PITTSTON — Two down and two to go.
The Second Friday Art Walk will reach the midway point of its season with its third event on Friday, July 14.
Something for residents to keep their eyes open for is the new mural on the building of Dr. Santa Lafoca, DMD at 20 N. Main St. above the Greater Pittston YMCA.
The mural was done by Pittston Area High School art students under the direction of their art teacher and president of the Pittston City Arts Council, Judy Greenwald.
“I decided at the beginning of last year I wanted to get an artist-in-residence,” she said. “I had been to an art teachers conference and I heard about an artist-in-residence that you can get through the IU (Intermediate Unit) and the state. So, I applied and I got Leigh Pawling who came from March 1 to the end of May.”
An artist-in-residence is an artist attached to a community for a specified period of time.
Under the direction of Pawling and Greenwald, 24 art students worked on the city’s new mural, with each letter in “Pittston” having a different design relating to the city. There’s also a depiction of person within the mural looking like it’s painting the mural.
“The kids wanted to show somebody painting,” Greenwald said. “They thought it would be fun to do somebody painting a mural in the mural.”
The art walk will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. and will feature live music, face painting and vendors selling their art work.
Main Street Manager Rose Randazzo said there will also be circus training for children with the Eclectric Circus in the parking lot of Law Office at 39.
“They had a tremendous amount of children who were interested in performing arts,” she said. “This circus includes walking on stilts, doing circus tricks, being able to dress up and it was a big success, so we want to do it again.”
Randazzo , although exhausted from all the preparation, couldn’t be happier with how the season is going so far.
“I’m tired,” she said with a big smile. “But, I have to say, this year we’ve been blessed because the first two art walks had incredible weather and fantastic turnouts. Everybody seems to be really getting involved more, especially the young people.”
Friday’s event will be the last one until September, as the art walk skips August to make way for the Tomato Festival.
“I have nothing to do with the Tomato Festival, but I get to come and enjoy it,” Randazzo said. “I’m just a visitor for that week.”
