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Printer-Friendly ModeFirst Friday offers shift from usual
September 28, 2009 —
The smell of coffee. The sound of Jazz. People reciting poetry, while others discuss artwork. These are all the makings of a First Friday.
First Friday is an event at the Magic Bean Café that occurs, as the name suggests, on the first Friday of every month.
It is meant to serve as an opening night for the new artist featured on the walls of the café.
This Friday is the first get-together of the 2009-2010 academic year, and Dennis Adomatis is the featured artist.
Magic Bean team leaders and alumni and First Friday coordinator Christi Griffis say they look forward to seeing Adomatis’ work for the first time.
“Most of the time you see a [piece] and never put a face to it,” said team leader Ryan Vennix. “First Friday gives people an opportunity to do this.” Local writers and musicians will start performing at 7 p.m.
Griffis will read original poetry and flash fiction, as will another graduate, Adrienne Lewis.
Fall 2009 Cardinal Sins poetry slam winner Josh Crummer also is set to take the stage. The professional and technical writing junior will read several original pieces.
Each artist seems to pull in their own crowd, say Griffis and Paolo Pedini.
Pedini, an alumni, is the owner of Court Street Gallery and another First Friday coordinator.
“Poets have their audience, as do the visual artists, and the musicians,” Pedini said.
Both Griffis and Pedini agree that putting all these forms of art together in one night is what pulls in such a broad crowd, and that it is interesting to see all of them together.
Whether people come just for the sake of art or to see a certain artist, First Friday crowds have filled The Magic Bean in the past. Griffis expects no less this time.
“People are already stressed out about school and they’re looking for something to do,” she said. “Its super laid back and surprisingly a lot of fun.”
Griffis thinks some students are intimidated by art and poetry, but that intimidation isn’t necessary.
She says she hopes First Friday will offer them a way to get involved in the art community and to escape the stress of college.
“It’s free. It’s cool,” she said. “It’s something different.”