First Friday stage a perfect sendoff for Craig

By TIM PRESTON The Independent | Posted: Friday, August 7, 2015 10:09 pm

ASHLAND A picture perfect evening visited Ashland for
the August Downtown Live and First Friday Artwalk,
providing an ideal sendoff for the former executive
director of Ashland In Motion as he prepared to take last
place in the annual Night Moves 5K run.
Danny Craig said hes set to settle into his new life in
Florida before the end of the month, unless they need me
to help do something. Standing inside the Pendleton Arts
Center where he once displayed his own works, Craig
noted the First Friday Artwalk was created before he
arrived in Ashland and continues to be one of the citys
signature events while other efforts met with less success.
I remember when I started as Main Street director we
started Destination Ashland, he said, recalling his times
acting as a tour guide for busloads of tourists who wanted
to see the Bluegrass drive-in, or where the Judds used to
live.

First Friday
Members of the band Split Nixon, Jason
Mays and Bill Dean perform during
Downtown Live and First Friday Artwalk.
KEVIN GOLDY / THE INDEPENDENT

With a crowd of cars from Mustangs and Mercedes to

Plymouths, Pontiacs and a pair of vintage Cadillacs that
seemed to be the stars of the evenings show outside,
Craig also recalled the first time local organizers invited the vintage vehicles to be a part of the First
Friday scene.
I think we had maybe 28 cars that first time? he said, acknowledging the cars, inflatables and live
music on the street have been responsible for attracting much larger crowds than the event had ever
before witnessed.

As the staff at Mossy Bottom Bean & BBQ served hungry guests, Chad Stanley of Westwood warmed up
inside the Pendleton Arts Center using an acoustic guitar and a John Prine song to get the evening started,
as small crowds made their way around the various art studios inside the former G.C. Murphy store. On
the street outside, a V-12 powered 1932 Cadillac owned by Jim Taylor of Huntington drew fans of its
own while parked next to a metal-flake blue Honda CRX of another era. Taylor sat nearby, talking about
everything from horse-hair stuffed seats to steam power as he invited automotive enthusiasts to visit his

collection along Washington Avenue.

Nearly half a dozen cars away, the vented hood and custom touches on a 1949 Cadillac owned by Bennie
Manis of Kenova had nearly as many admirers, some of which were waiting to hear their names as they
waited for a space inside Fat Pattys restaurant.
Also along the avenue, a 1970 Chevrolet pickup truck in Atomic Orange paint owned by Kelly and
Judy Yates competed for attention with classic cars, including the 1978 Trans Am of Mike and Becky
Carter, or the British roadsters on the opposite side of the street.
Standing out among the muscle cars, a pair of vintage tractors from the GOTEM club of Greenup drew
an audience of appreciative folks whose farm experience was echoed in the surrounding conversations,
often in stark contrast with the observations of Corvette enthusiasts, who enjoyed the variety of latemodel two-seat American roadsters assembled for the evening.
As runners prepared to kick off the annual Night Moves 5K race, members of the band Split Nixon
Jason Mays, Jaime Hall, Scott Ross and new member, Bill Dean, kicked off a set of high-energy rock and
roll just as models and an enthusiastic audience in front of the Corbie department store applauded a series
of local models, as well as their hair and makeup stylists, as well as their fashion during First Friday.
TIMPRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.