TURNERS FALLS — A block party on Friday will mark the completion of wheatpaste murals, as well as the one-year anniversary of two downtown businesses.

Starting at 5 p.m., Third Street will be closed between Avenue A and Canal Street for the block party that will feature food specials, an artist reception and Sadie’s Bikes Gumball Machine Takeover with Waterway Arts, and music from Rocking Puppies, Michi Wiancko and Cloudbelly. Businesses will offer late hours and there will also be drop-in activities at The Brick House Community Resource Center.

The wheatpaste mural project will have a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5 p.m. on Third Street, where RiverCulture Director Suzanne LoManto will say a few words about the temporary murals installed across town.

“This event was planned very much by downtown business owners who wanted to enhance regular First Friday,” LoManto said about planning the block party. “To, in other words, make it a little more special because of the one-year anniversary of those two businesses.”

In June 2024, Waterway Arts and Dreamhouse restaurant opened within a few days of each other, and have since become community staples for the downtown. LoManto said both of these businesses have meshed with the downtown businesses and this is an opportunity to celebrate.

“When you get two new businesses, it changes the color of what downtown has to offer. To have two businesses that are so on point with the other businesses, meaning they have a similar mission and that they fit in and integrate so well with whatever else is going on, it amplifies what everybody else is doing,” she said. “Those businesses are fantastic and I encourage everyone to support them.”

As for the wheatpaste murals, Friday’s attendees can meet Amherst artist Sophie Foulkes, Cambridge artist Ponnapa Prakkamakul and Great Barrington artist Aaron Meshon, who each made two murals for their assigned sites in Turners Falls and Millers Falls.

The town received a $15,000 grant for this project to pay the artists a $4,000 stipend for their time and designs, with the remaining amount used for installation costs. The murals will remain on display throughout the summer.

LoManto noted she feels this type of public art compliments the infrastructure of Montague and comes at a time when there is summer programming across town where people can see the artwork.

“Even though it’s temporary, I really wanted to plug into our summer calendar of events, and I wanted people to see these things over a period of time,” she said. “So people can come to Montague, they can see all six murals — two in Millers [Falls], two on the Turners Falls bike path and two in downtown Turners Falls — and it’s a summer thing.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.