NILES – Thursday, three was the magic number.

Third Street was abuzz with attendees of Third Thursday, a public event hosted by numerous local organizations.

The monthly summer event had three components last week: live music, food and drink, and, for the first time, public art.

Elkhart-based artist Michael Morehouse sat at a table on the lawn of the Grand LV banquet center, which served as a venue for the music, art and food and beverage trucks. During the monthly event, various downtown businesses offer specials to encourage patrons to show the downtown commercial area.

To Morehouse’s left, area rock band Hey Annie performed original hits and covers. Mayor Nick Shelton made an appearance on the drums for “Hard to Handle” by The Black Crowes and “Runnin’ Down a Dream” by Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers.

To Morehouse’s right were Smokin’ Jim’s food truck and Iron Shoe Distillery’s drink truck.

Behind Morehouse, in the Grand LV basement, Charles Nelson with On Base Productions had a photo studio set up next to the bar, where bartenders from the Brass Eye hosted a tap takeover with beers from Lord Hobo Brewing Company of Woburn, Massachusetts.

Amidst the noise, beer slurps and photo clicks, Morehouse painted a landscape in a myriad of spring colors under the Grand LV’s string lights. Occasionally, a passerby would stop and ask him a question or admire his live work behind his back.

Having Morehouse paint live at the event is an example of the projects the Niles Public Arts Commission wants to promote, said Nelson, the photographer. He is vice president of the municipal commission.

The NPAC is a first-time sponsor of Third Thursdays, and Morehouse was the first artist it brought to the event to showcase artwork to the public.

The commission formed in 2015, but for the last six months, it struggled to find its vision, said Nelson. The group has found its focus, though, and its partnership with Third Thursday embodies it that goal.

“It’s to bring art to everyone in the community in some form,” he said.

Nelson said that means art must not only be made accessible to all but perceived by residents to be accessible.

Art can be scary, he said. There is a stigma that art is high-brow, costly and difficult to understand.

Nelson pointed out people at the event to prove the statement otherwise. Within his eyesight was a candle-maker, a bartender, a video producer and a writer. Each of those people, he said, are artists.

“If you live in Niles and want to see art, where do you go?” he asked.

The NPAC hopes to provide an answer with events like Third Thursday.

Nelson is glad to have Morehouse and his “artist’s heart” be the first sponsored artist of Third Thursdays. For July’s Third Thursday, the NPAC hopes to bring in young talent, regardless of art medium.

“Art starts with kids who want to be artists,” he said.