WASHINGTON — The art community of downtown Washington will come together June 13 as part of what organizers are hoping will become a bi-annual “Art Stroll” event.

According to co-organizer and artist Anne Jenkins, the event will be held June 13 and will be an all-day affair from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“Washington is getting more and more artists moving in,” Jenkins said. “This will be something where visitors can go from studio to studio and see what is available at each location. It’s something where you can watch them [the artists] work. We wanted to put faces behind all of the art work.”

Downtown Washington has a multitude of businesses related to art or artistic activities, Jenkins said.

Open studios and galleries scheduled to participate in the Art Stroll event June 13 as of June 2 included Art Gallery La Place, Laura Connely’s The Loft, Delores McAvoy’s Studio Upstairs, Diana Smith Funhouse Designs and Rob Geiger Photography at Talk of the Town.

Artists participating in the stroll are Laura Connely, Delores McAvoy, Diana Smith, Katherine Stolz Barber, Jeff Macchia and Rob Geiger.

The Art Gallery LaPlace will also host Washington artist Larry Wheeler and other area artists such as Sam Thorpe of Lincolnton, Wendy Wiggins of Lexington, Janice McAvoy and Johnny Mills of Washington.

“The studios will be open for the public to see the artwork and to watch the artists give demonstrations of their art,” Jenkins said. “This is a free event open to the public and we think it can be something to build up Washington and get it recognized as an art-centric community while hopefully attracting more artists to the area.”

For those interested in experiencing the event but unable to or uninterested in walking the area, golf carts will be available to transport visitors to the various locations, according to Jenkins.

There will also be a 30-second clip of video on Wilkes County and a preview of a recently released independent documentary titled “A Narrative of Wilkes County, Georgia: Volume One,” which was produced by a local film company and which will be presented by the Washington-Wilkes Historical Foundation.

“Washington is a beautiful and historic town. We have hundreds of Antebellum homes and we’ve had quite a few people talking about this event,” Jenkins said. “I think that there are a number of factors which attract artists and visitors to this town, including the fact that it’s a convenient location for Athens and Augusta and is just a very beautiful town.”

While the final events are still being lined up, visitors to the Art Stroll may potentially expect to view a pottery throwing demonstration, a painting demonstration, a sculpture demonstration and a gourd-painting demonstration from Diana Smith.

“Those are painted like nothing you’ve ever seen,” Jenkins said. “This will be a very nice day trip for anyone.”

The Washington Art Stroll can be found online at www.washingtonartstroll.com.

For more information call (706) 486-6808 or (706) 678-6258.