Now that I’ve got your attention, let’s kick things off with the mustache part of the subject above. This Wednesday, at 6pm, if you find yourself at Rumours East, you’ll find yourself at Rumours East’s 2nd Annual Mo Party with a lot of stuff for everyone. Their second annual Movember Party to raise funds & awareness for men’s health will have mustaches (can’t say that enough, right?), drink specials, Early Times Fire Eater Whiskey Tasting Station, raffled prizes, and a photobooth to capture classic moments all night long. Also, they have 2 tickets to give away for Bassnectar’s 360 New Year’s Eve Show!
And speaking of parties, rest up Thursday morning so you can hit up both of the shindigs that night. First, from 4:30-6:30pm, Sarratt Art Studios are having their 22nd Holiday Art Festival. They are having an opening reception for 22 artists. You can purchase handmade Christmas gifts, and their will be an ample amount of printmakers, pottery, jewelry, photography, and more to be seen and purchased. You can see more about what the night has in store at Sarratt athttp://www.vanderbilt.edu/sarrattart/holiday-arts-festival/. Secondly, also on Thursday, from 6-9pm, at Erabellum (Artisan Co-op- 1800 8th Avenue South), there will be another great holiday preview party. It will be a golden opportunity to get the first shot at the original creations and finds of 30 local artists, craftspeople and vintage dealers. There will be beer, wine, soda, and a hot chocolate bar!
Then, on Friday, November 30th (my sister and my dog’s birthday by the way in case you need more of a a reason to celebrate something on Friday), you can have a killer time at Zeitgeist Gallery listening to Maria Finn from 6-7:30pm. Finn, a Copenhagen-based artist that has published 5 issues of her magazine “Plum Velvet,” will present her latest issue on the theme of “Hidden Narratives.”
Also Friday night, you can find even more talks with the monthly Collectors Art Night on 5th Avenue. If you RSVP at 5thAvenueoftheArts@gmail.com, then you are more than welcome to join in on the fun to be had at 3 locations side by side by side. At 5:30pm, The Rymer Gallery will start the evening art talks with a conversation with artist Herb Williams about his new crayon sculptures and oil paintings. At 6:45pm, Tinney Contemporary will feature artist Hyunmee Lee to talk about her new exhibit “Silent Guestures.” And at 7:15pm, The Arts Company completes the collaborative conversations with photographer Jerry Park and his “WorkSpaces: Artist’ Studios” (with co-curators Anne Brown and Lain York). The event is FREE if you RSVP!
You may want to go home early and rest on Friday because the rest of the weekend is a fun marathon of art and gifts. Saturday, if you stay around downtown from the night before, you can enjoy all of the 1st Saturday Downtown Art Crawl at all of the galleries. One in particular that will be more festive than ever (and that’s saying a lot since it is always festive) is twist art gallery. They will be celebrating a mini craft fair from 6-9pm in order to celebrate a very Merry Twistmas! Yes, I said it. Side note, the COOP gallery will also be poppin’ with some spectacular glass art from Virginia Griswold (no relation to the Christmas Vacation Griswold family though). Side side note, Lipscomb’s Open Gallery will be hosting the work of graduating BFA students Mariel Bolton, Nick Doty, and Jessica Richardson that varies in video, performance, and sculpture art.
But if you want to know where I and several hundred of my good friends will be on Saturday, December 1st (pretty much all day long until 9:30pm), Art & Invention Gallery will host their 11th annual Holiday Art Show. It includes work from over 100 artists (I’m married to one), featuring smaller works of art and handmade artisan wares. Whether you are looking for paintings, prints, jewelry, pottery, glass work, furniture, fiber art, Christmas ornaments, boots, vintage clothes, books, book art, and pretty much anything you are looking for, then you’ll find it at Art & Invention or at The Idea Hatchery stores just beside it (don’t forget about Bryant Gallery across the street too)! Seriously, if you can’t find it at any of the stores and galleries at 5 Points and Fatherland, then you probably don’t need it. Until 9:30pm, you really don’t have any excuse not to stop by for holiday shopping. Need food? You have several quick spots in I Dream of Weenie and Wrappers Delight food truck close together–and don’t forget Lockeland Table right up the street that can’t be beat! We’ll also have plenty of holiday music every where you turn. Side note, DJ’s HIS & HERS will be on hand spinning festive holiday songs on vinyl.
Point being, you really have to be an enormous humbug not to have a fun, festive weekend this week. Take a few notes from above and help spread the love to everyone you think needs a little pick-me-up this week. Good people + good art = good times.
much love,
chUck
Speaking of the holiday season this week and shopping local, leave it to Metro Arts to help everyone and their mother find great deals and great events. I’ll just give you their link and a blurb they just posted everywhere:
After you trot out your turkey or quail or whatever the heck you stuff yourself with on Thursday in good company day and night, you are more than welcome to bring everyone over to Black Friday at 5 Points. From 10am-10pm, there will be festivities gone wild at 1017 Fatherland Street in East 
Second on Tuesday’s menu, it might not get any better than this … seriously. It is time yet again for another Night of Remembrance at Gilda’s Club 
Why not finish your weekend of art, books, and music with some of the best around on Sunday. At 3pm, at the Eastwood Christian Church, the Eastwood Ensemble will be performing an epic show called “Parking Meters.” East Side Story is partnering with the Ensemble (
The 
Hello friends, Facebook and not. This week has been an epic week and we are not even finished with it yet! The election night was anything but yelling about politics where I was because it was a wonderful, dare I say beautiful night with some amazing creative, good-hearted people at the first ever East Side Storytellin’ at Rumours East. I’ll write more about the night when we get the recording out this weekend, but you should know that you need to go ahead and RSVP for the next one on November 20th right now because it was a big hit for everyone there.
Also this Friday, from 6-9, across town on the east side of things, you can have an art explosion of sorts if you visit The Plowhaus Gallery (729 Porter Road). There will be food by Pomodora East and Cafe Fundamental, music by Stoned Soul Revival, and more importantly there will be new work by Myles Maillie! Enough said, right?! What are you waiting for?
Talk about tons of other things going on on the east side of things again. First, one of East Side Story’s featured East Side poets, Ben Burr, is the featured poet in Saturday evening’s Poetry in the Brew at Portland Brew East (1921 Eastland Avenue) at 6:30pm. It is the perfect appetizer for your next stop … at East Side Story. I say that because I will be there, obviously, but so should you. From 6-9pm, we are having an opening/closing reception (we like to do things a wee bit differently, right?) for our one-weekend exhibition called “Beyond Books” at the bookstore. East Side Story is taking out all of the book books in the bookstore and replacing it temporarily with local book-themed art that challenged local artists to go beyond traditional book structures and the printed word in order to tell their story. Sculptures, 4-D, audio, and any other media (including the printed word) will be on site by some of the most creative people in town and the items are all for sale! Call me crazy, but this sounds like a great idea for a fun event. Come on out!
examine this... 