K-town's movers and shakers hit these festivities first

Brandi Hood and Josh Corey take in the art at the Emporium at the September First Friday event. (Greg Wood/special to knoxville.com)

Brandi Hood and Josh Corey take in the art at the Emporium at the September First Friday event. (Greg Wood/special to knoxville.com)

Nelda Hill and J. Newby take in First Friday festivities at last month’s event at the Emporium. (Greg Wood/special to knoxville.com)

First Friday at the Emporium

Trisha Gene Brady and Michael McGill

First Friday is a Knoxville treat.

At a recent lunch outing with a Knoxville-native friend of mine, I learned that not even he understood the full span of the event.

He’s not alone. People frequently overlook the vastness of First Friday. To some it just consists of a few art galleries downtown. Others treat it like artsy bar-hopping, soaking up all the free wine.

Either way, First Friday, as the name suggests, takes place every first Friday of the month. A large number of downtown venues host some sort of event, ranging from an art showing to live music to businesses simply sharing free wine with their customers.

First Friday spans from one end of Gay Street to the other at places like the Emporium, the Visitor’s Center and Blount Mansion, all of which offer live music, art or other displays.

Market Square venues, including Bliss and Adobe, get in on the act, as does the Knoxville Museum of Art.

And that’s less than half of the participating establishments.

Visual art is most commonly the showcase, but the diversity thereof is large. Last month the Art Market Gallery’s exhibit featured oil paintings and felt sculptures, whereas Bliss featured the all-steel structures of Bill Timm.

On the other hand, the Visitor’s Center had live bluegrass from Robert Lovett & Wade Hill.

But the common denominator: free wine.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that every venue has free wine each and every time. Finding a way to confirm the wine policy of First Friday has been near impossible. In my experience most venues offer it, most of the time.

The selection is slim — there is usually one red and one white, and they’re usually of a mediocre brand. However, this is greatly overshadowed by the fact that one does not have to pay for said wine. It’s the best-tasting free wine I’ve ever had.

Running from around 5-9 p.m., First Friday seems to be intended to kick your weekend off correctly. You can step out of the downtown office and duck into just about any venue for wine and art.

Because the event is so large, it seems like no two people favor the same establishments.

To me, First Friday’s “headquarters” is the Emporium, although this isn’t an official ruling. The three-level art venue showcases new exhibits each time, serves free white and red wine, and occasionally has live performances. Since the theme of the event is Southern and local art, the music is typically quite Appalachian, as it was last month.

I spent most of my time at last month’s First Friday viewing the exhibit by local photographer Brian Wagner, who constructed his own photo booth and photographed local musicians.

The Emporium draws an interesting crowd, split between mid-20s hipsters and over-60s hippies. A few nicely dressed college students make their way into the mix as well, as do a handful of young professionals.

The multi-level venue typically does provide something for everyone. Downstairs there are a handful of rooms dedicated to certain artists’ selections. And whereas I’ve found plenty of pieces of art I’d love to display in my living room, it’s going to take a while for me to get the $800 to cough up for one of them.

In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoy viewing them with a glass of merlot on Friday afternoons.

First Friday’s Web site, knoxvillefirstfriday.com, which is run by local artist Steven Lareau, offers comprehensive listings and descriptions of participating venues each month.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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