Saturday, November 2
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
2016 Third Quarter - Impact of Art

It’s Finally Friday!

By on 280 Comments
It’s Finally Friday!

Enjoy local music, art and culture every last Friday of the month from February through November.

| 2016 Q3 | story by LIZ WESLANDER | photos by Steven Hertzog
Final Fridays

Final Fridays in Downtown Lawrence


The last time I listened to opera, a boy band and punk rock all in the same evening was … never. So when I managed to cover all three during Lawrence’s Final Friday in July, I felt like I had accomplished something.

February through November, the last Friday of the month in Lawrence is the day that local galleries, studios and businesses fill their walls with artwork, make space for musicians, stock up on snacks and drinks, and open their doors between 5 to 9 p.m. to celebrate Final Fridays.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Lawrence’s monthly, alliteratively titled art event began in August 2010 through the cooperation of the Lawrence Arts Center, Downtown Lawrence Inc., the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission and the wealth of artists and local businesses of the community.

The general goal of Final Fridays is to provide artists the opportunity to showcase their work and to encourage people to come out to enjoy, and possibly purchase, artwork, says Porter Arneill, director of arts and culture for the City of Lawrence.

The way people approach Final Fridays is as varied as the art on display during the event, Arneill says. Some people may go out to dinner and visit a couple of venues afterwards, while some try to hit as many shows as possible—including those downtown, in the Warehouse Arts District, in North Lawrence and as far west as Theatre Lawrence.

“You can be passive about it and just go out and see what happens, or you can be methodical and check off venues from the list. People do it all,” Arneill explains. “The eclecticism of Final Fridays is part of its charm.”

Having always been part of the former, passive group of Final Friday-goers, I decided to try the latter option for July’s Final Friday. Choosing from the more than 20 Final Friday venues listed on the city’s website for that month, I made a short list of shows that held the potential for eclecticism and gave it a go.

My evening started at the Lawrence Public Library, where Lawrence Opera Theatre was performing songs based on the works of William Shakespeare. The performance was a teaser for the company’s 7th Summer Festival titled Shakespeare 400, which honored the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death.

Final Fridays

Ivan Calderon bangs the gong in the 9th street arts district on Final Fridays


Upon entering the library, the sounds of opera wafted from the auditorium, filling the lobby with serene background music for all to enjoy. The scene inside the auditorium was serious. The room was full, everyone was seated and those who did not have their eyes fixed on the soloist next to the piano at the front of the room sat silently with their eyes closed in order to fully take in what they were hearing.

I stayed to hear a piece that was written from the perspective of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” The singing, to my untrained ears, was flawless. Although the piece was in Italian, the performer brought the Ophelia character to life through facial expression, deftly communicating the mood of the piece.

Ready for something a little more jovial, I move on to Cider Gallery, in the Warehouse Arts District, at 810 Pennsylvania St., where local artists Aaron and Kendra Marable were hosting an opening for their show “The Shape of Things to Come.” Visiting the large, open Cider Gallery space is always a treat. The former cider vinegar factory, which also serves as an event venue and houses coworking office spaces, opened in 2013 after a major renovation that maintained much of the building’s original brick walls, wood floors and giant support beams.

Final Fridays

Art lovers admire the paintings. All part of a Final Friday experience


At the opening, viewers quietly contemplated the paintings and mixed-media pieces on the gallery walls, while the artists chatted with friends and fans who had come to see their new work. I did some mingling of my own, and after hearing several times there was a great band playing outside the gallery, I stepped outside and was surprised to see a boy band doing a very convincing cover of Toto’s “Hold the Line.” The band, called BQ Ocean Blu, is made up of three brothers and their keyboardist friend. While the lead singer looked like he was maybe 16, the other members didn’t look a day over 12. Rock on, young ones.

From the lawn of the Cider Gallery, it was a short walk east over to the Rural Pearl studio, on Delaware Street, where one of my favorite local artists, Angie Pickman, displays her intricately detailed works of cut paper art that feature flowers, birds and other animals. Her space was tiny and filled with late-evening light, and I chatted with Angie about her work for a few minutes before wandering next door, where a band was playing to a lively bunch of people gathered in what looked like an office space.

The space turned out to be Tallgrass Studios, a local visual communications firm that was celebrating its recent relocation to the Warehouse Arts District. On the far side of the room, I spotted a big spread of food, copious amounts of chilled beer and wine, and a friend I had not seen in years. This is a perfect example of how the best-laid plans can easily go off course on Final Fridays. It also confirms the rumor that free food and booze can indeed be part of the Final Fridays equation. I indulged in this diversion for a bit but soon moved on lest my methodical approach to the evening get waylaid.

Final Fridays

Art lovers admire the music. All part of a Final Friday experience


Back downtown, Massachusetts Street was hopping. Within just a few blocks, there were at least five places I could have stopped to hear live music or take in some art. The Phoenix Gallery, which specializes in local and regional artwork, and always plans something special for Final Fridays, was featuring jewelry artist Britta McKee, of Tobias Designs. They were also serving snacks made by Merchants Pub and Plate, and tea brewed by Mana. I breezed through, took a shot of Kava tea, grabbed some finger food and, as the sun was starting to set, headed to my final stop of the evening, The Percolator Art Space, 912 Rhode Island St., in the alley behind the Lawrence Arts Center.

The Percolator was celebrating the opening of it’s the Dimebag Show, an open-call show in which artists purchased a $10 bag of supplies from the neighboring Social Service League Thrift Store and created art with it.

