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First Posted: 5/19/2014 Like fleeting cherry blossoms, all those framed paintings and photographs that brought beauty and texture to downtown Wilkes-Barre last week during the Fine Arts Fiesta&#8217;s four-day run are gone from public view, fast fading from memory.
But that doesn&#8217;t mean, as some people might lead you to believe, that for the next 360-plus days the Wyoming Valley has folded up the tent on all things artistic. Far from it.
From &#8220;third Friday&#8221; art walks in the city&#8217;s hub each month to art league events, formal gallery displays and guerrilla art, there&#8217;s a constant, creative stream swirling through this community, bringing joy, inspiration and pleasure to those people willing to dive in.
If you have an artistic inkling, why not connect with like-minded folks in Greater Wilkes-Barre and find an outlet for your right-brain ambitions? If you&#8217;re purely an appreciator of the arts, make time throughout the coming year to see the local programs (theater productions, exhibit openings, etc.) and places that defy stereotypes of this region as a hardscrabble, bleak place.
After all, the Fiesta&#8217;s founders in 1956 didn&#8217;t envision their event as a firework &#8211; a flash of color meant to attract oohs and ahhs, then fizzle &#8211; but as a fuse. They wanted to ignite area residents&#8217; artistic passions and celebrate their talents. They realized, as we should today, that art isn&#8217;t meant to be an occasional distraction from daily life, it&#8217;s a component needed to enrich our living.
Among the opportunities awaiting you near Wilkes-Barre:
&#8226; The Wyoming Valley Art League &#8220;promotes fellowship among artists&#8221; and &#8220;fosters an interest in art within the Greater Wyoming Valley and its environs.&#8221; The league&#8217;s calendar of events includes workshops, classes, exhibits and films. This Thursday, according to the organization&#8217;s website, its members are scheduled to hold their annual meeting. For information, visit wyomingvalleyartleague.org.
&#8226; Have you attended Third Friday Wilkes-Barre? Pedestrians can enjoy original art and music at multiple locations, including small businesses and cafes, in downtown Wilkes-Barre during monthly art walks, held the third Friday of each month. The next walk is set for June 20. Get details at www.thirdfridaywb.com.
&#8226; Galleries at the area&#8217;s college and university campuses, while less active during the summer, routinely spotlight work done by local artists as well as out-of-area artists, including the masters. Witness, for example, &#8220;Pablo Picasso: 25 Years of Limited Edition Ceramics from the Rosenbaum Collection&#8221; on display now through late September at the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery on the campus of Misericordia University, Lake Street, Dallas.
At King&#8217;s College in Wilkes-Barre, see the Widmann Art Gallery (www2.kings.edu/LifeAtKings/widmannartgallery.htm). At Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, see the Sordoni Art Gallery (www.wilkes.edu/sordoniartgallery). On the Luzerne County Community College campus in Nanticoke, see the Schulman Gallery (www.luzerne.edu/schulmangallery).
&#8226; A perennial favorite for area residents pursuing culture and entertainment is the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre. (See its upcoming events schedule at www.kirbycenter.org.) Smaller auditoriums, with equally powerful performances, include the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre (www.ltwb.org) and the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville (www.musicbox.org).
It becomes apparent the Wyoming Valley has a bum rap for lacking in the arts, and an appetite for it, when you start to consider all those outlets, plus gems such as Arts Seen Gallery on Public Square, Marquis Art and Frame on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre (marquisartframe.com), Mainstreet Galleries in Kingston (mainstreetg.com) and Art on Main in Pittston. Each offers artwork for sale and schedules periodic showings.
For the untrained painter, there&#8217;s the newly opened Art &#8216;n&#8217; Vino Paint and Sip Studio in Plains Township (www.artnvino.com). Beyond the canvas and brush, of course, the Valley supports many dance studios, theater and musical groups, plus authors and poets, the latter of whom sometimes get their words displayed on public buses.
Not a bad &#8220;scene.&#8221; But, as organizers of the Fine Arts Fiesta will tell you, the area could always use more art boosters. To financially support next year&#8217;s version of the fiesta, visit fineartsfiesta.org/support-the-arts.

OUR OPINION: FIESTA FOR ALL SEASONS? Valley art scene not limited to May