In May of 2007 Whistle Pik Galleries hosted the National Exhibit of the Oil Painters of America show. Over 200 artists from across the US participated in this juried event, bringing people from across America to Fredericksburg. We wanted to let them all know what a great art community we are and invited the other galleries in town to host shows during that event so that visitors could get the most out of their trip. Our belief is that art is a very personal thing and no gallery can have something for everyone. If a client can't find what they like in one gallery, then hopefully they will discover it in one of our friend's galleries. We have a unique community in that we all work together to help everyone succeed when it comes to promoting our artists, whether they are local or national. We are not in competition with each other, we are supportive of each other.

We had so much fun working together during the OPA event that several galleries decided that we needed to continue to "grow" the art community in Fredericksburg. What better way than to have all galleries join together and advertise and promote our galleries and artists. One of the wonderful things about our community is that we are focused on "family", with that being said, most of our shops close around dinnertime so that everyone can go home and spend time with their families. We chose the "First Friday Art Walk" as our first project as a way to encourage visitors to our town to stroll down the street and enjoy all of the fine art in our town until 8 in the evening. The important thing to note is that it is an ALL DAY event, not just an evening event. We hope that people will be able to make it to town in time to tour several galleries, have a glass of wine and enjoy the Friday events.