Walking amidst the July art

What luck! This Friday isn't just First Friday, it's the start of a holiday weekend. That means there will be plenty to do, starting with Art Walk from 5-8 pm.

The first gallery I'm recommending this month is Daniel Kany Gallery at Portland Glassblowing Studio. The show opening is "A House of Glass & Mirth," featuring various artists. There will be glass sculpture, work from a fused glass artist, paintings from a reverse-glass painter and much more. There will be live glassblowing demonstrations during the opening reception from 5-8 pm. No doubt it will be something to see.

Another reception will be happening at the same time at Whitney Art Works where the colorful, geometrical, design-influenced work of William Roy Dawes, Ling Wen Tsai and Mark Wethli will be showing. Some of it may seem a little Zen, but I think your eyes will approve.

Harmon's & Barton's has "Impressions of Maine" up this month. The show consists of plein air paintings from Chris Nielsen, described as the "American Monet." Check out the show, see some familiar sights from around the state and buy a few flowers for the missus while you're there.

And as always, Portland Museum of Art is a free-for-all tonight (like it is every Friday). No need to pay a cent to see the "Call of the Coast: Art Colonies of New England" show, which was mounted just last week. See 73 works from collections at PMA and Florence Griswold Museum in CT. Also still up is "Remembering Andrew Wyeth," a show no true Maine art lover should miss.

For your after the Art Walk entertainment, check out One Longfellow Square, where you can get your groove on. The Holiday Dance Party with The Soul Movement starts at 8 pm and it costs just $5 to get in. Let the funk move you and take advantage of the drink specials.

On Saturday everyone knows there will be fireworks, so I won't even go down that road. But if you need info on the Portland show check out this link.

If you're looking for other activities, you don't have to look far. Portlanders can step back in time and feel like they are rubbing shoulders with the Founding Fathers at the public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Rep. Herb Adams at Maine Historical Society. The words begin flowing at high noon and it's free to listen.

If you want to spend the holiday in the Midcoast, get to Bath where Heritage Days are going on all weekend. Most events are free and happen at Waterfront Park, Library Park and right in the downtown area. On the 4th, check out the parade at noon, the strongman competition, the chili/chowder fest and the fireman's muster.

Back around Casco Bay, visit the waterfront on either the Portland or SoPo side, then take advantage of the $5 tours being offered at Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse. The public's invited inside from 11 am-3 pm.

And if you're in the mood for some music, there's no better offering that what L.L. Bean has at Discovery Park tonight. Patty Loveless plays the freebie concert at 7:30 pm and it's sure to be a packed house. Didn't get your chairs out three days in advance? Not to worry. Bean's has done its best to accommodate more listeners this year. If you don't mind standing, you'll surely get close enough to her the tunes. Parking? Well ... good luck with that.

You're going to want to rest up on Sunday after your busy holiday. Trust me, you will. So sleep in, then head back to Freeport for the book signing by Jean Mary Flahive, author of "Billy Boy: The Sunday Soldier of the 17th Maine." The book may not be on your must-read list, but Flahive will be accompanied by Maine regiment Civil War re-enactors from noon-3 pm. And that's cool.

If you somehow missed the fireworks on the 4th you have one more chance. Bath will wrap up Heritage Days with its display starting at 9:15 pm. So travel northeast and look to the sky if you want to wrap up your weekend with a bang.