This year, First Friday in Williamsport celebrated 10 years of success - something that never would have happened without Judy Olinsky.
"Judy was the prime mover behind First Friday," Public Art Academy board member Russ Kimura said. "She'll tell you there were a lot of other people and organizations involved, and all that is true, but it was her perseverance and passion that kept its flame from going out."
In reaching the 10-year milestone, Olinsky was able to build a team to film a documentary to tell the First Friday story. It is to be shown early next year on WVIA, with
funding from the First Community Foundation.
Besides perseverance and passion, it was Olinsky's vision that sparked First Friday. In the late '90s, Olinsky came upon a book called "100 Best Little Art Towns in America" by John Villani.
"When I looked at the other best art towns in America, I felt that our natural charm - our land, our restaurants, our architecture - was comparable to them," Olinsky said. "And I thought, 'Why can't we do what they've done?' Why can't we be one of the 'best little art towns in America?' "
At the time, Williamsport's downtown was struggling. Officials constantly were struggling to sustain economic vitality in the region. It was well before the words Marcellus Shale meant anything to the average person here.
"When we started First Friday, our community was having crime issues and the downtown looked pretty sad," Olinsky said. "Our community was at a low point. We wanted to get more people downtown and more art downtown and that's what we set about doing."
Olinsky was quick to list the other movers and shakers who helped her create the monthly event.
"Laura Flynn, Ricki Moler, Jeanne Ryersbach, Lynne Maietta, Bernie and Bonnie Katz and I got together and made it happen," she said. "We received a grant from the Williamsport-Lycoming Community Foundation that allowed us to start doing First Fridays."
Groups such as Our Towns 2010 and the Main Street Committee also collaborated to get the ball rolling.
"Our Towns 2010 (which formed in 1997) had 3 major goals: to reconnect the city to the river, to have a vibrant downtown and to maintain good neighborhoods," Olinsky said. "First Friday came out of that."
The current president of Our Towns 2010, John DeSantis, was eager to praise Olinsky.
"Judy Olinsky understands the creative energy that our community needs to be special," he said. "When you share an interest and work on a project with Judy, you just know it will be worth the application of your energy too."
The success of First Friday, which began in 2001, didn't come about overnight, however.
"The first few years were pretty tough," Kimura said. "She had to hang in there. But she kept being positive and kept increasing the arts offerings. We would say, 'Well, we got more people on the street this month than last month, so it's getting better.' Now it's in everybody's mental calendar. They just think, 'It's First Friday, let's go downtown.'"
Olinsky, again diverting praise, said, "The visual artists, the merchants, the Uptown Music Collective, the volunteers, the newspaper, Main Street, Our Towns 2010, the arts council, the chamber, the Community Ars Center, the city, the county - we all worked together."
Anna Falat, a member of the First Friday committee and owner of Eagle Rock Winery, added: "Judy Olinsky, as one of the originators of First Friday, has worked hard to integrate the arts community into the business community and, as a result, influenced the positive growth and development of our beloved Williamsport."
That development includes Michael Pilato's "Inspiration: Lycoming County" mural, which came about with the efforts of the First Friday committee - of which Olinsky is a founding member - and the art that is popping up along the River Walk thanks to the PublicARTWORKS group, another organization of which Olinsky is a central part. That's not even mentioning the Pajama Factory, 1307 Park Ave., which has its roots in the Public Art Academy, a foundation that grew out of the mural project.
The evolution of the local art scene did not go unnoticed by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, which decided to have Williamsport host its Governor's Awards for the Arts celebration in 2008. The five-day art extravaganza, solidified Williamsport as a haven for the arts.
It's hard to envision this happening without Olinsky's efforts.
"The only person in Lycoming County who has devoted their entire last 10 years to the arts community has been Judy Olinsky," Bernie Katz, owner of Le Chocolat and a First Friday co-founder, said. "She is the number-one arts patron. There's no one that has hung in there that long."
Olinsky was interviewed by the Sun-Gazette about the Governor's Awards in 2008 and what she said then provides insight about her infectious enthusiasm for Williamsport's past and its future:
"There's a new generation coming," Olinsky said. "They like the city," she added, attributing the attraction to its "authenticity" and the downtown's walkability. She finds this reassuring. "Some of us always thought this place is wonderful," she explained.
Today, her attitude hasn't changed.
"I love it here because it's beautiful," Olinsky said. "I love the people here. The reason I was going to decline this honor is because I love that we're a community. A community cares for its people. For me, nurturing the arts is one of the ways I could show my love for this community.
"There's no way that I think the arts are as important as the people who care for us, but we have to think about how we can prosper and the arts are one of our greatest economic aspects," she said. "I would encourage the people of Williamsport to support the arts and nurture what is happening here."
