VERGENNES — Vergennes is falling into step with arts organizers in nearby towns who, in the last few years, have set up regular arts walks in Middlebury and Bristol.
The public is invited this Saturday to view a variety of art at four stops in the Little City: the Vergennes Opera House, Bixby Memorial Library, Studio V, and Creative Space. The last two are both relatively new galleries in town, said opera house Executive Director Jackson Evans, and the ramble is a way to showcase some of the work on display there.
The event is free, and between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. participants can wander between the different stops. Each gallery will have a stamp, and if visitors collect stamps from all four locations they can enter a drawing for a an art print by painter Doug Lazarus and a children’s art kit.
This Saturday’s Main Street Arts Ramble is the first arts walk in Vergennes in years, and if all goes smoothly some arts organizers in the town would like to see it become an annual or seasonal event.
The first ramble was inspired by the Vermont Arts Council’s “Art of Action” tour, a traveling exhibit showcasing work about Vermont’s future. The tour includes art from 10 artists commissioned to explore Vermont’s attitudes, concerns and hopes about the state. Vergennes plays a central role in some of the art: The city was at the heart of Charlotte artist Annemie Curlin’s aerial paintings of the region.
The exhibit is on display at the Vergennes Opera House, and Evans said the arts council has encouraged towns to link the exhibit to other arts events.
“Since we have the hall set up with this great art show, it seemed like a great time to get the other galleries in town together,” Evans said.
In addition to drawing attention to art in Vergennes, Evans and the arts ramble organizers hope the event will showcase Vergennes’ downtown community.
“The other great thing we’re trying to do is encourage people to visit other places on Main Street on their travels,” Evans said. “The opera house and the library are the bookends on Main Street, and there’s so much in between.”
Reporter Kathryn Flagg is at [email protected].