The arts and entertainment community in downtown Sylvania would love to meet you. A collective of 27 different businesses, including art galleries and restaurants, have assembled as the Red Bird Arts District, created in May 2015. Friday, December 4 will kick off a weekend-long event, Miracle on Main Street to showcase the Arts District and to get people in the mood for the holidays.
The District is the brainchild of Scott and Barb Hudson, owners of downtown Sylvania’s Hudson Gallery, along with Dani Fuller, the Art Director of the River Centre Gallery, and Rae Betz, a local graphic designer from Sylvania design firm LJ Creates. Scott Hudson explains the momentum to launch the District: “The main impetus was when the River Center gallery [formerly the American Gallery] moved to Downtown Sylvania.”
The two galleries got together to build a vision for the downtown area, with a focus on creating a vibrant art community. Neighboring businesses have been very supportive of the idea. Scott Hudson relates, at the beginning “we were worried about getting 15 businesses to join; now we have almost thirty.”
Most of the businesses involved in Red Bird are contained on two city blocks, making The District an easily walkable and tight-knit family.
A walk about town
Since October, the business collective has put on monthly First Friday art walks. The turn-outs have been great so far. Barb Hudson recalls “hordes of people, with big smiles on everyone’s faces. Everybody’s happy.”
This month’s First Friday event will be a part of the weekend long Miracle on Main Street, with events from December 4th to Sunday, December 6th, with art walks, concerts, and holiday activities like a Christmas tree lighting and a Festival of Lights parade.
For more on Red Bird Arts District, and their upcoming Miracle on Main Street events, visit redbirdarts.org/miracle-on-main-street/
