First Friday Kicks Off Friday Night!

Posted on April 5th, 2018 in Uncategorized by Amanda Paffrath |

First Friday’s® Downtown Racine Kicks off it’s 2018 Season April 6th with New Sponsors, New Events and New Fun
Celebrate a beautiful night Downtown during Racine’s First (of 2018) First Friday April 6th, from 4- 9pm!

Socialize with friends and neighbors as you enjoy shopping, adult beverages and a stroll through the historic Downtown city streets. Join all the First Friday’s Sponsor business owners as they welcome you to shop local, dine & discover the best Racine has to offer: Downtown! Come early & stay late! Downtown Racine has been a shopping destination since 1860.

Sparkle up your springtime wardrobe with accessories from Funky Hannah’s!. Choose from handcrafted jewelry from their on staff designers or be inspired to create something yourself. Spring classes are offered for adults as well as birthday parties for children. Stop in and find out why Funky Hannah’s has been a favorite shop downtown for more than twenty years!

Don’t miss the fun at Hot Shop Glass – our sister business-, 239 Wisconsin Avenue, as owners & artisans Dan Sviland & Amanda Paffrath turn 2000o molten glass into art right before your eyes. Come and be mesmerized by the process, heat and dynamics of working with liquid glass. See the latest creations in the gallery and pick up info about upcoming classes.

And your last chance to see the PEEP exhibit at RAM is this weekend & it’s free admission all day & eve Friday!!!

Visitors enjoy free RAM (Racine Art Museum) admission and extended hours from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm on Friday, April 6. The art made with fluffy, sugar-coated marshmallow PEEPS gets more creative every spring in the popular RAM 9th Annual International PEEPS Art Exhibition. At the same time, RAM releases the beasts of contemporary craft in the multi-media exhibition, Beasts: Wild Animals in RAM’s Collection. Meanwhile, Polymer Art: Recent Acquisitions tells the story of how RAM established the world’s largest polymer collection in 2011 and spotlights pieces that have been donated to the museum since then. Contemporary artists express themselves through the power of the written wordin Text Message: Words and Letters in Contemporary Art. And, Japanese Studio Craft at RAM is an exploration of small-scale craft from artists with Japanese heritage. Beer and wine will beavailable for purchase, 5:30 to 8:30 pm.

Here are even more of the happenings the friendly merchants have in store for you April 6:

Join us at Northern Lights Gallery, 423 Main Street for First Friday on April 6th. New in for 2018: boutique fashion, home accents, wall art, jewelry, and more unique finds you won’t see anywhere else. Beat your cabin fever and stop in to say hi! We’re known for our friendly and welcoming atmosphere and we’d love to see your smiling faces!

Uncorkt, 240 Main Street, is the place to be on First Friday, April 6th. Our drink specials begin

at 4:00 pm. with glasses of wine, only $5, and the lowest priced craft beer in Racine. Starting

at 6:00 pm. until 10:00 pm. we have a FAN favorite the Gary T. Ricchio Project. Uncorkt also

has free wine sampling from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Come see why Uncorkt won the 2015, 2016 and

2017 the BEST WINE STORE in Racine County!

Check out our selection of new Opal jewelry at red moon, 334 Main Street. To help celebrate the

return of First Fridays, we are offering a free Lavish Jewelry Cleaning Kit with any Opal purchase

as well as a 5% discount on all purchases.

DIVINO GELATO, 245 Main Street, will be hosting an Open Mic Night from 6 PM – 9PM

The popular NANO BUG RACES will be held at Dover Flag & Map, 323 Main Street. Be sure to

stop in to cheer your favorite color BUG to victory on the winding track. Bring your friends and

you may be the lucky winner of . . . Famous Amos Cookies! Say the secret word (Springtime)

and receive 15% off of your entire purchase.

Racine Arts Council’s ArtSpace Gallery (409 Sixth Street) will feature Emergency Room, a Color-Coded Art Exhibition. Emergency Room artists Catherine Cajandig (IL), Judith Jones (MI), Deanna Krueger (IL), Erik R. Peterson (IL), Mimi Peterson (WI), and Daniel Teafoe (IL) present a fluid collection of works that boldly fuels the idea that color is perpetually transformative.

At Art Metals Studio, 332 Main Street, test your Gem knowledge by playing “Know Your Bling”!!! In honor of April’s Birthstone, Diamond, AMS is holding another gemstone guessing contest. Stop

in the store on April 6th, from 10am – 9pm, and try your hand at Diamond identification! Guess

which stone is Diamond from the contest tray to be entered into a drawing for a super-sparkly

AMS Diamond pendant! Guess wrong? AMS’s knowledgeable staff will be there to educate you

on how to tell the difference in the future. One guess per customer. The winner of the drawing will

be announced on Saturday, April 7th. Shine on!!! See you there!

Lighthouse Gallery & Gifts, 306 Main Street, welcomes April 2018 First Friday with clearance

pricing on fashion jewelry (some exclusions apply). Our exclusive photo jigsaw puzzles will be

20% off only for this First Friday. Get a head start on Mother’s Day and order your custom photo

tin at a special price!

Enhance your shopping experience by listening to soft rock rhythm and blues and Timeless

favorites by solo singer guitarist Bob Treml 6 to 9 p.m. at Dimples. From necklaces to rings to

bracelets, you can cross off everything on your jewelry list at Dimples Fine Imports, 416 Main

Street.

Stop on in at RG Natural Babies, 430 Main Street, and get ready for Spring Gardening Fun with

your little ones! Plus, 20% off Lifeactory Water Bottle, Wine glasses and beverage glasses all

Made in the USA!

Twice Baked Pottery (320 Main Street) looks forward to the return of first Fridays for 2018! Wedding

season is approaching! Now’s the time to pick up those wedding and shower gifts for all of your friends

and family. Now featuring new products including travel mugs and microwave bacon cookers. We look

forward to seeing you soon!

Other First Friday’s sponsoring merchants include: Artful Glass Objects (232 Main Street), Main Street General Store (302 Main Street), Sugar Shack Sweet Shoppe (530 Monument Sq.), and Photographic Design Gallery & Framing (411 Sixth Street.)

Spend an evening with friends and family enjoying downtown: the BEST of Racine. Visit our website (FirstFridaysRacine.com) for information about the latest happenings, in store specials and links to your favorite spots downtown.

CONTACT:

Tony Bigonia