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With venues like the Allentown Art Museum, Miller Symphony Hall and the Baum School of Art, downtown Allentown has long been a destination for artists, art collectors and art lovers. Now with emerging studios and galleries such as Gallery 724 and Studio 740 on Hamilton Street, and the Allentown Arts Walk running through the new development in center city, the city's arts community has joined forces with downtown restaurants and retailers to present a monthly event, Destination Arts: Third Thursday. The collaborative event, which began in September, is similar to south Bethlehem's First Friday in that it shines a light on the area's many art offerings. Destination Arts features art classes, exhibitions and talks, along with musical performances and special promotions at art venues, restaurants and retailers on the third Thursday of each month. The event began with a series of conversations between Allentown's arts organizations and the Hamilton District Main Street Program, an initiative of the Allentown Chamber of Commerce. "It really got started by the arts groups, including the Allentown Art Museum and the Baum School, along with art curator Deb Rabinsky, who is a big player within this whole endeavor," says Miriam Huertas, senior vice president for Allentown Initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. "And then some other folks got involved — artists Ann Schlegel, Ana Hamilton and more. People just started jumping on board." Destination Arts: Third Thursday: March highlights David Mickenberg, president and CEO of the Allentown Art Museum, credits Huertas for being "extremely supportive" of providing another opportunity for people to engage in what's happening on the ArtsWalk and in downtown Allentown overall. "The goal of the event is to ensure that the arts are a focal point of the community and that more and more people have a chance to engage the arts," Mickenberg says. "It's a way to extend the opportunities from Seventh Street to Fifth Street and to ensure that people enjoy the galleries, restaurants and shops, and see what's going on at the Arts Park, the Baum School, the museum and other venues." The art museum, which has offered free admission 4-8 p.m. Thursdays for the past few years, has used the new monthly event to expand its programming, Mickenberg says. This Third Thursday, it will offer the following free activities: a workshop relating to the exhibit "Above the Fold: New Expression in Origami," 4-8 p.m.; Colony Meadery mead tastings, 5-8 p.m.; guided tour of artist Franz Kline's recently restored "Lehighton" mural, 6 p.m.; bagpipe presentation by Bethlehem musician and Grammy winner John Bottomley, 6-7 p.m.; and Allentown Public Theatre dramatic reading of Shimako Murai's "Sunflowers," detailing the effects of the bombing of Hiroshima, 6:30-9 p.m. Jon Clark, design director at Re:Find, a store offering home furnishings on the ground floor of the Strata Flats apartment complex, says Destination Arts has been a way to capitalize on the strength of Allentown as "both an established and growing arts destination." Clark and his partner, Ron Susser, also operate two downtown galleries: Gallery 724 and Gallery on the Walk. "From a business perspective, we have two art galleries and a store that also sells art, so it's really great to have a time where we can draw people downtown for our art openings as well as our continuing art shows," Clark says. The Main Street Program, which is designed to promote neighborhood improvements and retain and recruit retailers in the area from Fifth to 12th streets and from Walnut to Linden streets, also has seen a positive impact. "Arts is a great economic driver in any revitalization effort, so for me, having the arts be at the core of this event was really, really important," Huertas says. "We have restaurants and retailers to think about, so this is definitely a way for them to get in on the action and benefit as well." Huertas, who along with her colleagues maintain the Destination Arts website, is excited for Destination Arts' future. She has reunited with old friends and met people who have traveled from as far as Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey. "I love the energy," she says. "I'm seeing people I haven't seen in a long time — many people I haven't seen in Allentown at all. "I have a lot of friends who live and work in Easton and a lot of them are coming, too. So, it's really turned into quite the hangout." Read the original article here.