The Art Crawl Strikes Back

The long-awaited return of the Second Friday art crawls finally arrived and it was a marvelous night of music, food and artistic achievement enjoyed by all. Thanks in part to the spectacular weather, more than 200 people filled the shops and streets to enjoy the wide array of creativity on display. I was lucky enough to sample some goodness from all over....

The Hall of Waters featured some lovely stained glass pieces; artist Kim Graham set up shop with her atmospheric oil paintings in the lobby of the Elms; and some unique jewelry was showcased at Willow Spring Mercantile. Speaking of the Merc, we had dinner with the divine Ms. Daphne and it was a bit of a revelation. Not about the fact that it was all kinds of tasty, but about a well-known soup they offer that I have been newly turned on to. This beauteous beer cheese soup was so rich and decadent, that I seriously didn't want it to end. I've always had this Rain-Mannish quirk of eating my least favorite item first in order to savor my favorite morsel and while I totally dug the house salad with housemade buttermilk ranch dressing, I drug out the enjoyment of the soup for so long it's a wonder that I didn't let it go cold. This is the kind of soup that I obsess over (like Third Street Deli's Aztec Chowder in Marietta, Ohio) and will track down whenever its being served. As we enjoyed our delightful meal, the setting was enhanced by the lovely live music and Daphne's son Colt zooming by on his scooter.







We moseyed down the street to Broadway and Penn for dessert. The store was hoppin' as the down-home sounds of David Simmons and the Country Makers wafted through and Mary Harris displayed her digital artwork. We enjoyed the music while sampling our delicious Cherry Torte and sinful chocolate pie. We were particularly entranced by the beautiful sounds of the dulcimer playing from one of the band members.

It was a terrific night but the highlight of course, was the grand opening celebration of our girl Kathleen's Gallery Off Broadway. That special event will get its own writeup in the next post. In the meantime, check out the Downtown Excelsior Partnership's webpage for upcoming events in our ever-evolving downtown....www.visitesprings.com