First Friday Art Walk is back for the summer

Niwot's First Friday Art Walk took place June 7, from 2nd Avenue to Cottonwood Square, starting at 5 p.m. and lasting for at least two-and-one-half hours, although several businesses stayed open until 8 or 9 p.m. as well. It was the opening art walk to a series that will take place monthly this summer, sponsored by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association in conjunction with Osmosis Gallery.

There was a small scare for the opening of the art walk when a large power outage along 2nd Avenue, stretching down the Diagonal Highway towards Longmont, interrupted the event. Thankfully, this outage was very brief and didn't result in any lasting effects on the festivities during the art walk. According to numerous reports, this was done by Xcel Energy to prevent potential fires due to high winds. There were also outages in other counties throughout Colorado as well on the same day for similar reasons.

A few of the local businesses that opened during the Art Walk were The Old Oak Coffeehouse, Lightwell Architecture, Osmosis Art Gallery, Niwot Jewelry & Gifts, Akasha: The Alchemy Lounge, Fly Away Home Decor & Gifts, Inkberry Books, The Niwot Market, Pebble Art Gallery, Belle Terre, and The Little Shop at Niwot.

Lightwell Architecture featured artist Suzanne Frazier who was showcasing her Boketto series of oil paintings. The word "boketto" is a Japanese word that translates to "staring into the distance" which reflects the contemplative themes of her work as a whole, according to Frazier. She has previously worked at the Osmosis Gallery and has also shown art in galleries in Longmont and Denver as well as in Niwot. Due to the office's recent opening in the former Wandering Jellyfish space, this was their first time participating in Niwot's First Friday Art Walks.

"I love the Friday Art Walks," Frazier said in an interview about the event and her showcase at Lightwell. "I'm [also] excited to be the first artist showing here."

At Osmosis, there was a new show opening that will be displayed during all of the art walks this summer. The series is "It's a Colorful Life" paintings by Dianna Fritzler, artist and art instructor at the Art Students League of Denver, with beautiful colorful landscapes of natural scenery. It was also Lamya Deeb's last day working at Osmosis before her retirement, although she will still be showing artwork at Osmosis.

Inkberry Books featured the artists Tory Cusack and Dianne Brookfield along with Colorado author Don Johnson. Owners Gene Hayworth and Keith Waters also provided food and drinks for the people attending their event during the art walk.

Niwot Market was also open during the Art Walk as well as hosting their first Friday Night Dinner in a long time. The event attracted enough people that it was completely sold out, featuring various healthy dishes.

Live music from several local musicians was heard along 2nd Avenue. In front of The Old Oak Coffeehouse was Mike Lamitola, an artist who blends multiple genres of music, including folk, Americana, and indie rock. He has placed as a finalist in several Colorado songwriting competitions, and recently released two singles, "The River" and "Waking from a Dream."

Between Osmosis and Niwot Jewelry & Gifts, Laurie Dameron performed a wide variety of folk, rock, blues, Latin, country, and jazz.