Rumor on the street had it that the first Friday of every month was the time to head to Dupont Circle to check out a consortium of art galleries. Rumor on the street also had it that there was free liquor. So, as Monty Python would say: “And now for something completely different.”

From 6 to 8 p.m. on the first Friday of every month, an association of 21 art galleries in Dupont Circle opens to display their new exhibits to the public – and there is free booze. While not every gallery is open every week and likewise not every gallery is supplying whoever walks through the doors with a free glass of wine or beer, there’s enough to make this worth a trip.

According to my friends who have attended the gallery openings more than once, where you find free booze is “hit or miss.” Honestly though, knowing which gallery is giving out free wine defeats the purpose of going. Your self-led tour provides for a mini-scavenger hunt as well as an excuse to check out every gallery, because you never know what art or alcohol the next one will bring.

From Inuit soapstone carvings to surrealist oil-on-canvas paintings to utilitarian sculptures and video diaries, the Dupont Circle galleries bring an eclectic, modern approach to viewing art.

The people who attend the gallery openings are just as diverse. College kids clearly not interested in purchasing the art, business men and women celebrating their first weekend of freedom in a new month, serious art purchasers and the artists themselves – like most other events in Dupont Circle, the gallery openings bring in all walks of life. And if you’re like me, it’s sometimes difficult to decide which to look at more: the art or the people.

Checking out all of this fabulous art and the interesting people with a healthy buzz made most of my friends look at one another and say, “If you want to know what to get me for graduation … You should buy me that.” But unless you have an extra grand or so to spend, don’t anticipate buying any of the artwork you see in Dupont for you or your friends.

And while you might not be able to afford the art you see, at least you’ll have two healthy hours to admire it and give yourself an incentive for getting a high-paying job upon graduation. But if, like me, long-term goals aren’t your forte, when 8 p.m. rolls around you’ll be in one of the best places in D.C. to spend the duration of an evening. Or, since Dupont’s on the red line, you’re one transfer closer to Columbia Heights and U Street. You can certainly justify a night that starts with gallery tours heading just about anywhere in the city.

As one friend described it, the gallery openings are “off the charts.” We’ll definitely be back for both the art and the free alcohol.

For more information about the gallery consortium at Dupont Circle and for a map of the participating galleries, visit www.artline.com/plus/organ/dupont/dupont.html.

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