park somewhere and aimlessly wander. With a handful of exceptions (look for the Arts Council pamphlets), most of the city-wide events are taking place in a relatively small area, bounded by Main Street (South), Vincennes Street (East), Spring St (North) and State Street (West).

All this was unthinkable just a few years ago. Unified press releases still are.

Saturday’s downtown festivities are not entirely confined to the arts. Yes, last year’s bicentennial art walk now is concurrent with this year’s bicentennial mural project (and other Arts Council offerings), but all of it is being packaged as the New Albany City Wide Celebration, with shops offerings specials and on-premise establishments encouraged to join in the merriment.

By any title, it will be a busy and artistic day, as evidenced by these links. Seriously, I've done my best to provide an overview.

Farmers Market
If you have not visited New Albany’s Farmers Market (corner of Bank and Market) in a while, consider doing so. While not yet in the class of the one operating for so long on Bardstown Road in Louisville, the organizers have labored mightily over a period of years to make improvements, and the fruition of their efforts truly has become evident in 2011. It's simply a great community vibe.

Bicentennial Public Art Project & Walk
Last year's temporary installations are still in place (they'll rotate out soon), and three new ones add to the total for this year's stroll. Leticia Bajuyo's All Bottled Up remains outside Bank Street Brewhouse, where we had one fine night with the Bicentennial Art walk last year.

Arts Council of Southern Indiana's two receptions
The first Arts Council reception is from noon to 5:00 p.m. at its Market Street headquarters: Beyond Borders, which focuses on butterflies and their meaning in art and writing. From 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the action moves to the newly renovated United Gas and Electric Building at 138 E. Spring, also home of the Colokial shop (just around the corner from Bank Street Brewhouse).

The new venue there is being called the Resch Gallery, and there'll be two exhibits: Arts WORK, and “By the River’s Edge”, the latter featuring "local and state steamboat artifacts (as) part of the Rivers Institute at Hanover College’s celebration of the 200th anniversary of the first steamboat trip through the Ohio and Mississippi rivers."

Schmitt Furniture Community Mural Fellowship
In essence, Schmitt Furniture is marking its 75th anniversary by teaming with the Arts Council to place a large mural on its building (corner of State and Main). The mural, to be painted by the legendary Dave Thrasher, will be on the alley side, next to a parking lot that will serve as the site of Saturday's celebration. The intrepid Josh Hill will have NABC's Rosa L. Stumblebus beer truck on hand for the party, which will have live music and run from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Apologies for any omissions. As I said, just come downtown for the city-wide show, park, walk and enjoy.

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