First Friday Variety ... Friday

With a glowing weather forecast and plenty of free, fun stuff going on, you can bet the streets of downtown Lancaster will be packed for First Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. What will those crowds be seeing?

nA new gallery opens at 15 W. King St. Gallery on Market features original folk art by Cynthia Schlosser and custom hand-crafted furniture by woodworker Joel Bare. Their work is inspired by summer, including trips to the beach, and flower and vegetable gardening.

nHusband and wife Ken and Julie Girardini are featured at the Isadore Gallery, 228 N. Prince St. "Multidimensional Metal" features his photography on metal plates and her metal sculptures.

nAll-in-the-family art is also featured at Painted Desert Gallery, 227 N. Duke St., where the collaborative work of Will Mowery and his daughter, Magdalen, is on display. The two often collaborate on the same canvas, as in "The Corner of Prince and Queen 2," shown at left.

nThree artists are featured at Simplicity Art Gallery, 150 N. Prince St. Carl Schlott does painting and sculpture; Gerald Davidson is a stained-glass designer, and Nath Favors works in wood.

nMU-Lancaster, 42 N. Prince St., is going to be a busy place Friday. The paintings, many of flowers, and sculptures made from twigs by Judy Beck Lobos ("Twig Tea" is shown at upper right) will be on display. Classical guitarist Matt Bacon performs from 6 to 8 p.m. and Camp Will will be featuring its one-hour version of Shakespeare's popular comedy "Twelfth Night" from 7 to 8 p.m. Camp Will is part of the People's Shakespeare Project, which will be offering a free, full-blown production of "Twelfth Night" as part of MU's Four Corners summer festival later this month.

nOther performing art events going on during First Friday include comedy improv at krisha martzall photography, 30 N. Queen St., from 7 to 8 p.m.

nIt's Open Mic Art Night at Allen Miller Arts, 117 E. Chestnut St. Musicians, dancers, artists and artisans of all kinds are welcome to perform or share their art.

nAt the Parrot Gallery, 328 W. Orange St., Chris Longenecker will be reading poetry from her new book, "How Trees Must Fall." Also at the Parrot, Dan Lehman and Josh Yoder will exhibit a retrospective of their work from Philadelphia's Tyler School of Art.

nAnd at the Fulton Theatre, 12 N. Prince St., the cast of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" will have a cabaret after the show at 10:30 p.m.

There's plenty more going on and most, though not all of it, is free. For more information, go to www.lancasterarts.com.

Wine & Song ... Friday-Monday

It's Fourth of July weekend and two of Lancaster's wineries are eager to celebrate. Nissley Vineyards, 140 Vintage Drive, Bainbridge, kicks off its summer-long Music in the Vineyards series Saturday night with Nightwind, a classic light rock band. The concerts continue every Saturday through Sept. 3. Tickets are $15 for the concerts, which run from 7:30 to 10 p.m. You must be 21 or older and chilled wine and snacks are available. Picnics are welcome, though not other alcohol. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket. The concert series feature a variety of different kinds of music, from classic horn-driven rhythm and blues (The Roof Rockers on July 16) to big band and swing (Blue Moon Big Band on Aug. 6) to soul and Motown (Silver Hawks on Aug. 13). For a complete list of the series, go to www.nissleywine.com.

Meanwhile, over at Twin Brook Winery, 5697 Strasburg Road, Gap, the Gazebo Concert Series has been going on for a number of Fridays. Friday's concert features the Hake and Jarema Band, which performs classic rock, blues, folk and soul. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 5 to 12. But then the rest of the weekend concerts are free, including old time American music by Cracked Walnuts on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m.; funky folk by Ragtime Willi on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., and acoustic rock by Mark Boyd, Monday from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday also will feature a vineyard vintage car cruise from noon to 5 p.m. Wine will be available. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets and picnics are welcome, though not other alcohol. For the complete concert list, go to www.twinbrookwinery.com.