Downtown Washington was abuzz with creativity Thursday evening as artists and patrons mingled along Main Street at the Art Walk.
The city’s Art Walk is held once a quarter on the second Thursday of February, May, August and November. In addition to Main Street, art was exhibited on Gladden, Market and Water streets.
Artwork was featured at six downtown locations for the event. The BCAC Lane gift shop and gallery, Riverwalk Gallery and Art Center, Lone Leaf Gallery and Custom Framing and Art Tyndall Studio participated in the event.
An acoustic rendition of Margaritaville wafted through the halls of the Inner Banks Artisans’ Center as members of the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association held their weekly jam session.
Local artists Jeff Jakub, Mark Collie, Carol Mann and Dottie Walker were on hand to show their wares and give patrons a chance to see them at work.
John Furlough set up shop outside the General Store near Turnage Theater. He said events like Art Walk were perfect venues for his work.
“To be honest, people wanting a portrait don’t go to a gallery for it. People wanting anime don’t go to galleries,” Furlough said. “It gives you a chance to get out, meet people and let them see what you are doing.”
Joey Toler, director of the Beaufort County Arts Council, said the event was a success.
“I’m very pleased with the crowd out tonight,” Toler said. “The galleries have been especially creative with what they’ve done with the art.”
One example Toler cited was the Riverwalk Gallery and Art Center’s tiny art exhibit. Thirty artists contributed about 120 pieces to the exhibit.
Artist Brenda Haislet, a member of the gallery, said she was impressed by the variety of work in the exhibit. The artwork came from all ages and levels of ability.
“We got a lot of different mediums … photos, jewelry, pottery, some really nice books … lots of different mediums were represented,” Haislet said.
Haislet said she loved the art walks because of the people.
“Old faces, new faces. We always like to have people come in and see what we’re doing,” she said.