Fourth Friday: A local cultural experience
Written by Emily Kennedy-Staff Writer | 
As twinkling lights line Hay Street, the music of a saxophone can be heard, and with so much art around, the chill in the night air is barely noticeable. It was “Fourth Friday” and local artists were flocking to historic downtown Fayetteville to be a part of the action. The arts council held the first “Fourth Friday” of the year on January 28th and the 11th annual Cumberland County High School Juried Art Exhibition was held at the Arts Council amongst the street vendors and performers who attended “Fourth Friday.”
“I came down to support my school at the art show,” said Ciarra Smith, a local high school senior. After seeing the many participants, Smith decided to stay and walk around to see what “Fourth Friday” had to offer.
“[My family and I] have been coming down for as long as I can remember. I can’t remember a time when we didn’t come down,” said Jordan Brantley, one of the musicians and a local high school student.
Summerfield, a musical duo, also caught the attention of many patrons when a fiddle was brought out and the duo performed a cover of Charlie Daniel's, “Devil Went Down To Georgia.” Paintings were also being sold, like the dreamscape-type workings of Kevin Gregory. Gregory said he comes down every chance he gets and chuckled when he realized it was his fourth time to “Fourth Friday.”
Not everything was purely art-motivated though, as a SIFE (students in free enterprise) group from Fayetteville State University worked with Second Harvest to raise hunger awareness through a food drive. Their main purpose was to get the word out about a canned food sculpture contest they are hosting to help collect food. As “Fourth Friday” began to slow down, members of the Victory Chapel in Spring Lake confessed their personal struggles in what they called, “a real-life skit.”
There is something for people of all ages and backgrounds at “Fourth Friday” and everyone should go at least once to experience this cultural event.
For more information about “Fourth Friday” visit: http://www.theartscouncil.com/fourthmain.php and for more information on the canned food sculpture contest visit: http://www.uncfsu.edu/sbe/.
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