Venue Registration for 2025 First Fridays of the Valley Now Open

HARRISONBURG, VA – Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) is now inviting venues to register for the 2025 First Fridays of the Valley program. Businesses and nonprofits in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County are encouraged to participate. Kathy Moran Wealth Group is 2024 First Fridays of the Valley Exclusive Sponsor.

Venues are asked to exhibit art of some form (literary, performing, or visual) the first Friday of each month from 5 to 7 pm (hours may differ, depending on the needs of each site). Visual art displays are changed at least every other month, to attract repeat visitors by showcasing different artists. ACV uses the $150 annual registration fee to promote the program.

“We have 40 venues this year,” said ACV Executive Director Jenny Burden, “and we hope even more locations - including additional Rockingham County businesses - will join us in creating an exciting year of First Fridays arts experiences in 2025.

“First Fridays of the Valley provides new opportunities for local artists,” she noted, “while offering participating businesses and nonprofits an opportunity to expand their audience of residents and visitors.”

The online registration form is available at valleyarts.org/first-fridays. Participating venues will receive copies of the 2025 First Fridays of the Valley poster and brochure, and are featured on the ACV website, an interactive map, and in monthly social media promotions. In addition, each venue is listed in ACV’s Art in Your Inbox monthly e-newsletter, reaching more than 10,600 addresses. Participation also allows access to ACV’s Artist Database, a living document of visual and performing artists in our community. Registration deadline is Oct 11, 2024.

For more information, email firstfridaysdowntown@gmail.com or call 540.801.8779.

First Fridays of the Valley began in 2009 as a partnership between Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance. Envisioned as an expansion of the biannual downtown Art and Gallery Walk, the program - then called First Fridays Downtown - served to gather community members and businesses the first Friday evening of every month in support of Harrisonburg’s art and cultural district. For the past dozen years, ACV has managed the program, changing the name in 2022 to First Fridays of the Valley, as part of an enhanced effort to expand monthly arts opportunities to other locations in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

Arts Council of the Valley is located at 311 South Main Street in Downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia. Programs are supported, in part, by 2024 Cultivating the Arts Platinum Sponsors: Eugene Stoltzfus Architects, James McHone Jewelry, Kathy Moran Wealth Group, Matchbox Realty, and Riner Rentals.

A 501(c)3 nonprofit, ACV is dedicated to cultivating the arts, creating experiences, and connecting communities throughout the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Since it was established in 2000, ACV has grown into a multi-faceted community organization that fosters innovative partnerships among area businesses, civic organizations, schools, and artists.

Today, ACV manages Court Square Theater and Smith House Galleries, funds local art projects through its Advancing the Arts grant program (awarding more than $498,300 since 2001), supports public art initiatives, and coordinates monthly First Fridays of the Valley community gatherings.

ACV is supported in part by the City of Harrisonburg, the Harrisonburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. To learn more, visit valleyarts.org.

This press release was provided by Ann Leatherwood at Arts Council of the Valley.