Free Monthly Celebration Highlights the City S Artistic, Culinary and Entertainment Offerings

For More Information: Kristen Wicker 937-224-1518, ext. 228 (office) 937-238-4121 (cell)

November First Friday Art Hop Free monthly celebration highlights the city’s artistic, culinary and entertainment offerings.

Dayton, Oct. 27, 2008 – The next First Friday will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Nov. 7 throughout the Oregon Arts District on East Fifth Street; the Cannery Art and Design Centre, 434 E. Third St.; and the Dayton Visual Arts Center, 118 N. Jefferson St.

Joining First Friday this month is the Dayton Creative Syndicate, a new networking group for young creative professionals. The group will present its “Get Out the Vote Poster Showcase” at the Excelsior Lofts, 207 E. Sixth St. The showcase will feature the winning posters from a “Get Out the Vote” poster competition the syndicate hosted in which local designers submitted posters that were judged by local design experts. The winning design has been distributed throughout Dayton to raise election-day turnout. For more on the Dayton Creative Syndicate, see www.creativesyndicate.org.

The following exhibits also will be on display in the Oregon Arts District:

• Goloka, 521 E. Fifth St., will host “Approaching Metronome,” a 21-day performance art exhibit ― and one of the most unusual to be seen in Dayton ― in which Ohio native Ryan McCullough will seek to discover the space where sensory deprivation, identity and social expression intersect by becoming the very concept his art aims to examine. During First Friday, McCullough will perform a “primitive opera” he co-wrote, and six of his large paintings, supplemental drawings and four films, will be on display. McCullough ― outfitted with industrial earplugs and his eyes covered ― then will be encased in one of his sculptures, where he’ll live for several days while creating art.

• Visceral, 523 E. Fifth St., will host “Sight Beyond Light” featuring the infrared photography of Douglas Lowe, who will be present to discuss his work.

• Color of Energy, 16 Brown St., will present “Elemental View,” featuring the work of paintings by Dolores Justus and Steve Griffith of Hot Springs, Ark., whose work has appeared in numerous national exhibits. A preview reception for the exhibit will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, and an artist talk will be held at 1 p.m. the day of First Friday, Nov. 7.

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• Gallery 510 Fine Art, 510 E. Fifth St., will feature an exhibit of ink and watercolors by gallery owner Loretta Puncer and photographs by Doug Taylor. Since April, the two artists have been capturing images of the homes and gardens in the Oregon Historic District, and this exhibit represents the culmination of that work. In addition, the gallery will host a preview of the exhibit “Masks, Music and Musings: a Retrospective Exhibit and Symposium on the Art of Curtis Barnes Sr.,” which will be held Dec. 9-Jan. 30 at multiple venues at the University of Dayton.

• Link Gallery, 519 E. Fifth St., will host the opening of “Mediated Landscape,” an exhibit of sculpture and drawings by Stefan Chinov, assistant professor of sculpture and drawing at Wright State University, and mixed media drawings and prints by Jon Swindler, formerly of Wright State University and now a faculty member at the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art. The exhibit explores Chinov’s interpretations of the physicality of landscape and Swindler’s transitory observations of synthetically altered landscapes. This exhibit is being held in conjunction with Five Rivers MetroParks. An artists’ gallery talk and reception will be held from 7-8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8.

•Practice Yoga, 504 E. Fifth St., will display work in Tom Watson III’s medically inspired and Jackson Pollack- influenced screen print/multimedia series.

For more on the Oregon Arts District, visit www.oregonartsdistrict.com.

Visitors can begin their holiday shopping at the Dayton Visual Arts Center, which will present its ARTtoBUY Holiday Gift Gallery, which runs through Dec. 27. More than 60 artists will join together in the DVAC gallery to present their best original art and fine craft in a wide array of media, including jewelry, painting, prints, ceramics, fiber and sculpture. In addition, DVAC will present an exhibit of trompe l’oeil oil paintings juxtaposing ancient and modern themes by Christopher Ryan. For more on DVAC, visit www.daytonvisualarts.org.

The Cannery Art and Design Center’s second annual holiday gift gallery, “Give Art,” also will open Nov. 7. The gallery will feature work suitable and priced for gift-giving, including pottery, jewelry, wood-turned clocks, photography, small paintings and small sculpture. The Cannery also will host live jazz during First Friday. For more on the CADC, visit www.canneryarts.com.

In addition, a variety of entertainment options are available during First Fridays. All the restaurants, retail shops, bars and clubs, Neon Movies, Wiley’s Comedy Club and other establishments in the Oregon Arts District and Cannery will be open, and many will offer specials. For example, Pacchia, 410 E. Fifth St., will host a free jazz performance by the Lee McKinney Trio from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and 15 percent off all appetizers. The newest business to open in the Oregon Arts District ― Jazzy Java, 438 E. Fifth St. ― offers fine coffees, teas and pastries, along with free wi-fi access. Wiley’s Comedy Club, 101 Pine St., will present the legendary Emo Philips. The show starts at 9 p.m. and costs $12.

Greater Dayton RTA will offer free service on its Wright Flyer trolley between all participating locations. First Friday RTA stops, which will be marked with special signs, will be scattered throughout the Oregon Arts District, as well as near the Cannery and DVAC. The trolley, which is wheelchair accessible, will stop approximately every 20 to 25 minutes along the route.

The Downtown Dayton Partnership’s Web site, www.downtowndayton.org, has a complete list of downtown’s arts and cultural amenities, as well as a dining guide, parking map and much more.