The third First Friday Art Walk of the year kicks off at 5:00 p.m. tonight in downtown Bend, featuring an evening of art, music, beer and wine tastings, and more. Businesses stay open late with featured art exhibits and other fun extras. Here’s the capsule description from the First Friday web site:

It’s First Friday Art Walk! Head into Downtown Bend for a night filled with art, shopping, music and local food & drink. On First Friday in Downtown Bend, we celebrate ALL forms of art – music, comedy, photography, painting, sculpture, acting and more. Head to Downtown Bend, and delight your senses!

It’s free to attend and check out the artwork, listen to music, and sample libations and (often) snacks. Also, consider getting at Art Walk Cup; here’s the scoop:

Let’s face it – we all love our planet, so let’s take care of it! By purchasing an Art Walk cup for $5, you can help Downtown Bend reduce the amount of single use cups that used and sent to the landfill every month. These cups are reusable every month!

There’s a lot going on so I thought I’d try to do a quick roundup:

• Princess Athletic: Featuring quilter Diane Ottenfeld, live music with singer/songwriter Jennifer Lande, and Caldera Brewing beer tasting
• The Oxford Hotel: Featuring painter Michelle Lindblom
• Bellatazza Coffee: With a “Fairy First Friday” featuring “Willow and Thistle as they celebrate the coming of Spring, with magic bubbles, glitter, and fairy fun!”
• Wren & Wild: With Alyson from Wildfolklore and serving up drinks with adaptogenic (herb) blends
• Outside In: Featuring artist Richard Yozamp and “Bring Your Own Cup (BYOC) for the delicious drinks we will be pouring”
• Velvet: With painter Julie Ostrand
• Columbia Bank: Featuring artwork jewelry with DK Designz, live music with Countryfied’s musical artist John Hite, and beer samples
• Found Natural Goods: With Potter & Illustrator, Maren & Laura and a spring refreshment
• Red Chair Gallery: Featuring five artists
• At Liberty (the old Liberty Theater): Muse Conference Tasting with Gather Nuts “providing samples of our top selling nuts and seeds”
• Lulus: Featuring local musician Kourtni
• Crater Lake Spirits Tasting Room: Hosting an acoustic show with Leah Justine, with free samples of Ablis products
• The Commons: Hosting violin virtuoso CJ Neary and guitar legend Richard Taelour
• The Capitol: Featuring live music with Tyler Spencer
• Patagonia: Local art and drink samples with Deschutes River Conservancy
• FootZone: Meet the new owners and enjoy beer samples
• Bend Electric Bike: Open after hours
• Riff Cold Brewed (not technically downtown, but close): Featuring painter Jacob Norris and live music by Tim Murnane and Aryana Foster
• The Bend Store: Pouring a keg of HandUp IPA from Deschutes Brewery, and featuring Shannon Smith of Sound Smith
• Bend Comedy and Seven Nightclub are featuring a First Friday Free-For-All
• Bendy Dog: Featuring The Northwest Hound dog blankets

This list doesn’t cover every downtown business, of course, but are the ones I could find posted.