Best of 2003: Best Artsy Evening

Ray at Night
One block east of 30th and University, North Park
Second Saturday of the month
6 p.m. to midnight
619-683-2221

On an unassuming block in North Park, artists and friends have transformed worn-down shops into an edgy gallery scene and created a monthly street party of art and culture. (September marked its first anniversary.) What started out as six galleries has grown to 11, with "bonafides" including artgallery999, Très Studio Gallery, Gallery 504 North, Sharp Studios, Galleria Dell'aria, and Planet Rooth. The artwork includes acrylics to assemblage, landscapes to portraits, provocative, abstract, dimensional, and whimsical. Throw in wine storage and sampling (Cabernet), retail and gift stores (Lost Your Marbles Too), and an artists' training ground (Expressive Arts Institute), and you begin to understand what made the move from the Gaslamp gallery scene such a smart one. When artgallery999's Dorothy Annette and Jim Hammond fled the pricey future-baseball-park area four years ago to head north, others followed. Now artists and fans of art mix use together -- along with free music, dancing, food, and spirits.