Bob Ray (b. 1952) works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and even correspondence and performance. Born in Warrensburg, Missouri, just east of Kansas City, he now lives with his wife in the small town of Washington in eastern North Carolina.

Guest-curated by Mark Sloan, Bob Ray: Suit Yourself features a selection of the artist’s most recent paintings and drawings. Inspired by the Abstract Expressionist painters, Ray also draws from the Dada and Fluxus movements. Each of Ray’s artworks offers evidence of its own evolution. Erasures, false starts, notes, scribbles, overpainting, and tentative asides are visible on the layered surfaces. The artist incorporates household substances into his work, including housepaint, tar, masking tape, coffee, butter, tea, and collaged fragments of previous works.

Ray was the recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship in 2015, and he has had recent shows at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina; Lump Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina; and the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

The GCMA has published an exhibition catalog of Ray’s works that includes a commissioned collaboration with California poet Allison Benis White, which will be available for purchase.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, Spartanburg’s Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) is giving back to the moms and mother figures who give so much of themselves to their children. Let’s enjoy an hour of play together while learning a few new tips to build happier bonds with our kids.

Join us on May 3 and enjoy:

A keepsake Mother’s Day craft that you and your little ones make together
Entry into a raffle of a 4-pack of tickets to The Children’s Museum of the Upstate – Spartanburg (one drawing during each 1-hour time slot)
Positive parenting tips from Triple P
$10 gas gift card per family
Snacks (including sweets, drinks, “faux”-mosas for our mothers, and more!)

Registration is required for this timed-entry event, and space is limited. This event is for moms and mother figures with children ages 0-6 who live in Spartanburg City.

P.S. There’s a free Father’s Day event coming on June 7th, too!

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Spartanburg Area Mental Health Center and over 40 Community Partners are gathering together to provide the Spartanburg Community with Free Resources, Health & Wellness Screenings, Information about Mental Health and many other local services all at your fingertips for face-to-face connections to help you navigate the Resources of Spartanburg with ease. Food trucks & Face Painting PLUS Free Gift Bags while supplies last and Door Prizes. Come make some connections, meet your local providers and gather resources & opportunities to support your community, neighbors, family & yourself. We hope to see you soon. Together we can turn Mental Health Awareness into Action because Mental Health Matters.

L.E. Denton: Author Pop-Up Signing

Come meet the author of “Crossing the Blue Ridge: A Tale of King’s Mountain”, L.E. Denton, on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025.”Crossing the Blue Ridge: A Tale of King’s Mountain” has been praised for its vivid descriptions and engaging storytelling. Reviewers have noted that Denton brings the historical setting to life, immersing readers in the era’s dangers and beauty.

The Johnson Collection presents Art of the Athlete at TJC Gallery, located at 154 West Main Street in downtown Spartanburg. TJC Gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 12 to 4 PM, with free admission. This exhibition celebrates the twin expressions of human excellence—art and athletics—each requiring creativity, elegance, and mastery of form. Just as art can reflect as well as shape the culture around it, sports provide powerful community bonds and a sense of identity. Art of the Athlete highlights the artistry inherent in athleticism and showcases the many dynamic connections between art and sport.
On display are artworks showing the remarkable breadth of the world of sport, spanning not only familiar professional forms such as baseball and football but also fishing, hunting, and racing. In certain cases, the connection between art and athletics can be quite personal and literal, as in the case of Ernie Barnes, who not only played in the National Football League himself, but became the official artist of both the NFL and the 1984 Olympic Games.

On exhibit Saturdays and Sundays from 12 – 4 p.m., Rocky Cove Railroad is a G-Scale (garden scale) model train that demonstrates the coming of trains to western North Carolina at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibit is located below the Grand Promenade. Please note, Rocky Cove Railroad will not operate in rainy or wet conditions.

Program includes spirituals, folk songs and pop selections. Special guest tenor: Grant Lewis,
guest percussionist: Samual Bursch, a senior at the Fine Arts Center.

The Upstate Men’s Choir will present a Spring Concert Saturday, May 3, at 3 o’clock at Covenant Church located at 1310 Old Spartanburg Road. The Choir sings a variety of music enjoyed by concert goers, including patriotic, sacred, spirituals, folksongs, and pop. To reserve your FREE seat go to upstatemenschoir.org.

