Just north of College Station, with its own culture sometimes completely different than that of its neighboring city, is Historic Downtown Bryan. Downtown Bryan is, to an extent, College Stations bearded, hipster older brother.
Downtown Bryan is a small hub of cultural nuances, a budding artistic center that grows each year. The area showcases its cultural artistry in an event on the first Friday of every month.
According to the First Friday website, the theme for this Friday is Art Step, the quarterly event that brings together local artists and galleries to display, share and sell their works of art. The footsteps painted on the ground throughout Downtown Bryan will lead to the special art displays, events and shows.
Also on Friday, art will meet agriculture as local and student artists participate in Artist Harvest. This attraction is held in the alleyway between the Village Caf and the federal building. Art will be on display from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. and local musicians Tobin Redwine, agricultural leadership, education and communication graduate student; Tayler Slocum, sophomore A&M student; and Erin Briers, sophomore business administration student, will be performing around 9 p.m.
Lauren Friend, freshmen agriculture economics major and creator and director of the Artist Harvest event, spoke about the creation of the event.
My whole inspiration for this entire event was to not only connect people to their food source, but to tell the story of the agriculture industry as well, Friend said. What better way to tell your story but through the visualization of creativity?
The artists who are participating in this event have artwork inspired by agriculture. Friend said a metal artist attending the event was inspired by some of the parables pertaining to agriculture in the Bible.
There will also be an Artist Harvest Farm Dance, which is in celebration of the opening of the first garden in Downtown Bryan. The Distributive Urban Farming Initiative (DUFI) is a project dedicated to revolutionizing vacant lots in the downtown area and transforming them into scenic sites of vegetation.
Del Castillo and The Scooter Brown Band will be playing live at the Grand Stafford Theater at 8 p.m. Del Castillo is a unique blend of rock, blues, Latin, and world music. In contrast, The Scooter Brown Band, a country-driven group with similar sounds to Jason Aldean, will be preforming. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at grandstaffordtheater.com.
A theatrical comedy by Rick Abbott and directed by Evelyn Callaway, Play On, will be performed at the Center Stage at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.