Toledo unveils its pearl
Art Oysters & Brews meets First Weekend art walk
Stunning murals throughout the town are just one of the indications that when you enter Toledo, you’ve arrived at a place that makes art a priority.
This Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 3 and 4, the monthly First Weekend event, where studios open their doors to art lovers, will coexist with the annual Art, Oysters & Brews event on Main Street.
"Moving to a single, two day event will allow for an even grander celebration of our local artists,
craftspeople, musicians and brewers,” said Toledo Mayor Rod Cross. “We are looking forward to expanding the event and bringing more to our wonderful Main Street and all that Toledo has to offer!"
Art, Oysters & Brews will take place from noon to 5 pm both days and will include local and regional vendors, a petting zoo and kids activities.
Live music will be provided by Ian Smith and Morgen Silverhorn, Whole Lotta Louis and Johnny Wheels on Saturday and Kathy Redwine & Friends, Wild Hog in the Woods and the Ellen Whyte and Garry Meziere Duo on Sunday.
The beer and wine garden will have a wide variety of craft beers and fine wines.
Along with the fresh, locally-sourced oysters prepared by the Timbers Restaurant & Lounge will be a variety of food trucks to choose from.
The Oregon Art Bus will also be making a stop, bringing along its mobile art classroom.
Families and individuals of all ages are invited to help create a new mural for Main Street and murals created in 2023 will be auctioned off during the event.
For more information about Art, Oysters & Brews, go to ArtToledo.com.
Attendees of First Weekend can find self-guided maps at all participating locations, including the Yaquina River Museum of Art, where national treasure Earl Newman and local legend Marion Moir will be the featured artists. Both will be onsite to greet visitors.
Moir will be giving an art talk at 2 pm each day and Newman, now 94, will be speaking about his incredible life story and work, some of which is in the Smithsonian Museum.
Born in 1930, the Harvard-educated Newman moved to California in 1960 and by ’63 was making posters for the Monterey Jazz Festival and made more than 60 poster designs over 46 years, continuing on even after moving to Summit, Oregon in 1972.
His hand-pulled silkscreen prints, called serigraphs, became part of the visual lexicon of the counterculture ‘60’s, and continued to be popular through the decades.
“I’ve been able to reproduce my designs in volume,” he said. “It’s like having 100 canvases on which to experiment, using different colors of paper and inks, varying the color blends as I go along.”
Moir, a popular local artist whose works of the Oregon Coast and wildlife are iconic to the area, is also a designer, art teacher and book illustrator.
“Plein air painting is my favorite,” she said, adding that she paints in cold, heat, with changes in light and tides, subjected to insects and on uneven ground or wobbly docks. “But it is the excitement of what I might find around the corner that intrigues and challenges me.”
Moir has taught watercolor, collage, gyotaku and mixed media in Newport and around the country and has won numerous awards and grants for her work.
Her prints and reproductions will be for sale at the museum.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art is located at 151 NE Alder Street and will be open from noon to 5 pm each day and weekly Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 pm.
Gallery Michael Gibbons, established in 1986, continues to show the late artist’s work and reproductions. This Oil Painters of America Signature Artist won multiple awards over his career and posthumously received Oregon House Concurrent Resolution 6, recognizing his accomplishments in the arts and efforts to bring art to his community and surroundings. The gallery has prints of the featured work for the weekend, “Soap Creek School” and of many other scenes offered at a half price discount along with mugs and cards.
Gallery Michael Gibbons is located at 140 NE Alder Street and will be open from noon to 5 pm both days. For more information, go to michaelgibbons.net or call 541 336 2797.
Ivan Kelly Studio-Gallery will be featuring Kelly’s original oil paintings of landscapes, big game and maritime themes. His works have been juried into several national and international exhibits and art museums since 2000.
Ivan Kelly Studio-Gallery is located at 207 East Graham Street and will be open from noon to 4 pm both days. For more information, go to ivankelly.com.
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio will be featuring a diverse array of art from more than 20 artists, including owner Janet Runger’s fantastical found object assemblage sculptures, enchanting oil paintings by Veta Bakhtina, mixed media by Vicki Block, glass mosaics and ceramics by Val Bolen, mixed media surrealism by Carol Connett and jewelry by Susan Day.
Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio is located at 305 Main Street and is open from noon to 5 pm both Saturday and Sunday.