HeArts in the Ville: First Fridays to start February 4th

01/04/2011

 For Immediate Release:

HeArts in the Ville: First Fridays to start February 4^th.

The City of Milledgeville, Milledgeville Main Street, and Arts in the Ville are excited to collaborate on a new initiative to bring excitement and interest to the downtown area. "First Fridays", a Main Street Project, will become a monthly event, to be held on the First Friday of every month, to bring people downtown to socialize, enjoy entertainers, artists, and shop.  This initiative is lead by Arts in the Ville, a grassroots effort to draw attention to the creative talents of our community and draw the community downtown.

First Friday celebrations will give the community an opportunity to come together to enjoy the arts.  Downtown merchants are encouraged to stay open until 8:00pm or later on the First Friday.  The focus of First Fridays is to celebrate the diversity of art in Milledgeville: painting, drawing, ceramics, music, theatre, photography, literature, culinary and so much more.  Participating merchants will post a flyer in their window to show their support and participation in First Fridays.

To initiate the effort, February will celebrate Valentine's Day with the theme being HeArts in the Ville.  Merchants will have special events in their shops, art hung on walls, photography, art demonstrations, musical or performing artists, or unique culinary offerings, there are no limits.  There is considerable artistic talent in the area and First Fridays will be a chance to highlight some of what makes Milledgeville so great.

The First Friday events will be one more reason that local citizens will have to be proud of our great community. Other communities that have similar events find it not only brings excitement but also economic growth.   As efforts of the Partners for Progress to promote Milledgeville as a retirement and entrepreneurial community move forward, First Fridays will be one more reason to distinguish Baldwin County from other communities.

Merchants wanting to participate are encouraged to contact Carlee Schulte, Interim Director of Main Street, mainstreetdesk@milledgevillega.us  for guidelines and more information. For ideas on how to participate and for publicity contact Dr. Renée J. Fontenot, renee.fontenot@gcsu.edu. Artists looking to be listed for merchants looking for a pairing, please contact Danielle Fields, owner of Fields Photography and Framing danielle@fieldsphotographyandframing.com.  These three individuals along with Alan and Linda McGee have been diligently working to bring this monthly event to downtown Milledgeville.

For more information contact