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A creative night out on the town

Creative Night Out brings emphasis to local artists, businesses downtown

After a gruesomely lengthy downtown infrastructure project that left the area under construction for years, Minot’s Wendy Kimble saw a need to help local businesses pick back up after all was said and done.

“After seeing how hard it was on some of my favorite local shops and art galleries, I felt the need to do something about it,” Kimble said. “Minot has a vast and diverse group of local creatives and I figured what better way to share their talent than by creating an event to showcase them and draw the community back downtown.”

Thus, Creative Night Out First Thursdays was born. It’s a free community event where they feature local visual artists, musicians, performance artists and more in local downtown businesses on and near Main Street. They have artist demos, farmers market items, home baked goods, live music, food trucks and more.

Artmain and Budget Music & Video jumped onto the idea right away and have since been huge supporters and promoters of the event. Eli Kjelson, Creative Booking Guru/Agent, has been a huge asset to helping Kimble keep the event running as a co-organizer. Amanda Francis has consistently helped with designing posters and fliers. In addition, Kimble also has the support of almost every other local business along and off of Main Street.

“When Wendy came along with this idea about artists to pull them out to have a creative Thursday, we wanted to make sure we were supportive of that,” Beth Kjelson of Artmain said. “Because it’s a relatively new thing, we’ve been trying to understand our niche.”

So what makes Kimble so passionate about downtown? Kimble was born in Edmonds, Wash., but was raised in Minot and is a graduate of both Minot High and Minot State. She received a BA in art with specializations in graphic design, drawing, printmaking and photography with a minor in creative theater and a concentration in sculpture. She also received a bachelor of fine arts in integrated media and a minor in art history. Kimble also comes from a long line of creatives and has a passion for local artists and businesses in Minot.

“I always knew that I needed to be involved in the arts even at a very young age,” Kimble said. “I have been involved at the Taube Museum of Art teaching and volunteering since 1997, a member at Artspace Suite 1 Gallery and have a studio on Central Avenue where I play with several art media.”

With a passion for local art and business, Kimble along with other downtown players have made the Creative Night Outs possible for the last few years.

“I think it’s the only way that downtowns thrive is if you can work together with your neighbors,” Kjelson said. “We all don’t always get along or agree with the idea but I think by us all banning together at one time or another is essential for the downtown area and I’m really seeing that in the last few years with the help of people like Wendy and local people investing in the downtown area.”

In the past, the First Thursdays went from May to September but in 2019, the First Thursday events will take place June, July and August.

“We plan on bigger, better and more,” Kimble said. “We are hoping to add poetry readings, improv groups, car clubs, street performers and more.”

Their first Creative Night Out have Minot City Band kicking off its first event of 2019 and will also feature Linda Olson demoing ceramic wheel throwing outside of Artspace 1 Gallery, Kalyn Dewitt with her Hand Built Ceramics and Nancy Walter’s handmade jewelry and more that they are getting lined up.

“I feel like (the event) brings like-minded people together to talk, experience and enjoy by sharing a community creative driven event that brings in new people, all while supporting our beautiful downtown businesses,” Kimble said.

The arts are a life-force that helps people of all ages enjoy a moment of relaxation and escape from everyday life. It has also helped unite downtown businesses.

“The creative world is vast; enjoy it!” Kimble said. “Hope to see you Downtown at Creative Night Out’s First Thursday events.”

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