Gallery Walk ’23 begins with a bang!
This season Gallery Walk will run from May through December with a few things to note. Every first Friday from 5-9 pm, we hope you’ll swing on down to Downtown Brattleboro for galleries, live music, food trucks, Brattleboro Flea, and interactive art stations. You never know what will pop-up or who you’ll see at Gallery Walk! For the months May-Oct, we will close Elliot Street and Harmony Lot to traffic, and we can all enjoy a block party that is ALL about art & community. For Nov & Dec, it’s all about the galleries and the stellar exhibits they have planned for you! No raindate this year- Gallery Walk is rain or shine.
The Walk:
- 118 Elliot
- The Collective
- Harmony Collective
- Vermont Center for Photography
- HatchSpace
- Main St & Green
- Centre Congregation Church
- First Proof Press
- Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts
- In-Sight Photo Project’s Tiny Art Gallery
- Gallery in the Woods
- ZPOTS
- Beadniks
- Vermont Artisan Designs
- Gallery 34
- Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
- Hazel
The Stage:
The Stone Church and Downtown Brattleboro Alliance proudly present live music from 6-9 pm each month. Look for the stage in the Harmony parking lot. This year’s line-up is truly amazing; you won’t want to miss a month!
May’s Music: Neon Rainbow: Neon Rainbow is a safe space for our queer community and allies to enjoy live country music and dancing led by queer dance callers and musicians. A gender-free square dance will open the evening with caller JD Golay and the Green Mtn Queerbillies followed by southern Vermont’s best little honky tonk band, The Rear Defrosters.
June’s Music: BrattRock—the Brattleboro Youth Rock Festival, established in 2016–brings together people of all ages to honor and celebrate talented, dedicated, and passionate young musicians. The event, brought to you by Youth Services, allows area youth to develop and showcase their musical talent in a positive, supportive, non-competitive atmosphere.
The Market:
The Brattleboro Flea is a collaborative marketplace of artists, makers, and sellers local to the Brattleboro area. Each month Elliot Street will be transformed into a vibrant and bustling marketplace filled with a wide array of unique and eclectic goods, including ceramics, jewelry, cards and prints, macrame, natural medicinals, home goods, handmade clothing and textiles, plants and flowers, vintage clothing, Ezra’s Distler’s famous Photo Booth and more!
The Artful Streets:
The Human Connection Project and Downtown Brattleboro Alliance have partnered to present art-making at our pop-up art stations at Harmony TUNNEL and Harmony PARK! Each month has a theme featuring local artists, organizations, and arts engagement.
May’s Programming: DIVERSITY DAY with WSESU
Celebrate Diversity began at BUHS in 1998 and expanded to include the entire community after a Future Search to address a racist incident in 2009. Each year, district schools focus on a diversity and social justice theme. This year, our theme is “Your Story Matters.” We look forward to sharing student artwork, poetry, and performances tied to this theme at Gallery Walk. We will also be inviting community members to create “Where I’m From” poems when they visit us downtown, just like students and staff have done throughout the district!
The Food:
We invite you to our Food Truck Food Court in Harmony Parking Lot. A rotating cast of local food trucks and some of our favorite Downtown Restaurants slinging their tasty offerings. Take a seat at our Community Table- a dazzling selection of florals and greenery set upon a long table with a seat for all.
The Libations:
Stone Church has your bevy needs right in Harmony Lot, which is transformed each month into an outdoor Beer Garden (yes, the whole thing!) Look for them in Harmony Lot near the Stage.
The Tour:
Brattleboro – America’s Most Storied Small Town!
From ancient Abenaki petroglyphs and the first known African American poet Lucy Terry Prince to being home to Nobel Laureates like Rudyard Kipling, who wrote The Jungle Books here, and giant book manufacturers that produced the first American editions of Harry Potter – Brattleboro’s history is a lot bigger than its size. Here’s how you can learn more:
At Gallery Walk: Meet at 5:30 pm in front of Brattleboro Museum & Art Center for a short tour that hits the high points of Brattleboro’s unique history led by charming guides from Brattleboro Words Trail and Brattleboro Sunrise Rotary. The tour lasts about 40 minutes and covers .5 mile (.8 km). Free, but donations are accepted and benefit both organizations.
The Facilities:
Rich Earth Institute bathrooms are available on Elliot Street. (Most of our galleries also offer restrooms for folks viewing the exhibits).
Handicapped Parking- There will be parking available on the WEST side of Main Street, closest to Elliot Street. For additional assistance in this regard, please feel free to email erin@brattleboro.com
There is no better way to connect with your fellow Bratts than hitting Gallery Walk every first Friday MAY-DEC. Tell your friends and sing it from the mountaintops. Spring has sprung; let’s GOOOOO!
