Walking Arts Tour Expands Beyond Patchogue

The Patchogue Arts Council's third annual Walking Arts Tour, which began Saturday, will for the first time display its exhibits in neighboring towns Bayport, Blue Point and Sayville in addition to Patchogue. 

The tour was kicked off Saturday night with a gathering at the Center for Visual Arts in Bayport for a night of free food and drinks, as well as preview screenings of films that will be featured at the PAC's annual Patchogue Arts Festival on Oct. 24.

The Walking Arts Tour features the work of artists from around the country and around the corner. Paintings, sculptures, photographs and installation art pieces are displayed in space donated by local businesses and kept up through October.

"Every year the arts tour gets bigger," noted Beth Giacummo, vice president of the PAC and tour co-chair.

Giacummo said she hopes to expand it even further in the years ahead. The arts council recently received a  from Suffolk County which helped to facilitate the growth.

It took approximately four days of "non-stop hanging" by volunteers to set up the tour, Giacummo said, adding the displays are now in place and residents can find a map of artwork locations at www.pacwat.com.

The website will also post Podcasts, a new tour feature this year, which are audio recordings that include descriptions of the artwork, artist biographies and quotes that can downloaded onto a digital music player and listened to while taking the tour.

Sharon Henson, a local resident with three photographs in the tour, credited her daughter, Dawn Wakiya, who also has two paintings on display, with getting her back into the art scene.

Patchogue Village Board Trustee Lori Devlin, who is also a founding co-president of the PAC, is showing off her artistic side with two photographs on the tour. "I think it's been great for the community, great for the artists and great for the businesses," she said.

Jessica McAvoy, co-chair of the arts tour,  said the community feel of Patchogue, its performing arts theatre, inspiring waterfront scenery and train station for easy city commuting make the village a prime area for art enthusiasts.