Head on out to the ballgame at Fluor Field. Greenville is taking on Asheville Tourist. Game starts at 6:45pm.

Pre-Show Instrument Petting Zoo

Children of all ages can try out music instruments with teachers to assist them. There will be violins, violas, cellos, basses, flutes, clarinets, French horns, trombones, tubas, and lots of percussion instruments.
Anyone who tries an instrument can enter the “Guest Conductor Contest.” The winner will conduct that evening’s final concert piece.

You never know what will happen at a Foothills Pops Concert. Darth Vader might conduct, or ET fly in on a tricycle! But as always there will be lots of tunes you’ll recognize. Stimulate your instant recall and see if you can name the tunes.

Join us at the reception following the concert and get to know the musicians over food and conversation. Concert, reception and parking are all absolutely Free.

Eat, drink and be merry! Join us this Saturday (and every Saturday) from 7pm to 10pm as we host live local talent! The talent in our beautiful city is incredible, so come out for dinner and live music. Saturday, February 3rd we will have the acoustic sounds of Katie D. Check out our website for a list of all artists that will be playing!

Moundmouth is an American alternative blues band from New Albany, Indiana led by Matt Myers (guitar, vocals). Houndmouth formed in the summer of 2011. After playing locally in Louisville and Indiana, they performed at the SXSW music festival in March 2012 to promote their homemade self-titled EP. Geoff Travis, the head of Rough Trade was in the audience and offered a contract shortly after. In 2012, the band was named “Band Of The Week” by The Guardian. In 2013 Houndmouth’s debut album, From the Hills Below the City, was released by Rough Trade. This led to performances on Letterman, Conan, World Cafe, and several major festivals (ACL, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Newport Folk Festival). SPIN and Esquire.com named Houndmouth a “must-see” band at Lollapalooza, and Garden & Gun said, “You’d be hard pressed to find a more effortless, well-crafted mix of roots and rock this year than the debut album from this Louisville quartet.”

While spying on their wives at a “girls’ night out” a group of unemployed steelworkers from Buffalo hatch a bold and unclothed plan to make some quick cash. As they conquer their fears, self-consciousness and prejudices, the lovable misfits come to discover that they’re stronger as a group, and the friendship they find in each other gives them the courage to “let it go.” Based on the hit film, this uplifting musical comedy is filled with great music, hilarious characters, and the most highly anticipated closing number of any musical ever!

The Full Monty is a risqué musical comedy about a group of steel workers-turned-strippers.  It contains mature content, coarse language, and partial nudity (no full frontal nudity).  We do encourage you to use your judgment based on your own research of the show, your own sensibilities, and a child’s age and maturity level.

Everyone must have a ticket, and children under 5 are not admitted, including babes in arms.

May 2, 3, 9, 10 at 8:00 pm | May 4, 10, 11 at 3:00 pm

While spying on their wives at a “girls’ night out” a group of unemployed steelworkers from Buffalo hatch a bold and unclothed plan to make some quick cash. As they conquer their fears, self-consciousness and prejudices, the lovable misfits come to discover that they’re stronger as a group, and the friendship they find in each other gives them the courage to “let it go.” Based on the hit film, this uplifting musical comedy is filled with great music, hilarious characters, and the most highly anticipated closing number of any musical ever!

Content Advisory: The Full Monty is rated R and features adult themes, sensitive subject matter, partial nudity, strong language, and plenty of BIG laughs!

Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker, is stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. Faced with an unexpected pregnancy, Jenna fears she may have to abandon the dream of opening her own pie shop…until a baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s handsome new doctor offer her a tempting recipe for happiness. Supported by her quirky crew of fellow waitresses and loyal customers, Jenna summons the secret ingredient she’s been missing all along — courage.

Brought to life on Broadway by a groundbreaking all-female creative team, Waitress features original music and lyrics by six-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles (“Brave,” “Love Song”), and a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson. Nominated for four Tony Awards (including Best Musical), and cherished by audiences and critics alike, Waitress is inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s beloved film and offers a special recipe for finding happiness in unexpected places.

Times: Thurs-Sat @ 8 pm, Sun @ 3pm