Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 14040 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine portland after dark gallery hosts nightly certainly make up for it. “October Art Walk will open with the in- augural New England Art Book Fair,” says Event Programmer Adam Stockman. “It’s somethingSPACEhas wantedtodofor along time.” More than 45 vendors will pack out the small space to sell everything from zines to art tomes, the perfect draw for collectors or those who simply want to decorate their cof- fee table. After crawling our way up the main drag–filled with so many artisan vendors it looks like Etsy exploded onto Congress Street–we find ourselves in need of refresh- ments. Taco Escobar (548 Congress, 541- 9097, tacoescobarr.com) is packed shoulder to shoulder with a young and buzzing crowd of locals and visitors alike, jostling for space under the strings of multicolored lights and sips of summer. C ontinuing with the kitsch theme, we round the corner to Pine- cone & Chickadee, part gallery, part gift shop (pictured bottom right, 6 Free Street, 772-9280, pineconeandchicka dee.com). You probably didn’t even realize you needed a DIY Terrarium kit with ornate brass plant mister until you came in here. Owners Noah DeFilippis and Amy Teh ex- panded the space back in February to show- case monthly exhibitions by local artists and illustrators. The atmosphere is akin to a live- ly house party hosted in your quirky friend’s living room, complete with beer, wine, and finger food. “We’re a store, so we approach things differently. You can buy the art straight off the walls,” says curator Kris Johnson. The October Artwalk will open with “The Ghoul School 2,” an homage to 1980s horror flicks and teen sub-culture by illustrator Ryan Lamu- nyon. We grab a can of Bissell Brothers from the ice box and gather around the eye-catching exhibition wall at the rear ofthebuilding.Thisisaplacewhereart feels fun, local, and accessible. Into the actIon Moving into the heart of the festiv- ities, Monument Square teems with performers and artists. It’s almost im- possible to weave through the throngs without becoming distracted by an elaborately dressed belly dancer or steel drum troupe. Unable to resist the pull of the window dressing, we drop into the Maine College of Art (522 Congress Street, 775-3052, meca.edu). MECA periodi- cally hosts exhibitions by students and facul- ty members, as well as showing visiting art- ists. The ICA Gallery on the ground floor will open in October with a new exhibition enti- tled “In this Realm,” featuring paintings by five Maine artists exploring the themes of gender and identity. Alas, no refreshments of the alcoholic variety here, which is little sur- prising given the number of thirsty underage art students milling about. Luckily, imme- diately next door, SPACE Gallery (538 Con- gress Street, 828-5600, space538.org) boasts a bar. The drink selection may not be extensive (we keep it classy and grab a couple of Mill- er High Lifes), but the eclectic roster of music, art, and film nights that the community-run pulsing pop music. Once there, we order the delicious Toasted Coconut Margarita ($9) along with some Chipotle Sweet Potato Ta- quitos ($7) to balance the heedless mixing of drinks. t he saying goes, ‘All roads lead to Rome.’ In the same way, all art walks lead to the Portland Muse- um of Art (7 Congress Square, 775-6148, portlandmuseum.org). Free to the public from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. every Friday evening, the expansive gallery has embraced the fall school-days feeling with not one, but three exhibitions based around books and litera- ture. The star show of the October Art Walk will feature a collection of books and illus- trations by pioneering French artist Henri Matisse, including copies and prints of the artist’s iconic 1947 book, Jazz. While there,