Spring is in the air and the First Friday lineup across Red Deer celebrates art and spring with a wide range of exhibits and events.
Middle school students highlight the 29th annual Awesome Art Middle School Show at the Kiwanis Gallery at the Red Deer Public Library downtown branch, at 4818 49th St. The exhibit runs from April 29 to May 25, but the reception for the middle school students art takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday.
Getting in on the student artwork theme, the Hub on Ross, at 4936 Ross St., features artwork from students at Notre Dame High School. The exhibit runs throughout May, and from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday there will be a reception for the art on the Hub on Ross.
Gallery IS features spring-centric art from Susan Woolgar and Jeri Lynn Ing. The gallery, at 5213 48th St., will host a First Friday event from 5 to 9 p.m. The show combines Ing’s newest works featuring flower paintings and Woolgar’s newest Alberta landscapes. Hours for the gallery on Friday are from 1 to 9 p.m.
The Velvet Olive, at 4924 50th St., has small print art on display this month. The postcard-sized art comes from Red Deer’s Robin Byrnes. The colourful drawings are titled SMUT and are a playful peek at the intimacy between adult collaborators.
Facing the street, Cafe Pichilingue, at 4928 50th St., features oil on canvas art from Russell Smethurst. His exhibit will run throughout May at the cafe.
Saturday will be the last day to see the Samantha Williams-Chapelsky exhibit at the Harris Warke Gallery, at 4924 Ross St. Though they have no First Friday reception scheduled for May, the exhibited entitled Somewhere in the Hills is a carry-over from March 30 and had its reception on April 4.With a boom and a rock-a-billy groove a Central Alberta favourite country band highlights the Bentley library’s biggest fundraiser.