ORANGE SLICES
Guest Columnist
Imagine, for a moment, a small Southern town that for a night becomes a city-wide art gallery. Impossible, you say? Well, naysayers beware. For this is exactly what happens at Last Fridays in Hillsborough. It’s a party where everyone is intoxicated on beauty. If you live in Chapel Hill or Carrboro and it’s the last Friday of the month, do yourself a favor: take the short 12 mile drive, park in the free deck next to Weaver Street Market, and give yourself over to one of the most cultural, welcoming, and free evenings Orange County has to offer.
Last Fridays Art Walk has been drawing crowds to Hillsborough’s downtown for two decades. Slowly but surely it’s become one of the most festive and creative social nights in the region. “We see people from all over drive here for open galleries, and an old-fashioned sense of community,” says Mayor Mark Bell.
It takes dedicated residents to keep this event going. Heather Delisle’s commitment to the Hillsborough Arts Council began in 2004, when she started volunteering and attending monthly meetings. Delisle was honored in 2018 for her leadership in managing the Last Fridays Art Walk program for 14 years. Read more here: https://www.newsoforange.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_7d6bb134-5e9d-11e8-8ff7-63bf12b9042e.html
That old-fashioned sense of community is the event’s quiet superpower. Small businesses and local artists align to fill the downtown with energy. Galleries throw open their doors. The Old Orange County Courthouse lawn hosts the Last Fridays Makers Market — a carefully curated outdoor fair featuring original, handmade work by local artists and craftspeople, alongside community organizations and nonprofits. The Live on the Lawn Performance Series runs from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM May through October, offering live music of all kinds. Children dance with their parents. It’s a sight to see.
Heather Tatreau, Executive Director of the Hillsborough Arts Council, has watched the event grow year after year. “It amazes me how many people come from out of state — people who happen to be visiting family, or who were driving through from Virginia — thrilled to experience the event, to pull over to walk, dine, and buy some of the local goods.” Tatreau, a modern dance choreographer and arts educator with nearly two decades of university teaching experience, including ten years at UNC-Chapel Hill, brings a particular joy to the Live on the Lawn performances. “I studied dance and taught dance for many years,” she says, “so I love to see the rhythm of the night.” Watching strangers find their footing on a public lawn to a live band, she suggests, is one of those small pleasures easy to take for granted but impossible to manufacture.
Hillsborough’s restaurants and bars provide an oasis for the thirsty traveler, and a place to rest their feet. Nomad, Antonia’s, Wooden Nickel, Serratore’s Pizza, Saratoga Grill, and Weaver Street Market are just a sampling of downtown restaurants…