DOWNTOWN LYNCHBURG’S FIRST FRIDAYS
Free Friday activities — First Fridays in downtown Lynchburg features free trolley rides to various museums and art galleries that offer free admission to their exhibits.
Lynchburg’s First Friday event takes a stop at the Lynchburg Museum for a free featured topic on silversmiths presented by the museum curator Nov. 5.
First Friday takes place the first Friday of each month, where an art trolley transports viewers between various museums, art galleries, studios and places of interest in historic Lynchburg.
The Lynchburg Museum, located in the old courthouse, gives free admission for First Friday and features a different topic for each event.
Lynchburg Museum curator Gregory R. Kreuger exhibited silversmith art on the second floor of the museum for November’s First Friday.
“It’s part of Lynchburg’s history … Lynchburg used to be one of the wealthiest cities per capita,” Kreuger said.
According to Kreuger, merchants and silversmiths were a sign of economic growth. That history that continues today, though to a lesser extent.
“Lynchburg was the second wealthiest city per capita in the nation just before the Civil War, second only to New Bedford, Massachusetts with its whaling industry,” the Lynchburg Museum’s website said. “The Lynchburg Museum shares stories about the people and fascinating events that have shaped Central Virginia and exhibits treasures of all kinds.”
Kreuger’s favorite piece of silver work is the museum’s Silver Tureen, made by Samuel Kirk & Son of Baltimore, which is displayed in the main lobby of the museum.
The museum saw a number of visitors such as First Friday participants, people in the community specifically interested in the art of silversmithing, as well as Liberty students.
Junior Emily Davis was at the museum Friday evening to look around.
“I didn’t know about the silversmiths in Lynchburg and I thought that was cool,” Davis said. “I thought the surgical kit the museum has was interesting as well as the coconut ladle.”
The Lynchburg Museum is located at 901 Court Street. Free admission for First Friday is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The museum will also be free on Veteran’s Day. The next First Friday exhibit will be Lynchburg People in Photographs and Portraits with Rachel Deddens, according to the Lynchburg Museum website. More information on events at the museum can be found at either the Lynchburg Museum website at lynchburgmuseum.org.