EASTHAMPTON — With so many activities filling up the weekend calendar in Easthampton, organizers have decided to move the monthly Art Walk to Thursday nights.

The event, which takes a hiatus every January, returns to the city this Thursday, Feb. 9, with exhibits throughout several of the city’s galleries, restaurants and storefronts.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Art Walk was held on the second Saturday of each month as it was one of the few regular creative events taking place in Easthampton, said Pasqualina Azzarello of Easthampton City Arts, the organizer of the event.

With the onset of the pandemic, the event was put on hold, a break that lasted for two years until its return in March 2022 on the first Friday of each month.

“While many came out to the Art Walk, it is very clear that Easthampton has only continued to grow even throughout this time of COVID,” Azzarello said. “When we found out we were providing comprehensive arts programming events alongside so many other local events, it became clear to our planning teams that it might be worthwhile to explore other day options.”

After speaking with a number of Art Walk venues, she said there was an overwhelming interest in swapping to Thursday nights as several city shops and restaurants had started to extend their hours of operation Thursdays.

Art Walk will now be held the second Thursday of every month. “We are here to create opportunities for people to enjoy and come together to enjoy art. The role of art programming is proven to benefit our local economy,” Azzarello said.

This Thursday’s Art Walk is from 5 to 8 p.m. and features an artist reception for Sue Fontaine for her exhibit of “The Mill Town Experience” at the Easthampton City Arts Gallery at 43 Main St. The Franklin County artist’s featured work explores the “mill town experience weaving architecture and nature on canvas with paint, paper and graphite,” according to the city’s website.

Patrons also have an opportunity to be a part of 50 Arrow Gallery’s “We Are Gardens Haunted by Each Other” exhibit by writing garden memories on clay pottery. The event is led by poet and potter Michael Medeiros. After the pots are written on, Medeiros will fire them and add them to the exhibit, which comes to an end on Feb. 26.

The gallery will also be hosting psychedelic folk band Thee Holy Oaks.

A full list of events is available at easthamptoncityarts.com.

The Art Walk also now coincides with “Unbuttoned,” a longstanding open mic storytelling event led by Alison Murchie, which takes place on the second Thursday of the month. The event takes place at Luthier’s Co-Op & Backstage Bar at 108 Cottage St. starting at 7 p.m. and runs until 8:30.

In other art-related news, Easthampton City Arts and the Public Art Subcommittee has extended its deadline to March 15 for proposals for its public art initiative, “Celebrating Service: Honoring Our Volunteers.”

In October, the subcommittee put out a call for proposals for a new sculpture celebrating volunteers in the arts scene, which will also serve as a tribute to the late Debra Tautznik and Denise Herzog, who were longtime volunteers in the arts and culture community.

Azzarello said that although they’ve received a solid number of entries, the deadline has been extended to give local and regional artists more time to develop their proposals for such a “layered and complex” topic.

Details on the scope of the project are available at easthamptoncityarts.com/resources/open-call-for-public-art.

Emily Thurlow can be  reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.]]>