First Friday Returns Tonight With Live Stages and Art Openings
Hartford, VT · November 6, 2026
November’s first Friday lands with open gallery doors, warm wood-fired pizza ovens, and plenty of live harmonies tonight. Stash your coat in the car and make your downtown rounds before the weekend rush sets in.
The Lead
Downtown White River Junction slips into celebration mode tonight for November’s First Friday, anchoring a weekend packed with local creative energy. The centerpiece arrives at the Briggs Opera House, where more than a dozen Upper Valley musicians unite under the banner of the Here in the Valley Artists Collective for "For the Love of Dolly." Organized by Wilder singer-songwriter Jes Raymond, the evening pairs a powerhouse house band with ten regional vocalists performing radio staples and deep catalog cuts in tribute to Dolly Parton. Down the street, Gate Street Gallery opens Ria Blaas’s playful new sculpture exhibit, "Go Figure," while neighborhood taprooms and eateries fire up specialty menus for the evening stroll. Doors open at 7:00 PM for the opera house showcase, and tickets are available online or at the box office.
Local Pulse
Town Opens Online Employee Recognition Page Community Residents can now submit direct commendations for municipal staff members who provide standout service across local departments.
Contractors Finalize Construction Debris Capping Plan City Hall Casella Construction begins environmental capping and groundwater monitoring at the municipal facility following Selectboard contract approval.
Today's Outlook
- High 66°F · Low 55°F — Fog (28% chance of precipitation)
- Expect morning fog to slow your drive, but unseasonably mild air lingers all day.
What's On Around Town
Today
First Friday Art Walk Gate Street Gallery (79 Gates St), 5:00–7:00 PM · Free Explore Ria Blaas's figurative sculptures and mingle with neighborhood artists downtown.
First Friday Brewery Pop-Up River Roost Brewery (230 S Main St), 5:00–7:30 PM Grab fresh wood-fired pizza and pair it with local draft pours.
For the Love of Dolly Briggs Opera House (5 S Main St), 7:30–9:30 PM · $20 Ten Upper Valley vocalists celebrate Dolly Parton's catalog with a live band.
Tomorrow
- Prontoplate Printmaking Intensive Two Rivers Printmaking Studio (85 N Main St), 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
- Couch Multiplayer Console Gaming The Fourth Place (3 Lebanon St), Hanover, 6:00–11:00 PM · Free
- Coast Jazz Orchestra Spaulding Auditorium (4 E Wheelock St), Hanover, 7:30–9:00 PM
Sunday
- Farm Life & Textile Exhibits Billings Farm & Museum (69 Old River Rd), Woodstock, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM · Paid
- Bal Folk Workshop and Dance First Congregational Church of Lebanon (10 S Park St), Lebanon, 3:00–7:00 PM
- USMC Birthday Ball Hilton Garden Inn (35 Labombard Rd), Lebanon, 5:00 PM
Spotlight & Story
- Taftsville Covered Bridge When three consecutive bridges washed away in floods, builder Solomon Emmons III raised this 189-foot span in 1836 for exactly $1,800. Over half went to dry-laid stone abutments that still anchor Vermont’s second-longest covered bridge over the Ottauquechee River.
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