THE SWEETEST THING Good vibes at Open Studio Sunday

Waltham Open Studios: An annual sweet treat, indeed

Of all the “once a year “events on Waltham's calendar, this one is my favorite.

A long-ago label stuck on myself and my partner in wine and cheese was "Culture Vulture", as we regularly cruised the Friday afternoon Gallery openings in the resort town we had summer jobs in.

Course we were hungry and broke, no sign of a fridge or even a kitchen privilege in our summer headquarters, tree house rooms in the attic over Joe Lennon's Watch Shop, his bride Evelyn's Hair Salon and a full guest house sandwiched in between.

It took no convincing to throw on a calico print, something on your feet and head down to the wharf for shoulder-to-shoulder Chablis and Brie. Crowded warehouses, cozy shanties and other hovels awash in blue hydrangeas were chock-a-block with appetizers, and plenty of wine to wash it down.

That's where we were caught red handed: a plastic cup in one hand a top heavy Triscut in the other, by the balladeer Gibb from Scotland spending his summer searching for "Whiskey On A Sunday" six nights a week from his headquarters, a basement bar acquainted with whaling.

But now it’s all about the art, tables topped with canvas where anything spilled, wiped with pallet knife or hairbrush, stains left behind falling from a color wheel, shades caught between pink and mauve, or a perfect peach in for the weekend from Key West. that when set next door to a tangerine neighbor, makes all the difference when the whole business is blushed by coral blue.

Today's delivery to this place of bliss, to these long passages sprouting cozy, creative hovels, studios with lofts, is by friendly freight elevator summoned by a bell sucked into an inner wall. It's operated by Lizzy the friendly lifter allowing the cage to climb up the bricks of the shaft to the very top to work your way down.

But not before drinking in heavenly views of a meandering river Charles, of roofscapes stuck with needle steeples, cupolas, belfries, dormer tips buckling the long stretch of skyline.

Then it's off to the sound of fiddle strings from The High Strung Strummers, capable of sending a haunting dirge down a hollow hallway, that we indulge ourselves this gorgeous treat once a year and we thank these stacked creatives for their generous invite to "Come on up to the house."