Ten years ago, the Midtown Reno Art Walk included 12 businesses and attracted about 200 attendees. Fast-forward to 2018 and event organizers are expecting about 4,000 people to attend the event on June 28 and visit the almost 80 participating businesses.

“It's been really exciting to see the growth of Midtown,” said Carli Spellacy, the Midtown Art Walk Business Coordinator.

The Midtown Reno Art Walk is a great time to meet local artists. Photo by Mark Omohundro

From 4 to 10 p.m. on June 28, this free event will showcase almost 80 local businesses turned into pop-up art galleries for 80 local artists. Five stages throughout the Midtown Reno area will feature live performances from local musicians, bands, and comedians. The evening highlights the revitalization of the neighborhood with art, food, culture, music and live performances within a one-mile, walkable span.

For Spellacy, the event's growth mirrors the resurgence of what is now Reno’s hippest neighborhood.

“It’s been very cool to watch Midtown go from kind of a seedy part of town with a couple of cool businesses to become the cultural hub of Reno,” Spellacy said.

If you haven't experienced Midtown Reno’s renaissance, the Art Walk is the perfect time to explore it, Spellacy said.

“Everyone has their doors open, and there's music, people are doing fun giveaways, it's a cool opportunity to experience pop-ups of each business,” she said.

To make the most of your night at the Midtown Reno Art Walk, here are our top 8 tips.

Download the app

The Midtown Reno Art Walk mobile app is a great way to plan your experience.

With almost 80 businesses to visit, 80 local artists to see, and tons of food to try and performances to enjoy, you'll need a strategy experience to the Midtown Reno Art Walk to its fullest potential. Make your plan with the official Midtown Art Walk App, which features an interactive map highlighting business locations, artists, main stage lineups and other live elements taking place during the event.

See The Mural

The night of the Midtown Reno Art Walk, organizers will dedicate a large-scale mural painted by international muralist Erik Burke on the Living Stones Church building. Burke has been working on the mural since mid-June, and it features an outline of the new Virginia Street Bridge, 10 local flower blossoms to represent each year of the Midtown Reno Art Walk and a large, but almost faint, fingerprint across the mural to represent the impression that many people have collectively made on the neighborhood. The dedication will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Living Stones Church parking lot at 445 S. Virginia St.

Stay For The Fireworks

The Midtown Reno Art Walk will conclude at 8:45 p.m. with guest performances from Cirque Paris and Jake Houston & The Royal Flush, and fireworks, sponsored by Marmot Properties and Tolles Development Company.

You don’t want to miss the Midtown Reno Art Walk’s finale, which will feature guest performances from Cirque Paris and Jake Houston & The Royal Flush, and fireworks, sponsored by Marmot Properties and Tolles Development Company. This elaborate finale takes place at 8:45 p.m. on Cheney Street, which will be closed to vehicle traffic.

Plan for Parking Or Alternative Transportation

It’s no secret that street parking in Midtown Reno is, ahem, limited. So, plan ahead and get there early if you want to park your car. At the corner of Liberty and Virginia streets, parking will be available in the garage of Bank of America building and at the parking lot of the U.S. District Court after 5 p.m. Statewide Lighting, located on the corner of South Virginia Street and West Pueblo Street will also offer parking for attendees, as will Basin Street Properties. But, organizers are encouraging people to carpool, use ride share programs, bike or walk to get to the event.

Take The Trolley

Attendees can take free rides on the Virginia City Tours trolley down Virginia Street from 4 to 9 p.m. during the Midtown Reno Art Walk.

Thanks to Virginia City Tours, attendees will be able to take free trolley rides down Virginia Street from 4 to 9 p.m. during the Midtown Reno Art Walk. The trolley will run from the most southern point of the Art Walk, Statewide Lighting, to the most northern point, Living Stones Church.

Get There Early

A lot is going on at the Midtown Reno Art Walk, and you’re going to need all six hours of the event to try and fit it all in. So, plan on getting there early, and don’t worry about eating dinner first.

"We have tons of food trucks, and there's also a ton of restaurants in Midtown that are part of the art walk that will be serving grab-and-go food,” Spellacy said. “You really can just come straight from work.”

Visit The Museums

The Nevada Museum of Art will offer free admission to Midtown Reno Art Walk participants from 4–9 p.m.

As part of the Midtown Reno Art Walk, the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum and the Nevada Museum of Art will offer free admission to Art Walk participants. At The Discovery, participants can explore the entire museum from 4–8 p.m., including the featured exhibition Curiosity Carnival. From 4–9 p.m., participants can visit the Nevada Museum of Art and see feature exhibitions such as Manet to Maya Lin and Hans Meyer-Kassel: Artist of Nevada.

Explore Midtown Reno

The star of the Midtown Reno Art Walk is, well, Midtown.

“The Art Walk is a great night to see how unique and artistic, and just really awesome these local businesses are,” Spellacy said.

Many people who attend the event find that Midtown is their new favorite neighborhood to shop, eat and explore.

“My favorite story is how one year I saw these two women walking to their car at 7 p.m. and I said ‘Oh no! Are you two leaving already?’” Spellacy remembered. “And they said ‘No, we're just putting our bags in the car to refill because we bought so much stuff at all these little shops! We've never been to Midtown before, and we can't believe how awesome these stores are.’”

So, make a plan and attend the Midtown Reno Art Walk to experience the best this neighborhood has to offer.