First Fridays of the Valley

Places to Go, People to Greet,
Art to Experience

The start of a brand new month offers reason enough to celebrate the richness of the arts. First Fridays of the Valley provides a framework to do that in laid-back style, with an array of participating venues offering opening art receptions; plus musical performances and more! Visual art exhibitions run the gamut from abstract and contemporary to more realistic portraits and landscapes. Plus, attending First Fridays provides a great excuse to wander by some of the growing number of public art murals, mosaics, and sculptures. Many locations showing visual art keep their exhibitions up all month, so you can pop in for a second look even after the First Fridays excitement has ended.

How Does First Fridays of the Valley Work?

Individuals simply drop in at a First Fridays of the Valley venue that has announced an exhibition or performance for that evening. It’s that easy!

Venues register with Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) to participate for an entire calendar year, providing information each month for ACV to use in promoting their upcoming arts experiences.

With more than 30 venues involved, First Fridays provides opportunities to showcase local artists while also increasing foot traffic to venues from area residents and visitors. If your Harrisonburg-Rockingham business/nonprofit would like to experience first-hand the energy of the arts to build community and reach new audiences, register now for the 2026 First Fridays of the Valley program.

Participating locations are asked to provide visual, literary, and/or performing arts experiences the first Friday of each month from 5 to 7 pm (hours may differ, depending on the needs of each site). The $175 annual registration fee helps cover program promotional costs. Each venue is featured on the ACV website, an online map, and in monthly social media promotions. In addition, each location will receive the 2026 First Fridays of the Valley poster; 100 copies of the First Fridays brochure; listing in ACV’s Art in Your Inbox monthly e-newsletter; mention in a monthly press release; and access to an Artist Database.

Venues Register Here

Join the First Fridays Festivities: June 5, 2026

It’s easy to be part of this amazing monthly arts experience. Just show up on the First Friday at one of the participating Harrisonburg-Rockingham locations – and be prepared to enjoy yourself. Most venues are open between 5 and 7 pm; focus on one location, or combine several for a customized art walk. Use these links to see what’s happening where, and to map out a route for your evening art adventures – whether solo or with family members and friends. You can even keep the magic flowing by staying in town for dinner and a movie, or maybe taking in a music or comedy show to inject a little more art into your evening.

