This month 4th Friday falls on May 25. Don’t miss out on the chance to enjoy the weather, check out the new exhibits and performances downtown and frequent the many shops and eateries that stay open late and offer discounts during the event.

The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County is taking advantage of 4th Friday to open its latest exhibit. “This month’s 4th Friday will be the opening of The Healing Arts, sponsored by Cape Fear Valley Health Systems,” said Mary Kinney, marketing director of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. “The exhibition includes work collected and created by local physicians.”

There are a number of local artists as well as art collectors in the Cape Fear Valley medical community and much of the work shown comes from private collections.

The Army Ground Forces Band will bring a fi ve-member woodwinds section to perform inside the Arts Council Building Grand Hall from 7-9 p.m. during the exhibit opening.

The Downtown Alliance has adopted a fun theme each month. May is The Big Eat, according to Kim Powers, Downtown Alliance 4th Friday coordinator. “This month is called The Big Eat, but the savings are not just in food,” said Powers. “It is food oriented, everything will be about food and diet.”

So make sure to stop at all your favorite downtown eateries to see what specials are on tap.

The Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center Headquarters Library hosts Second Time Around, a 15-piece band specializing in the big-band era. Enjoy the sounds of Glenn Miller, Les Brown, Benny Goodman and more. Refreshements are provided.

Fascinate-U is geared up and ready to entertain children from 7-9 p.m. The craft of the day is colorful macaroni jewelry. Admission is free during 4th Friday.

Cape Fear Studios opens its newest exhibit called The Dance of Art in India — a production created in partnership with the India Foundation. The visual-arts exhibit at Cape Fear Studios emphasizes the interconnection of all classical art forms in India. Because Indian classical dance embodies this concept of interconnectedness, revealing through dance technique, form and style the relationships between the art of music and painting, literature and drama, sculpture and architecture, this exhibit includes a special dance presentation by trained Indian classical art dancers. Asha Bala, dance director and program manager of the India Foundation, will direct the dance performance.

The India Foundation’s vision is that all individuals are provided with creative outlets to soar high and lead fulfilled, dignified lives — engaging with community-based activities that will advance their health, self-esteem and spirit. Bala works with Ellen Olson Brooks, the executive director of Cape Fear Studios, in the spirit of Cape Fear Studios’ mission to partner with other artistic organizations and create unusual, compelling and educational arts exhibits and productions.

“The art in the visual-arts portion of this show will come from private collections here in the Fayetteville area,” said Brooks. “The art will also reveal how the classical Indian dance form and classical Indian arts are unified and interwoven into a beautiful “picture” of the two spectrums of artistic expression: frozen, as in the visual arts, and motion, as in dance.”T

he dance performance will take place at 7 p.m. on 4th Friday at the Arts Council. The visual arts exhibit will be at Cape Fear Studios. This is a show not to be missed.

Visit www.theartscouncil.com to find out more about 4th Friday.