A celebration of the beauty of visual arts — and of Dowagiac’s colorful downtown — will kick off the festivities for the 2017 Dogwood Fine Arts Festival Thursday.

The public is invited to stop to check out nearly two dozen temporary art galleries inside participating storefronts throughout the central business district from 4 to 7 p.m. that afternoon as the festival hosts the first ever Art Stroll. Admission to the galleries is free, and refreshments will be served at all participating locations.

The event is the first activity lined up for the 26th annual Dogwood Fine Arts Festival, Dowagiac’s springtime celebration of the fine arts and the humanities, named after the city’s trademark tree. This year’s festival runs from Thursday to May 20.

The Art Stroll replaces a previous Dogwood standby, the Up Front Art Walk, which also allowed businesses to display artwork from area artists in their downtown storefront windows.

The Art Stroll is an expansion of the concept. Instead of merely viewing the work from the streets, visitors are asked to step inside the participating businesses to view the artwork — created by artists hailing from Dowagiac, southwest Michigan and beyond — allowing them to get a chance to meet with the featured artist as well as view what else the store has to offer.

Festival organizers are modeling the event after the popular Art Hop in Kalamazoo, said Dogwood Board President Jim Benedix.

“We’re going with a stroll, instead of a hop,” Benedix joked.

Helping organize the hop is Sharron Ott, an artist who moved to Dowagiac around a year ago. Ott, whose artwork will be featured at several locations Thursday, said the change of format will allow for great interaction between visitors, artists and the staff and owners of the participating businesses.

“We want to encourage shopping in the downtown district,” she said. “We want people who either live in town or are visiting for the festival to see what Dowagiac has to offer.”

Unlike the Art Walk, the Art Stroll is not a judged competition, and is instead a celebration of the arts, Ott said.

While the Art Stroll is a one-day only event, participating businesses have agreed to display the artwork through the end of Dogwood. Some will keep the pieces up through the end of May.

Visitors will be able to purchase any work of art on display.

Following the conclusion of the Art Stroll, festival organizers are inviting the public to attend an artist’s reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival’s headquarters, inside the Huntington Bank building on Commercial Street. Admission to the event is also free.

Visitors will not only have a chance to talk with the participating artists during the reception, but they will also have a chance to view several of Ott’s paintings as well as pieces from members of the Cass Area Artists organization inside the office’s recently renovated gallery.

Benedix said the reception is a sort of coming out party for the redecorated space, which has ditched the bright pink paint job for a more subdued color scheme.

“We are trying to push it to be more of an art gallery and less of a corporate office,” he said.

Festival organizers are looking to have a rotating set of artwork on display inside the gallery throughout the year, switching pieces every two months or so, Benedix said.

Visitors may also purchase tickets to the rest of the festival’s shows during the reception.

“The celebration is going to be a lot of fun,” Ott said. “It will be a great opportunity to meet some new people.”

The 2017 Dogwood Fine Arts Festival kicks off Thursday, and runs through May 20. For a complete schedule of events or to purchase tickets, people may visit dogwoodfinearts.org or call (269) 782-1115.

WHERE TO CHECK OUT ARTWORK ON THE STROLL

Dowagiac Area History

201 E. Division St.

Robert Williams — paintings

Zeke’s

109 S. Front St.

Riely O’Conner — mixed media

Vincent J. Jewelers

118 S. Front St.

Neil Benham — wooden bowls

Suellen Gause — photography

Who kNew? Consignment

119 S. Front St.

Dan Smith — paintings

Rosy Tomorrows

120 S. Front St.

Ruth Andrews — paintings

Yarn on Front

122 S. Front St.

Alli Farkas — paintings

Dianna Sterling — textile dolls

Saylor’s Pizza

128 S. Front St.

Drew Shourd — paintings

Art Enah Suit

135 S. Front St.

Larry Collins — wood burning

Round Oak Revisited

137 S. Front St.

Dina Hespera — paintings

Bob Knight — wooden toys

The Marshall Shoppe

138 S. Front  St.

Jennifer Valentine — assemblage

The Hairitage

142 S. Front St.

Ann Leatz — textile art

The Baker’s Rhapsody

144 S. Front St.

Ken Morford — mixed media

Bow Wow Bakery & Bath

145 S. Front St.

William Becker — sculptures

William Anderson — mixed media

Dowagiac IT3

146 S. Front St.

Martha Cares — mixed media

FitStop

201 S. Front St.

Stephen Smith — paintings

Contract Land Management (window only)

202 S. Front St.

JD Moffitt — paintings

Angela Rice — jewelry

Robert Williams — paintings

Bob Knight — wooden toys

Refine Women’s Consignment

210 S. Front St.

Marie Keller — textile art

Cass County COA Front Street Crossing

227 S. Front Street

JD Moffitt — paintings

Booth’s Country Florist (window only)

111 Commercial St.

Sharron Ott — paintings

The Looking Glass

207 Pennsylvania Ave.

JD Moffitt — paintings

Angela Rice — jewelry

Joe Gray — sculptures

The Dogwood gallery

207 Commercial St.

Sharron Ott — paintings

Cass Area Artist Group — multiple mediums