A grand opening, a raffle, an open-air parade from one gallery reception to the next — the first Art Walk of the year is set for Friday night in downtown Washington.

From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., downtown galleries will welcome the public with new exhibits and refreshments. It’s an event that has been consistently popular over the last several years, according to Lone Leaf Gallery and Custom Framing owner Neil Loughlin.

“It definitely brings people to all the restaurants and other shops that stay open, too,” Loughlin said. “it’s a good draw for people both in town and out of town.”

Lone Leaf will be featuring new artists and new work in their line up, while the Beaufort County Arts Council, up West Main Street, will be showcasing the work of the county’s littlest artists.

“We have the 2015 Student Art show for those who missed the opening last Sunday,” said Joey Toler, executive director for the arts council.

For Toler, the first Art Walk represents a changing arts scene in Washington—one with a lot of promise, he said.

“I’m excited for this Art Walk because we have two new galleries downtown. If you’re going to look of the silver lining in the Inner Banks Artisans’ Center closing, it’s that we have two new galleries — Lemonade and Kay Woolard’s Art on Market.

And I think we may get some more out of it when everything’s said and done,” Toler said.

Lemonade Art Gallery, a cooperative formed by five of the artists previously at Inner Banks Artisans’ Center, has timed its official grand opening with this first Art Walk. Owners Sue Beck, Jerry Bradley, Jan Lamoreaux, Carol Mann and Doris Schneider will join Washington Mayor Mac Hodges, the artists whose work is represented in the gallery and guests for a ribbon cutting at 6 p.m. Friday.

“All of us will be wearing our own art or something,” Lamoreaux said. “It will be a festive occasion for all of us. … It’s our first open house.”

For the occasion, other downtown businesses will stay open for longer hours, including Little Shoppes of Washington/South Market Antiques where a work of to-be-raffled art is on display. A fundraiser for Washington Harbor District Alliance, “A Summer’s Eve on the Pamlico at Washington,” a 36-inch by 48-inch oil painting on canvas by Douglas Alvord, will be raffled off at the Washington Marine Market on April 25. The $10 tickets are for sale at Little Shoppes/South Market Antiques and the Beaufort County Arts Council.

The public is invited to Friday’s Art Walk. Participating galleries include Riverwalk Gallery and Arts Center, Lemonade Arts Gallery, Beaufort County Arts Council at the Turnage Theater, Art Tyndall Studio (Water Street), Art on Market (Market Street).