It's the first Friday in June which can only mean one thing in Lancaster city. Downtown will be swollen with visitors Friday.

Unless you've been living under a rock for years, you know about Lancaster's First Friday arts event -- it's an evening filled with exhibit openings, live music, theater and pop-up street performances.

And when the temperatures rise, so does the energy level.

"I'm so impressed with all the ideas people have," says Elizabeth Todd Lambert, president and CEO of LancasterARTS, an organization that helps promote the monthly artistic smorgasbord.

"Every First Friday I'm really amazed. There's always brand new things. And the quality of the things out there is just so good."

While the visual arts remain a staple of the celebration, First Friday has grown to include the creative outpourings of musicians, actors, poets, and dancers, too.

"We have this great mix of young and older, experienced and newcoming on the scene," says Lambert. "You never know what you'll find. It's so amazing to see what people do with this creative energy."

Lambert wants people to know that the treasures are found all over the city, too, not just in one small area.

"I always hope people will explore the different areas around the city," she says.

To help in that process, LancasterARTS has a website that offers downloadable walking and driving maps that are updated frequently to keep up with the growth.

You can get one at www.lancasterarts.com.

But for right now, read on for a sampling of the offerings awaiting the artistically inclined visitor this evening.

One of Lancaster's newest galleries opens Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. with a meet-the-artist, wine-and-cheese reception.

LaPorte Jewelers Art Gallery, located on College Row at 645 Harrisburg Ave., is featuring the surreal works of local artist Michael Wann.

His thought-provoking, conspicuously headless images are created through the rearrangement of magazine clippings (talk about recycling!)

The gallery will feature art by local and regional artists each month.

Follow the flock of Fred Rodger fans to Red Raven Art Company Friday when Rodger premieres his new series titled "Something To Think About." In it, the popular artist imbeds some folksy wisdom into his whimsical paintings. "If women don't find you handsome... they should at least find you handy." Hmm. Definitely something to think about. Rodger's fun, cartoonish work is highly collectible and the folks at Red Raven say his exhibits generally sell out the first night. The exhibit will be complemented by the cute and colorful collages of Penny Feder ("Color Talks") and the bronze, felt and clay 3D "Characters" of local artist and teacher Terri Hay.The reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. at 138 N. Prince St.

Artist Elm Miller Timms explores "Soul Songs: The World Within a Moment" in her mixed-media exhibit opening in the North gallery of Mulberry Art Studios with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. "An avid daydreamer still, I revel in following my imagination to find rare beauty in moments that, unexplored, seem the most common place," Timms explains in an artist's statement. She'll share opening night festivities with Leslie Graham, whose "Milieux" encaustic painting exhibit also will be featured at Mulberry. "Through this collection I attempt to celebrate the places traveled in our daily lives," shares Graham. "I pray to find and record the beauty that lies therein and, in that beauty, extend inspiration, sustenance and rest." You'll find it at 21 N. Mulberry Street!

Follow the music to Annex 24 Gallery, 24 W. Walnut St., where Dylan James and Co. will be performing bluesy jazz with a touch of pop/rock to add some ambiance to the artistic renderings of New Jersey artists Quinton Green and New York City artist Eddie Rehm. The two artists are part of a group of regional painters and photographers who use their gifts to share "A Moment in Time."

Theatrical art will also be created Friday at a couple locations.

Lancaster Dramatists Platform will present staged readings of new works by local playwrights Friday beginning at 9 p.m. at a new location -- the Binns Room of Millersville University-Lancaster, 42 N. Prince St. It's a great place to plug in to the creative minds of the community. "It's also great for people who like to stay out a bit later," says Lambert. Most events are winding down as this one heats up.

And last on our tip-of-the-iceberg list of artistic goings-on Friday is the Sweeter the Berry Community Arts Showcase at the Lancaster YWCA. A true community effort, the event includes the River Crossing Playback Theatre, children from the Sweeter the Berry After School Ensemble, Music for Everyone Chorus, Rob Seitz and Lincoln Middle School students and poet Angelique Arroyo. Master of Ceremonies is Gracie Berry. It is coordinated by Dr. Amanda Kemp, director of Theatre for Transformation. The event features a lot of audience interaction and concentrates on the sweetness of life in multicultural Lancaster. The theme of the evening is "A Play of Childhood," celebrating innocence, hope and wonder.

Sounds refreshing, doesn't it?

Lambert thinks so.

"I'm sure after all the rain, then the heat and humidity, a lot of people will be out celebrating good weather in such a wonderful environment."

First Friday

5-9 p.m. Free

Lancaster City

www.LancasterARTS.com