‘First Friday’ to feature art gallery tours, specials, food and more in downtown Macon

Wondering what happened to First Friday last week?

With New Year’s Day falling on January’s actual first Friday, organizers pushed 2021’s very first First Friday to today, the month’s second Friday, but now the monthly downtown celebration is in full force, coronavirus-style.

From 1 to 11 p.m. specials and the regular fare is available downtown at restaurants, bars, venues and stores. A good way to find out what you want to do and where is by checking NewTown Macon’s website and Facebook page (newtownmacon.com and facebook.com/NTMacon).

NewTown is the event’s host coordinator and offers an interactive map showing participating establishments. It can be a good way to plan the evening especially with COVID-19 still in play. Organizers and participating businesses insist participants be safe, maintain social distancing and follow health guidelines and requirements.

Many places require wearing masks.

Since the pandemic keeps policies and openings and closings a bit fluid, it’s not a bad idea to check on venues ahead of heading out.

Remodeled

First Fridays were born from activities originally offered by Macon’s visual artists and a monthly art crawl remains a highlight for 2021. There are exhibits and openings at galleries, retail boutiques and other spots showcasing artists working in a variety of media.

Julie Wilkerson of the Macon Arts Alliance (maconartsalliance.org) said today’s First Friday is a good opportunity to see the group’s remodeled front gallery for yourself.

“Our first featured artist show for 2021 will be in February but now is a good time to see our re-done front gallery and the new work we have there,” she said.

As the representative organization for artists across Macon, Wilkerson said even more changes are coming to the gallery this year to highlight artists, events and issues.

“We’re not just a gallery but a true alliance and we’re always looking for ways to build on our cultural plan and advocate for the arts and artists to the betterment of the whole community,” she said.

Special First Friday hours today at the Alliance are from 4 to 7 p.m. in addition to regular hours.

Virtual, in-person gallery tours available

A few doors up from the Alliance’s gallery on First Street is the 567 Center (the567center.org/exhibits and facebook.com/the567).

At the 567, COVID-19 has caused First Friday’s to mean a 3-4 p.m. Facebook video tour presented by curator Colin Penndorf rather than an evening opening of new shows.

“This month we’re featuring abstract work by Michael Pierce and Marthalyn Fortson,” said Melissa Macker, the 567’s director. “If you don’t catch the video then you can still find a recording of it later on our Facebook page and of course you can come to the gallery during regular hours. Just be sure to wear a mask.”

Another art crawl activity is at Mercer University’s downtown McEachern Art Center at 332 2nd St. (macmacon.com). From 4 to 8 p.m., visitors can see the current “TAUT: MFAs Revisited” exhibit and stop by a selfie station to take photos and comment on what they themselves hope to revisit in 2021.

Sundance Film Festival tickets on sale

Looking ahead to the Sundance Film Festival coming to Macon Jan. 28-Feb. 3, tickets went on sale Thursday for online showings of films from the famed Utah-based festival.

Begun by Robert Redford to promote independent filmmaking, the festival selected Macon as a satellite location to show a small number of films live.

In association with Macon Film Festival organizers, live showings will be at the Douglass Theatre but the names of specific films and their showing times are still in the works.

But now is the time to start looking at sundance.org for virtual festival tickets and other festival information.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.

This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.