Oxford — Every second Friday of each month Oxford’s Community Art Center (OCAC) comes together for a celebration of the arts, called simply, Second Friday. This event takes place from 6-9 p.m. every month except January and July. The event includes music, wine and appetizers, new art exhibitions opening reception, and open 3rd Floor Studios and ArtShop.
The intention of the event is to allow the public to meet the artists of OCAC and to bring attention to the work they are doing at the Center.
September’s Second Friday took place on Sept. 9. It offered a special pre-reception to meet the new resident artist, Dr. Dominique Hill.
Dr. Hill said that her Groove & Be dance class went slightly into her scheduled reception, and she was shocked to see many already waiting to meet and talk with her.
It was a successful meet and greet, with OCAC board members and artists socializing with the Oxford Community.
Apparently, Second Friday’s are a popular date-night spot for Miami Students who want to impress their dates with “something artsy.” They will attend the art reception, and later head uptown.
However, this was not a typical Second Friday. The heat kept away some of the crowds, but the Ballroom filled up for a “Grand Ol’ Dork Opry” performance from the Molly Franklin Dorkestra.”
Membership consists of Molly Franklin on guitar and autoharp, Nora Ellen Bowers on crackenschiel, washboard, and jug, Chip Cogswell on electric bass and ukulele, Noah Cope on upright bass, Pete Davidson on percussion, gut bass, and horse clops, Kenny Davis on steel pedal guitar, Frank Fitch on banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and harmonica, Lucy Franklin on vocals, Mike Lindley on guitar, Laurie Traveline Neyer on accordion and keyboard, Pat O’Donovan on drums and percussion, Abby Porr on xylophone, mandolin, and keyboard, Janet Shirley on violin, Katy Bee Wyatt on vocals, and Thom Wyatt on drums, washboard, keyboard, and trumpet.
The performance was county and western themed, but this was actually the first year the Dorkestra jumped into the genre.
The group plays a variety of music, but pick a theme for each performance.
Molly and the Dorkestra members choose the music for each concert, and with the help of her brother-in-law, arranger, Maestro Thom Wyatt of Columbus, and the input of all Dorkestra members, a crowd-pleasing concert is fashioned. Usually spaced about 18 months apart, it is thereby dubbed a ‘sesqui-annual’ event. This is the fifth.
The Dorkestra likes using terminology like “sesqui-annual” to stand out, as clear by the name Dorkestra, but their name isn’t the only thing that makes them one of a kind. They were dressed up to go along with their theme. Guys in cowboy hats or overalls, and girls in big western dresses. They played up their theme until they had the audience roaring with laughter.
They performed crowd favorites like “Coal Miner’s Daughter” by Loretta Lynn, “Jackson” by Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash, “Stay, Stay, Stay” by Taylor Swift, and “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette, just to name a few.
Second Friday is sponsored by The Elms and made possible with grant support from the Ohio Arts Council and ArtsWave. The Dorkestra performance was sponsored by Jack & Sally Southard.
