Fall Gallery Walk
The downtown Chestnut Street District was buzzing with excitement last weekend as close to 1,500 people came down to support the arts during the Hays Arts Council’s annual Fall Gallery Walk held Friday, August 22, 2008.
This year’s Fall Gallery Walk welcomed several new elements to the event. Not only did the Gallery Walk continue to expand with another new location, the Brunswick Antique Mall at 705 Main with their outdoor sculpture exhibition, but the event expanded into Saturday as well. For the first time, several downtown businesses chose to not only host art on Friday evening, but on Saturday as well, giving community members another chance to visit places they might not have made it to on Friday.
Another new element to the Fall Gallery Walk this year was the chance for community members to actually see artists at work. Friday evening Jim Finley and Rebecca Krehbiel performed live demonstrations of their fused glass artistry at Gella’s Diner & Lb. Brewing Co., 117 E. 11th St. On Saturday, the Hays Art’s Council gave local artists the opportunity to sketch or paint the live floral arrangements they had on display. The community was invited to come watch. “We had a total of four artists come down Saturday to do some sketching,” said Brenda Meder, Executive Director of the Hays Arts Council. “I was excited to see both artists and community members take advantage of Saturday.”
However, local talent was not the only thing on display this year, but a little bit of history was added into the mix as well. Dr. Kim Perez, History Professor at Fort Hays State University teamed up with the Downtown Hays Development Corporation last fall to submit to a grant with the Kansas Humanities Council. This grant provided them with the opportunity to research ten properties in the historic Chestnut Street District and then create a two-dimensional exhibit for each property. This project, entitled “History of Businesses in the Chestnut Street District,” premiered Friday evening at the Hays Public Library gallery located at 1205 Main. The display can be viewed at the Hays Public Library until September 2, 2008 and then each exhibit will be moved to its respective business location where it will stay on display indefinitely. “We had 566 visitors come out to view the display on Friday,” explained Sabrina William, Downtown Hays Development Coordinator. “It was exciting to see so many people take interest in the history of our downtown and even share stories and memories of what used to be.”
In addition to local citizens viewing the display, several members from the 2008 Leadership Kansas class also stopped in. Members of the class were in Hays August 21-23 for sessions including a pre-session tour on Thursday that involved learning about the history of the downtown area as well as a chance to walk around and shop in the Chestnut Street District. Many of the members of the class enjoyed the local history display, commenting on how they would like to incorporate the same idea in their own communities.
It was an exciting evening in the Chestnut Street District. “It is truly a testament of the power the arts have in bringing a community together,” explained Brenda. “I am truly proud to have made an impact on the activities in our community.”
