Art, Trolley Rides, Raffles and More at Bristol Art Stroll

On Sunday, eight Bristol art galleries will open their doors for the, an official “Fourth of July Cultural Event” with raffle ticket proceeds to benefit the Bristol Fourth of July Committee.

Some local artists participating are Kris Donovan of Little Compton and Martha Mullen Taradash, Denise Zompa, Nancy Shand, Mary Sexton, Marjorie Jensen and Phyllis Dobbyn Adams, all of Tiverton.

, , The Mosaic Works Gallery, , , , Studio 297 and The Paint Studio are all participating in the free event that includes trolley rides, refreshments, raffles of original art and live music.

“We get the people into the galleries and everyone has a good time,” says Nancy Pritchard of Bristol Art Gallery, which is sponsoring the event. “They learn galleries aren’t that intimidating.”

Starting at noon the trolley will make its way around downtown Bristol until 5 p.m., with three stops on Hope Street and one on Thames Street. Rides are $2 or visitors can purchase 10 raffle tickets and receive two complimentary adult trolley passes. Children under the age of 12 ride for free.

Art lovers will get a chance to win one of 16 original pieces of art, with each gallery presenting two paintings or sculptures as raffle prizes. To enter the raffle, folks need only to place their tickets in the jar beside the artwork of choice. At the close of the stroll, raffle winners will be drawn on the sidewalk outside of Bristol Art Gallery on Hope Street. They do not need to be present to win.

Together the galleries comprise the Bristol Independent Galleries, which share costs of advertising and organize the strolls. This season’s strolls will be held on Sundays, July 10, August 7, September 18 and October 9.

“The stroll is good not only for the galleries, it’s good for the town too,” says Anita Trezvant of Hope Gallery. “People are coming to look and shop with us, but they also stay and eat lunch and dinner, so I think it’s good for the local economy as a whole.”

Jensen, a painter from Tiverton, says more than anything the stroll helps put their businesses on the map. Jensen has opened her shared studio, The Paint Studio, to the public in past years and is glad for newcomers Gallery Eleven Fine Art, where she is one of 12 members, to experience their first stroll. She says typically patrons come back in the following weeks to purchase artwork they have been mulling over since the event.

“It can be a big sales day, but it’s more about people becoming familiar with us,” she says.

The Bristol Independent Galleries Art Stroll will be held on Sunday May 15^th 12-5 p.m. Trolley maps and raffle tickets can be found at participating galleries. For more information contact Anita Trezvant at (401) 683-0146.