“To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts - such is the duty of the artist.” –Schumann

Art Walks are popular in larger metropolitan areas. The walks usually are held on a given day each month. Recently, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Kingston have begun to embrace the concept with considerable success. The Scranton locations are open on the first Friday of every month. The Wilkes-Barre and Kingston locations are the third Friday of the month.

We’ve done this before and each time, we notice the crowds get better and the displays are larger. This thing really seems to be catching on! With the restaurants opening in Wilkes-Barre, it’s a great way to enjoy a night in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Living here five years ago, we would not have thought it possible, but there we were! Bright lights on South Main Street, people smiling and laughing were walking up and down both sides of the street! It was a nice sight.

Friday, April 18 was a beautiful night to take the walk in Wilkes-Barre . We started at Marquis Art & Frame featuring Artists Jen Dressler, Frank Mariano, and Leigh Pawling, who has her own studio in Kingston . We took our time to enjoy the artwork on both the first and second floor. There was impressive attendance enjoying the works along with us! After Marquis, we walked to the Mid-Town Village Art Stops. The Wyoming Valley Art League displays in the storefront next to Thai-Thai and they really have some classy works. Hushang Lo was featured in the window (and also was showing his work at LCCC on Tuesday). This was the largest crowd we have observed since taking these walks.

We walked down Franklin Street to appreciate some of the architecture of the building, specifically, we stopped at the churches. The Presbyterian Church on the corner of Northampton & Franklin is stunning. This building was built in the 1700’s! The Osterhout library, a former church, is scaffolded, undergoing renovation. We peeked into St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and admired the beauty of its alter. We walked around the Memorial Presbyterian Church on North Street , a gothic church with Tiffany windows. The bones of this church are just great.

Kingston has some excellent locations, too! We’ve only visited three: Vgogh Gallery on Wyoming Avenue, Main Street Galleries on Pierce Street and Paper Kite Studio, Main Street. Next month, we are going to try to make stops at those we missed.

These walks are nice because you get to meet people you never would have otherwise met. You see artwork that you never would have taken the time to appreciate. Hey, as an added bonus, you can get some snacks and wine at almost every location!! That alone is reason to take the walk! Just kidding.

The Arts really are alive and well in our area. Jobs, government and economy are all important, but it’s the art in any community that provides the spice. Mark your calendars for the 3rd Fridays to do this. As long as you have your calendar out, The Fine Arts Fiesta is scheduled for next month, May 15-18. This overlaps May’s 3rd Friday, so I’m not certain if all locations will be open. Check out the link to the map of locations at Arts YOUniverse website.

http://www.artsyouniverse.com/7.html