BELFAST— There’s a decidedly more introspective feeling going on during the last art walk of the season, particularly after the sun goes down at 4 p.m. Friday night, December 1, a few galleries rallied to the last challenge, while others remained closed because they had planned an Early Bird opening Saturday morning.

At Parent Gallery, artist Joanne Parent was busy hanging up new smaller original oil portraits in her family’s gallery, while her mother, Linda set up refreshments. “The theme is ‘Little Gems,’” said Linda. “Next Friday night, we’re going to have an opening reception for the ‘Little Gems’ show Friday, Dec. 8, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Belfast Framer and Betts Gallery and Belfast Bay Shade Company and Belfast Clay Studio also kept the lights on and the spread festive.

Maine Farmland Trust Gallery displayed one wood cut portrait of a farmer gathering onions (with a real bushel of onions beneath the piece) in the lobby to preview their opening show on Saturday called In The Interval Between Snowflakes, a multimedia exhibit by Bruce McAffee Towl “in honor of all of us who bend down to raise food for many of us.”

In the midst of the evening, a small group gathered silently in front of the post office holding candles. Meredith Bruskin, from Swanville, said,  “Tonight is 29th anniversary of World AIDS Day, and we’re all gathered here to remember the people we’ve lost and to celebrate the living — people living with HIV/AIDS.” Across the circle from her, Christopher Szarke, a priest over at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Belfast added, “I worked in the AIDS Ministry from 1987 to 1995, and as we’re gathering tonight, I’m remembering about 400 people that i knew that died by the time I was 31. I feel a lot of their presence around us tonight.” At the foot of the group was a handmade sign listing some of those names.

And now that winter is here, it’s time to let the creative mindset take hold once again.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com