The small yellow building was nearly empty when I arrived, but an empty box of wine and a single homemade oatmeal cookie at the bottom of a ceramic cookie jar on the refreshment table were sure signs of an earlier crowd. Perhaps another reason for the emptiness was that a “theater punk” band called Something and the Whatevers was warming up on the Percolator stage in the alley behind the building.

I stepped out to survey the scene and noted it was a far cry from the opera performance at the library where I had started the evening. The band, which had a screen with a talking robot playing in the background, was plugged in and extolling the virtues of the deafening guitar solo. The spectators, many of whom held cans of beer, were sitting on hay bales, standing or leaning on trash cans—and loving it.

As I headed home, I declared my personal “Lawrence Final Friday Mission Eclecticism” a success. Even better, the opportunity to enjoy the work of another set of Lawrence artists at my own pace is only a month away.


Share.

Related Posts

280 Comments

  10. 슬롯커뮤니티 on

    I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The problem is something not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy I came across this in my search for something regarding this.

  61. 日数がかかる 英語 on

    Bugg urges younger veterans to get entangled with the American Legion or other service organizations so there will be sufficient folks to fill firing squads and carry out other army rites at veterans’ funerals in the future.

  79. 匂わせとは on

    Nationwide and worldwide laws, codes and standards concentrate on these and associated threats, many of that are effectively understood and for which there are good solutions.

  81. 鉄骨造 基礎 断面図 on

    Rutger is among the characters added to the sport within the A Father’s Legacy replace, and was made obtainable to gamers in the twenty-ninth Grand Hero Battle, which initially ran from March 11, 2019 by March 20, 2019.

  87. しじまの向こう 2g on

    A woman attains her majority on the age of twenty-one, but the guardianship of her person is transferred to her husband if she marries whereas a minor; and if she marries when over eighteen and below twenty-one, the court docket having jurisdiction could in its discretion terminate the guardianship of her property and switch the identical over to her.

  93. blue dream on

    May I simply say what a relief to uncover somebody who actually knows what they’re talking about on the internet. You certainly realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people should read this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised that you aren’t more popular given that you most certainly have the gift.

  98. 조이슬롯 on

    You are so awesome! I don’t think I’ve read a single thing like this before. So great to discover somebody with original thoughts on this issue. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This site is something that is required on the internet, someone with some originality.

  103. DAKOTA on

    Ich stehe total auf manner die wissen was sie wollen and live cams blonde auf geile gesprache! Wenn du auf junge curvy blondienen mit gro?en Brusten stehst bist du bei mir genau richtig.

  118. mig mag spawarka on

    Hello there, I found your blog via Google even as searching for a comparable matter, your web site got here up, it appears great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

  123. spawarki do plastiku on

    of course like your web-site however you need to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I to find it very bothersome to inform the reality however I’ll surely come back again.

  140. spawarka migomat on

    Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Chrome. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Thanks

  143. spawarka 220v on

    Very interesting details you have noted , thankyou for posting .This will be huge for smugglers sending these phones to countries that are not directly supported by Apple currently. Apple will move substantial units this way. This article only takes the American perspective, which is ridiculous.

  160. ハリーランド on

    When the ability change is turned again on, the participant will show whatever video signal it finds straight beneath the stylus, or the LED display will present “E” if the Band 63 code is still present (by no means rotate the second discount gear with the power switch on, as this will break the gear or injury the stepper motor it’s attached to).

  161. 画像 背景 白抜き 無料 on

    The 14th-century glass additionally confirmed technical improvement; because of the use of higher quality sand and different ingredients, and improved techniques of heating and forming the glass, it was thinner, clearer, and extra consistent in colour.

  164. サン バイザー かわいい on

    Figure $1,000 (more or less) for a tabletop (graphics make a big distinction in pricing); across the $5,000-to-$15,000 range for a 10-foot (3-meter) portable with graphics; and for giant 20×20-foot, 20×30-foot or 30×30-foot custom booths, the sky is the restrict.

  176. porn on

    Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after looking at many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m certainly pleased I discovered it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!

  199. いそしむ on

    There must be something more interesting than Jack Oakie or a Camel advert, but if that’s what someone else collects they’ve been pressured to find out how to find it.

  233. 天気大阪府 on

    The painters positioned the window part on an open easel positioned earlier than a window, or put the glass flat onto a transparent desk, so the artist may see the impact of the sunshine coming by means of the glass.

  234. 共済保険種類 on

    The Allied Operation Diadem of the Italian Marketing campaign in Could 1944 efficiently assaulted German Gustav Line defences within the Italian Liri valley, the primary route to Rome.

  236. 中国香港地図 on

    Participant safety issues were additionally raised, after it was found that Bishop Sycamore had played a Friday night recreation simply two days earlier against Sto-Rox High school in Pennsylvania (which they lost 19-7).

  237. テフワード on

    Everybody who buys a sander hopes desperately that they will like it, but is aware of down deep that it is extra of an unfortunate necessity than a possibility for carpentry joy.

  238. 重ね文字 フォント on

    Yoo-ra guarantees to provide him the password if he conquers several girls and learns useful classes from each of them so as to conquer Na Hong-ran, Yoo-ra’s ex mom-in-law and the Chairman Park Ki-suk’s spouse, who is evil and ruthless.

  243. xxx mom son fuck HD movies on

    I absolutely love your blog.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you develop this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m looking to create my own personal site and want to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is called. Cheers!

  280. Blue Dream on

    Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thank you so much, However I am going through problems with your RSS. I don’t understand why I cannot join it. Is there anyone else getting identical RSS issues? Anyone that knows the answer will you kindly respond? Thanx!

Leave A Reply

Contact to Listing Owner

Captcha Code