Meet the Venues

View Venue Map

Venue	Type	Title	Artist	Medium	Notes
Asbury United Methodist Church 205 S Main St	Opening Reception & Live Music	Asbury Youth Art	The Youth of Asbury	Mixed media	Reception 5-7 pm Refreshments Live music 6 pm: Just Jazzin concert Website
Being Financial 328 S Main St, Ste 101	Art Reception	ICONS	Jenny Pearl	Black and white hand-drawn caricatures in pencil and marker	Artist Info
Bridgewater Retirement Community 210 Virginia Ave – Bridgewater	Opening Reception	A Showcase of Local Artwork	Various	Variety of media	Refreshments Website
Community Counseling Center 96 Campbell St	Opening Reception	Bird Photography by Terry A. Thiele	Terry A. Thiele	Photography	Meet the artist Refreshments Event Info
Court Square Theater 41-F Court Square	Live Performance	Rocktown Improv	Rocktown Improv	Unscripted, improvisational theatre	A $5 donation at the door is appreciated Website
Dart Resale and Trade 205 S Liberty St, Ste E	Opening Reception	The Quiet Aviary	Margaret Beebe	Variety of media	Refreshments Website
Explore More Discovery Museum 150 S Main St	Children’s Art Activity	Summer Splash	N/A	N/A	Website
Friendly City Food Co-op 150 E Wolfe St	Opening Reception	15 Years of Local Love	Various	Mixed media	Meet the artists Refreshments Event Info
Gaines Group Architects at the Depot 141 W Bruce St, Ste 201	Opening Reception	In Blue and Bloom: Washes of Memory from Lithuania	Cassidy Walker	Watercolors	Meet the artist Refreshments Event Info
Gift & Thrift 731 Mt Clinton Pike	Live Music	Music with VOICE	VOICE	A cappella	Meet the artists Refreshments Event Info
Harrisonburg City Hall 409 S Main St	Opening Reception	Pollinator Friendly City	City Public Works and Parks & Recreation employees	Photography	Meet the artists Event Info
Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative 2 N Main St	Open Dance Rehearsal & Dance Party	Open Dance Rehearsal and Millennial Townie Summer Dance Party	Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative dancers	Dance	Open Rehearsal 5:30-6:30 pm Dance Party 6:30-8 pm Visitors who would rather spectate than dance themselves are welcome to take off their shoes and watch. Website
Horizon Gifts and Board Games 60 W Market St	Opening Reception	The painter Jinx’ art show	Painter Jinx	Mixed media	Meet the artist Refreshments Website
Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center 710 S Main St	Art Reception & Live Music	Tranquil Moments in the Valley	C. & J. Richmond Photography	Photography	Reception 5-7 pm Meet the artist Live music 6-8 pm: Gina Bretz (guitar, vocals – songs of the ‘60s, ‘70s & ‘80s) Website
JMU Collabratory at the Harrisonburg Innovation Hub 25 N Liberty St, Room 102	Art Reception	From These Bricks	Traci Wile and Renée Calway	Mixed media	Refreshments Event Info
Larson Wealth Management 124 Newman Ave, Ste 101	Opening Reception	Virginia Views	Debra Sheffer	Oil paintings	Meet the artist Refreshments Event Info
Northwestern Mutual 83 S Main St	Opening Reception	Whimsical View	Dandy Knopf and Phoenix Flaxman	Mixed media/digital	Refreshments Website
North Wing Gallery at Sage Bird 325 N Liberty St	Opening Reception	The Art of Teaching	Various	Mixed media	5-8 pm Meet the artists Refreshments Opening in conjunction with 6th Annual Cheers to Educators Appreciation Event Event Info
OASIS Fine Art & Craft 103 S Main St	Opening Reception & Live Music	Winged Visitors: Butterflies & Moths	Barbara Camph and Stewart Mason	Fused glass and photography	Meet the artists Refreshments Live music: Jane Cox and the Daves Event Info
Pale Fire Brewing Co. 217 S Liberty St, Ste 105	Opening Reception & Live Music	The Unedit	Rudy Cox	Photography	Reception 5-7 pm Meet the artist Refreshments Live music 7-9:30 pm: Tina Collins Event Info
Park Gables Gallery 1491 Virginia Ave	Opening Reception	Annual Juried Art Exhibition	Selected Nationwide Artists	Variety of media	Refreshments Website
Rootstock Wine Bar & Provisions 86 W Gay St	Opening Reception	1. Enigmatic Faces 2. Just Imagine	1. Stephanie Corn 2. Trisha Brown Leweke	Acrylic and oil on canvas	Complimentary wine tasting Event Info
Smith House Galleries 311 S Main St	Opening Reception & VMFA Artmobile visit	1. Selected Works (Smith House) 2. Virginia as America: Navigating Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (VMFA Artmobile)	1. David A. Douglas 2. Various	1. Photo encaustic works 2. Variety of media	Meet the artist Refreshments Event Info – Smith House Event Info – Artmobile
Ten Thousand Villages 181 S Main St	Shop Event	Handmade wood pieces	Logan Hagstrom	Woodworks	Meet the artist Website

The Power of Art to Revitalize Community

In 2001, Harrisonburg established the first Arts and Cultural District in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with an eye toward increasing the number of arts and entertainment offerings in the city. Eight years later, First Fridays of the Valley joined that effort, beginning as a partnership between Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance. Envisioned as an expansion of a biannual downtown Art and Gallery Walk, the program – then called First Fridays Downtown – connected community members and businesses with arts experiences the first Friday evening of every month.

The program began with 15 retail shops, restaurants, galleries, and museums exhibiting artwork from April through October. Now coordinated by ACV, First Fridays of the Valley is a full-year community event involving more than 30 venues and bringing hundreds of people out to sample visual art, poetry, and live performances. Plus, many venues display visual art throughout the month, so you can revisit a favorite spot or check out artwork you missed during First Friday.

As much fun as First Fridays of the Valley can be for individuals and families, each monthly event also helps support artists, stimulate commerce, and showcase the Harrisonburg-Rockingham region as an arts destination.

People Are Talking About
First Fridays of the Valley

Janet Marshman

First Fridays of the Valley is like walking in a field of wildflowers with art blooming in colors, textures and designs. You will also discover it is a way to connect with old friends and meet fabulous new friends surrounded in spaces of art.

Tony Lucy

As a fellow artist, it is amazing to meet so many talented individuals, hear how they approach art, and how art has shaped their lives.

Rhoda Miller

The energy and joy that we experience in our space when we host First Fridays is infectious and something we look forward to each time we host. We strive to create a welcoming environment where all can share and experience the many talents our community has to offer.