By Oregon Coast TODAY
Stunning murals throughout the town are just one of the indications that when you enter Toledo, you’ve arrived at a place that makes art a priority.
The monthly First Weekend event, where studios open their doors to art lovers, will coexist with the annual Art, Oysters & Brews event on Main Street on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 3-4.
“Moving to a single, two-day event will allow for an even grander celebration of our local artists, craftspeople, musicians and brewers,” said Toledo mayor Rod Cross. “We are looking forward to expanding the event and bringing more to our wonderful Main Street and all that Toledo has to offer.”
Art, Oysters & Brews will take place from noon to 5 p.m. both days and will include local and regional vendors, a petting zoo and kids activities.
Live music will be provided by Ian Smith and Morgen Silverhorn of Yachats, Whole Lotta Louis and Johnny Wheels on Saturday and Kathy Redwine & Friends, Wild Hog in the Woods and the Ellen Whyte and Garry Meziere Duo on Sunday.
The beer and wine garden will have a wide variety of craft beers and wines.
Along with the fresh, locally-sourced oysters prepared by the Timbers Restaurant & Lounge will be a variety of food trucks to choose from.
The Oregon Art Bus will also be making a stop, bringing along its mobile art classroom.
Families and individuals of all ages are invited to help create a new mural for Main Street and murals created in 2023 will be auctioned off during the event.
First weekend show
Attendees of First Weekend can find self-guided maps at all participating locations, including the Yaquina River Museum of Art, where national treasure Earl Newman and local legend Marion Moir will be the featured artists. Both will be onsite to greet visitors.
Moir will be giving an art talk at 2 p.m. each day and Newman, now 94, will be speaking about his incredible life story and work, some of which is in the Smithsonian Museum.
Born in 1930, the Harvard-educated Newman moved to California in 1960 and by 1963 was making posters for the Monterey Jazz Festival and made more than 60 poster designs over 46 years, continuing after moving to nearby Summit in 1972.
His hand-pulled silkscreen prints, called serigraphs, became part of the visual lexicon of the counterculture ‘60’s, and continued to be popular through the decades.
“I’ve been able to reproduce my designs in volume,” he said. “It’s like having 100 canvases on which to experiment, using different colors of paper and inks, varying the color blends as I go along.”
Moir, a popular local artist whose works of the Oregon coast and wildlife are iconic to the area, is also a designer, art teacher and book illustrator.
“Plein air painting is my favorite,” she said, adding that she paints in cold, heat, with changes in light and tides, subjected to insects and on uneven ground or wobbly docks. “But it is the excitement of what I might find around the corner that intrigues and challenges me.”
The Yaquina River Museum of Art is located at 151 N.E. Alder St. and will be open from noon to 5 p.m. each day and weekly Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Gallery Michael Gibbons, established in 1986, continues to show the late artist’s work and reproductions. The gallery at 140 N.E. Alder St. has prints of the featured work for the weekend, “Soap Creek School” and of many other scenes offered at a half price discount along with mugs and cards.
Ivan Kelly Studio-Gallery, 207 E. Graham St., will be featuring Kelly’s original oil paintings of landscapes, big game and maritime themes. His works have been juried into several national and international exhibits and art museums since 2000.
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio will be featuring a diverse array of art from more than 20 artists, including owner Janet Runger’s fantastical found object assemblage sculptures, enchanting oil paintings by Veta Bakhtina, mixed media by Vicki Block, glass mosaics and ceramics by Val Bolen, mixed media surrealism by Carol Connett and jewelry by Susan Day. Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio, 305 Main St. is open from noon to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
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