BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – In another economic era, Brattleboro was a typical New England industrial town (bookbinding and the manufacturing of pipe organs make it famous), but the mills are long gone, and the town morphed into a creative community of artists and makers, independent restaurateurs, musicians and specialty retailers. Its Main Street core is always vibrant, and the locals put on quite a show the first Friday of the month from May through December with an outdoor block party called Gallery Walk.

Numerous art galleries are open, of course, but Gallery Walk is much more. Elliot Street is closed to traffic, so dozens of makers can erect tents, a musical stage can be set up, and 15-20 food trucks can wheel into the middle of the action. As the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance notes, “You can find all sorts of people-y fun.”

Gallery Walk often attracts artists such as Walter Hagedorn, who want to connect with the public. Hagedorn has specialized in chicken art in recent years. One series called “Clucking Classics” puts chickens in internationally known paintings, such as this play on “American Gothic.” Image by Tom Adkinson

A camel puppet, really

A mom coaxes her child under the belly of a towering camel to prove to the child that it really is a gigantic puppet. Image by Tom Adkinson

A little night music

Bands always fill Elliot Street with music to entertain Gallery Walk visitors as they patronize food trucks and stroll between galleries and artists’ tents. Image by Tom Adkinson

Perusing a gallery

Gallery Walk participants chat with each other at the Latchis Gallery, a small space that is part of a landmark Brattleboro building that opened in 1938 primarily as a hotel and a classic movie theater. The theater and hotel continue in operation, and the theater itself is a work of art decorated with statuary and paintings of characters from Greek mythology. Image by Tom Adkinson

A printmaker’s handiwork

Vermont artist Katelyn Hudson shows off some of the printing blocks and finished designs from her nature-oriented work. Image by Tom Adkinson

Ceramics on parade

Pottery pieces become a window art display to entice Gallery Walk visitors into one of Brattleboro’s many retail shops. Image by Tom Adkinson

Self-made miniature portraits

The Museum of Tiny and Found Things, an art space you enter through an alley and down a flight of stairs, encourages visitors to draw their own tiny portraits, stick them on a museum wall, and claim the right to be artists with their work on display in Brattleboro. Image by Tom Adkinson

‘Hate Does Not Grow Well’

The story behind the “Hate Does Not Grow Well in the Rocky Soil of Vermont” slogan that adorns this shopping bag is the stuff of state lore. The slogan originated in 1982 when citizens in a small town near Brattleboro used it on a banner to counter a proposed march by the KKK. Image by Tom Adkinson

Trip-planning resources: Brattleboro.com, BrattleboroChamber.org, and Travel-Vermont.com

(Travel writer Tom Adkinson’s book, 100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die, is available on Amazon.com.)