An Art Walk Lewiston Auburn event will be held tonight, one of the last before the end of the summer season, and the Sun Journal will be participating for the first time.

The Art Walk has become a celebration of local art and artists, as businesses have opened their doors on the last Friday of the month from May through September to display artwork, host performing artists and welcome visitors to the downtown.

This year, more than 50 artists have participated in the monthly walk, joined by dozens more youth artists and groups, including students in the Lewiston Middle School honors art program.

More than 40 businesses have participated, including public libraries on both sides of the Andro.

Tonight, the event will begin with the official dedication of the newly restored gazebo in Lewiston’s Kennedy Park, to be marked by a concert. The current gazebo was built in 1925 in what was then called City Park, replacing a gazebo built in 1868. The site has been regularly used for concerts and political rallies, with perhaps the most notable being the rally in support of John F. Kennedy during his presidential election campaign in 1960.

The park was later re-named in Kennedy’s honor.

The gazebo has long been an accent of the park, and tonight’s weather should be nice (enough) to enjoy a concert there.

After that, we invite you, our readers, to walk across Pine Street to our offices and take a look at selected photography to see how we captured some of your favorite shots.

Our featured award-winning artists will be Chief Photographer Russ Dillingham and Staff Photographers Daryn Slover and Andree Kehn. They have each selected shots for display and written short descriptions of how they got those shots, explaining the circumstances they faced as they looked through the lens.

Art Walk Lewiston Auburn will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. We look forward to seeing you, and encourage you to visit other participating businesses in the downtowns of Lewiston and Auburn to celebrate the talent in our cities.

For more information about the walk, go to: artwalklewistonauburn.com

jmeyer@sunjournal.com