FREE-First Friday South End Gallery Crawl and Food Truck Friday

Good Eats and Meets wants to let you know about one of the most fun and FREE events in Charlotte. Welcome to the FREE-First Friday South End Gallery Crawl and Food Truck Friday. ..Please read the bottom for Meetup details.

Charlotte Magazine recently named the South End Gallery Crawl as the “Best Artsy Place to Take a Date” (http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/May-2013/The-2013-BOB-AWARDS/Arts-Culture/)and Food Truck Friday as “Best Regular Foodie Event”. Every month on the 1st Friday, the FREE-South End Gallery Crawl and Food Truck Friday have a great lineup of gallery exhibitions and food trucks. The Gallery Crawl is a casual way for you to explore the galleries and shops in the South End neighborhood. Most of the wonderful galleries will be open with special exhibitions and the popular foodie event, Food Truck Friday, will be in the heart of it all! Specifics for each gallery can be found on the Southend Website http://www.cltsouthend.com/play/gallery-crawl/ but here are a few things to help you enjoy your First Friday Gallery Crawl Experience.

1. Parking - On popular nights with Gallery Crawl and Food Truck Friday, parking can fill up quickly so it is highly recommended that if you can take the light rail that you please do! Both the I-485, Tyvola and Scaleybark Light Rail Stations have huge parking lots and if you ride the light rail to the East/West Blvd Station you will then have a 2 minute walk from the Sycamore. The majority of the galleries are located at the Bland Street Station. Once you are in South End, you can walk to just about everything so you won’t need your car. If you are driving, there is adequate on-street parking and several surface lots in and around the Hawkins St area. Please be certain to park only in areas signed to appropriately for parking. The surface lot behind Price’s Chicken Coop usually charges $5 to park if you want to be really close. There is also a lot on the corner of S Tryon and Park Ave you can park but it is not free. It only costs $3 and you pay via your cell phone…no parking attendant so don’t get confused. There are instructions to let you know how to pay via phone.Charlotte Magazine recently named the South End Gallery Crawl as the “Best Artsy Place to Take a Date” (http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/May-2013/The-2013-BOB-AWARDS/Arts-Culture/)and Food Truck Friday as “Best Regular Foodie Event” and we will have a great lineup of gallery exhibitions and food trucks for August and as well as special guests from WFAE 90.9 FM. (http://events.publicbroadcasting.net/wfae/events.eventsmain?action=showEvent&eventID=1399112) The Gallery Crawl is a casual way for you to explore the galleries and shops in the South End neighborhood. Maps of the area will be available at the WFAE tent (http://events.publicbroadcasting.net/wfae/events.eventsmain?action=showEvent&eventID=1399112) at Food Truck Friday so you can explore as you like. All of our wonderful galleries will be open with special exhibitions and the popular foodie event, Food Truck Friday, will be in the heart of it all! Specifics for each gallery can be found below but here are a few things to help you enjoy your First Friday Gallery Crawl Experience.

2. Navigating the Crawl - the South End is designed in such a way for you to explore at your leisure the galleries and shops along the way. My recommendation given all the festivities would be the following. Park at Atherton Mill at 2000 South Blvd and visit the Atherton Market ARts Market. They do this once a quarter so you are in luck for September. You can grab some wine or food from VinMaster, Luna’s or Big Ben. Head down the Rail Trail going north. Soon as you pass the back of Sullivan’s you will see Hidell Brooks Gallery. They aren’t open for every gallery crawl so check them out on line or call! Jump back on the trail and take a walk down to Park Ave. Take a right onto Park Ave and hit up Lark and Key Gallery and Ciel Gallery & Mosaic Studio. Back track a little up Park back to Camden and keep going north but this time walking on Camden. The Charlotte Art League will be on your right before you get to the end of the street. Great space with lots to see. Cross the intersection of Camden, Summit and Tryon over to Summit and visit Elder Gallery. Elder is only open until 8pm so keep that in mind cause you don’t want to miss it (most of the other galleries remain open until 9pm). Finally, you will want to visit Charlotte Artery and Coffey Thompson; however, they are a little far to walk so you might want to take the car. Charlotte Artery is on Mint Street not far from Summit and Coffey Thompson is on Morehead. All the details are below but this might give you an idea of what you can find. Enjoy at your own pace or order!

3. Art is For Sale - Gallery Crawl is great for South End on a variety of levels. We introduce more folks to both the neighborhood and to local and regional art but more importantly we help support small businesses. Come have a great time but know that the wonderful art you are enjoying is also for sale .

4. The ABC’s of Food Truck Friday -a) Sycamore has lots of seating but they do have a grassy area for you to set up your own. b) Trash bags are located around the perimeter or the Food Truck lot. Please help us by putting your trash in these bags or in the containers. Please just use our bags. 5. Make a Night of It - Finally, there is so much in South End that you can make a whole night of Gallery Crawl. We have a variety of great restaurants with many of them located along South Blvd. Stop in for dinner or drinks before you start your Gallery Crawl. In addition to the Galleries there are great retail shops along the way and many stay open later on Gallery Crawl night. Finally, after you have enjoyed the galleries, feel free to grab a cocktail or catch some live music. South End has a lot to offer so hope you’ll take advantage!

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South End is home to the largest concentration of art galleries in Charlotte with over 12 galleries and more than 25 studios. The First Friday of every month, South End hosts a Gallery Crawl where the galleries offer receptions as they launch a new monthly exhibition.

In addition to the Gallery Crawl, a new event has emerged called Food Truck Friday which is a gathering of some of Charlotte's popular food trucks at Sycamore Brewing. Hundreds of folks come out to sample this food truck cuisine and engage in a truly unique culinary experience.

Meetup details-Outdoor events like this are quite tough for getting the group together but are so worth it. I would love a host for the event and if anyone can step forward, that would be great. Look at the RSVP's and send a message to others signed up. Usually, we are located in the parking lot of Sycamore Brewing from 5:30 on...One of Good Eats and Meets own members Emma, has her own food truck The Southern Cake Queen (the pink truck) and will be the meeting spot for the group. She will have the Good Eats and Meets sign posted near her truck for GEAM'ers to find and sit near. Say hi to Emma and her husband Ian and get some of her fabulous desserts. Please try and get together with folks signed up. If you are interested in hosting or being our point person, please send me a message here or at goodeatsandmeets@live.com. Cheers!