After Dark

week, and small victories are victories still!”

Jordan gestures to the man next to us. “We were just talking about the First Friday Art Walk tonight. He’s visiting Portland for the week, and it’s not something we can let him miss!”

Since we’ll be burning plenty of calories on our post-meal stroll through the Arts Districttoo, I feel no guilt in ordering the decadent con t Maine duck and asparagus polenta and sharing the s’mores tri e for dessert. Both are delicious and plated with such artistry I’m almost sad to eat them.

WALKING THE WALK

It’s only a 15-minute walk from UNION to Blue, our next stop. We strut in squad formation down Congress through Monument Square, admiring the architecture to a soundtrack of passing cars and street performers playing guitar, and nd ourselves in the thick of the First Friday crowd. We momentarily break our huddle to peruse the maze of o erings, getting lost admiring the bright abstract paintings and one-of-a-kind pottery.

I’m immediately drawn to the tables of locally made jewelry with brightly colored beads and intricate metalwork, deciding on a sea-glass pendant that matches my dress. I’m in awe of a stylized depiction of the wharf in neon acrylic paints, but I think it may be too large for my living room. Matching ceramic co ee mugs for my roommates will be far simpler to bring home.

Deena admires surprisingly lifelike artwork cra ed entirely from ower petals, purchasing a piece which so closely resembles the midnight sky it was modeled on that I mistake it for a photograph. We’re startled from our shopping spree by a scream, relieved to discover it’s just Jess nearly fainting over a slew of funky vintage fashion and now clad in a chartreuse gown with telephones printed all over it, which she somehow pulls o e ortlessly.

BLUES IN THE NIGHT

We continue our stroll to Blue. As the