Acoustic melodies from music on the street delights the ears as the eyes are overwhelmed by visual art. The sidewalks spill into the street as people travel from shop to shop. Artists tell of their inspiration as patrons decide what painting will look best over their mantle. The bars are busy and restaurants are full. Many square blocks of an exhausted downtown are alive.

An experience like this inspired Jay Kerner, Missouri Western graduate and publisher for The Regular Joe. Kerner visited First Fridays in Kansas City last fall by accident and was so impressed he decided to bring a similar idea to St. Joseph. By December he had the ball rolling and First Fridays Art Crawl in St Joseph was underway.

“It’s all about the artists and the venues,” said Kerner.

On the first Friday of every month many downtown businesses double as art galleries for local artists to showcase their works. Kerner explained that a secondary outcome of the event is the increased traffic to businesses downtown. “We hope that the art crawl becomes an introduction to these places.”

Everyone is invited to join in the fun. At quitting time, or 5 p.m., the art crawl begins. Maps showing the participating venues and their respective artists are available at any location. Art crawlers are encouraged to make the rounds. Many of the venues offer hors d’oeuvres and live music to add to the experience.

“We want it to be fun, we don’t want it to be stuffy,” said organizer Cheryl Simonis.

Kerner has taken the back seat so that the event could be organized by the artists. Simonis is one on many Missouri Western students involved. She displays her work and coordinates venues and artists. Simonis previously coordinated the artwork displays at Trails West.

Businesses on Felix and Francis streets, between 5th and 8th street serve as venues for the art crawl. Candy Shop Tattoo and Bliss Salon both lend their locations to the event. Tattooing and hairstyling can both be described as artistic expression, but neither shop will be doing business as usual on these nights. These businesses see the increased flow of traffic in the area as an opportunity to win new customers who may not have known that they existed. More than a dozen businesses have been a part of the previous showings.
“There’s not a lot to bring people downtown except drinking,” Missouri Western senior Becky Dew said.

Dew, who is employed as a cocktail waitress at Fosters, also displays work at the art crawl. She is excited to see downtown have another drawing card outside of alcohol.

Fosters Martini Bar owner Nathan Karr reported having one of the best nights since opening on a First Friday’s night. Foster’s has hosted artists every night thus far.

Perhaps the best word to describe First Fridays Art Crawl is eclectic. Any genre of artwork or expression is welcome. No limits have been set as to what or who can be involved. If the community continues to support the event both Simonis and Kerner expect that it will grow.

“I can see it greatly expanding,” Simonis said when asked about goals. New artists have contacted her and she feels like that is a good sign. Simonis also hopes to get more musicians involved.

Artists and musicians interested in being part of the art crawl should contact Cheryl Simonis at stjoeartcrawl@yahoo.com.

As the name may infer, every first Friday of the month the art crawl will take place. March 6th is the next chance to come join in the admission free fun.