GuitarTown Rocks Waukesha Art Crawl

Historic Downtown Waukesha celebrates its rock 'n' roll legacy with “The Les Paul Guitar Crawl” on Aug. 4. After being chosen as a Gibson GuitarTown along with Austin, Texas, Nashville, Tenn., Los Angeles, Miami and London, Waukesha commissioned 10 artists to create permanent sculptures. The resulting 10-foot-high fiberglass guitars were installed in June.<br /><br />About 20 other artists fashioned Les Paul Gibson guitars and displayed them inside venues throughout Waukesha's downtown. GuitarTown's easy-to-read walking map identifies the location of each guitar, as well as the artist who created it. You can also find this information in the #72 Art Crawl brochure, which includes all of the event's participating eateries, galleries and merchants.<br /><br />Outside the Couri Insurance building, Racine artist Bill Reid's artwork features an assortment of imaginative beasts strumming their own colorful instruments. These creatures are placed on top of the 10-foot-high instrument's strings, which grow like curving vines up the guitar's neck. Reid titled his piece <em>Harmonious Heronymous Bush of Beasts</em>.<em> </em>Luckystar Studio's Gene Evans designed <em>Meow Meow, Moon, Meow</em>, a midnight-blue guitar studded with gold stars. The guitar, on exhibition outside the Waukesha County Museum, portrays a fierce cat picking the strings.<br /><br />When touring GuitarTown on Aug. 4, also be sure to visit the Art Crawl's many participating galleries presenting local and regional artists. River's End Gallery hosts an opening reception for its “Summer Fun” exhibition. You can cool off at the renowned Divino Gelato Café on the other end of Main Street. A free trolley moves from spot to spot along the routea fun way for visitors to help Waukesha rock the night away 4-10 p.m.&nbsp; For more information, visit <a href="http://waukeshaguitartown.com" target="_blank">waukeshaguitartown.com</a>.<strong><br /><br />Art Happenings</strong><br /><br />26th Annual Firefly Art Fair <p>Historic Kneeland-Walker House</p> <p>7406 Hillcrest Drive, Wauwatosa</p> <p>The Wauwatosa Historical Society sponsors a premier art event featuring more than 90 juried participants 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 4-5. The $4 admission fee benefits the Historical Society.<br /><br />“Out of Town: Artists of Racine &amp; Kenosha”</p> <p>Blutstein Brondino Fine Art</p> <p>207 E. Buffalo St., Gallery 212</p> <p>This exhibition series brings artists from Racine and Kenosha to Milwaukee. The show features the works of seven artists, including three provocative sculptures by Kathleen Laybourn. “Out of Town” continues through Sept. 6.</p>