Chappaqua Merchants Set to Host Popular Art Around Town
Downtown Chappaqua will be transformed into a strolling art gallery starting Friday as the Northern Westchester Artists Guild hosts its fifth annual Art Around Town.
The event features 32 artists whose works are paired with shops around the hamlet. The art, which is on sale, will be displayed at those stores through June 28, said guild co-founder Leslie Weissman.
A new wrinkle this year allows the public to vote for the top artists in each of two categories – painting/drawing and photography, Weissman said. The top three finishers in both categories will win a cash prize, she said. Each participating store will have a ballot box for customers to cast their votes.
On Friday, the opening of the month-long exhibit where every piece of work is on sale, each participating merchant will be hosting their own reception with food and drink. The kickoff celebration will be from 5 to 8 p.m. The kickoff was postponed from Thursday because of inclement weather.
“It’s like each merchant has their own little party within the big festival,” said Weissman. “It’s sort of like a gallery for a month.”
As part of the kickoff, there will be musical performances from Jimmy Tate and an a capella group from Horace Greeley High School. Visitors can stop by the tent outside Family Britches to hear the music and also pick up a map of the downtown to guide them to the stores that are hosting artists.
Weissman said along with being a fun community event to promote artists from throughout the tristate area, Art Around Town also encourages area residents to shop local.
“This can really help the local merchants from a marketing perspective,” she said. “We don’t ask anything of the merchants. We just ask them to host an artist and clearly they’re staying open a little bit later than they would otherwise but typically we don’t have to ask them to put out very much.”
During the past four years, Weissman said Art Around Town has turned out to be a popular event. The guild has received positive feedback from the community and the event has been supported by the town government and the chamber of commerce.
“It’s really been lots of pieces and parts working together to make it,” Weissman said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/