Lowertown First Fridays 

A year ago, artists working in St. Paul's Lowertown launched Lowertown First Fridays, building upon the momentum of the Lowertown Spring and Fall Art Crawls. This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the monthly event, and in celebration Artists of Lowertown, in conjunction with the St. Paul Art Collective, will be hosting a party featuring cake and music in addition to the usual artsy happenings. Open studios will take place in the Lowertown Artists Cooperative, the Northern Warehouse Building, and the Tilsner Artists Cooperative. There'll be concurrent openings at the Lowertown Art Gallery (Studio 258) featuring works by Nancy Stephani, Rose Marie Felsheim, and David L. Evans, and at the AZ Gallery in the Northern Warehouse Building. Meanwhile, the Black Dog Café will be throwing a party titled "Dancing on the Grave" in honor of all the things that have been unearthed during the construction this year, including old tunnels, brickwork, antique tools, and human bones. They will also be celebrating the end of the construction, which has been grueling for business. Festivities for the evening, led by Master of Ceremonies Dr. TinkerPaw, include music by Dan Newton and the Fantastic Merlins, as well as fire spinning by Amy Bloss and company. For more info, visit lowertownfirstfridays.com. (Pictured: Embers by Julie Keller) — By Sheila Regan

Price: free