Arts in Merced, Jan. 16, 2015

Merced Art Hop

The first Merced Art Hop of the year is scheduled to take place downtown from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Dozens of businesses will host artists in or outside stores on Main Street, generally between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and N Street. Outdoor light and craft exhibits, as well as music, will also be on display. For more information, visit www.mercedarthop.org.

Mariposa Art Company exhibit

The Mariposa Art Company on Saturday will host “Loyalty and Integrity,” an art exhibition featuring local tattoo shop Restless Valley Ink. Works featured will include paintings and photography by Jason Rios, Bobby Salinas, Juno Ku, JD McCarthy, Ricky Gutierrez and Repo1911. The opening night will take place during the Merced Art Hop from 7 to 11 p.m. and the exhibit will be available through Feb. 6.

Mariposa Art Company is at 1637 M St. in downtown Merced. Admission is free. For information about the gallery or list of upcoming events please visit www.mariposaartcompany.com or instagram @mariposa_art_company.

Cottonwood Creek to perform

Americana/country group Cottonwood Creek is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. Friday at the Vista Ranch and Cellars, 7326 E. Highway 140 in Merced. Admission is free.

Senior center social dance

The January Social Dance will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Merced Senior Community Center, 755 W. 15th St. Just Friends will be playing waltz, swing, foxtrot, Latin and polka music for the dance. Doors open at 1 p.m., and there’s a rumba lesson at 1:15 p.m. Cost is $8 per person and refreshments will be available. For more information, call (209) 723-0839.

World Dance course

A World Dance course is being offered through Merced College Community Services and will be held on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Merced College in Gym-4. The cost will be $40 per person per six-week session, the first of which began Wednesday. Applicants can register for free at www.mercedcommunityservices.com.

Merced Camera Club Meets

The Merced Camera Club invites all who are interested in the photography to their meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Merced County Farm Bureau, 646 S. Highway 59. Call (209) 382-0222 or (209) 761-0260.

Exhibits at the Arts Center

The Merced Multicultural Arts Center is opening an exhibit this month titled “Emergency/Emergence: Art After War.” Curated by Eli-Jelly Schapiro, it features the work of artists Aaron Hughes, Ehren Tool, Mark Pinto and Drew Cameron. The artists are all Iraq war veterans.

The exhibit will launch prior to Saturday’s art hop and a reception is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the center, at 645 W. Main St. For more information, visit

artsmerced.org.

Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit

The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit is scheduled to perform at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 at The Partisan, 432 W. Main St. Also scheduled to perform is the Jabronskis. Admission is $10; ages 21 and up only.

Museum docent training

The Merced County Courthouse Museum is recruiting volunteers. Docents serve as tour guides for visitors to the Courthouse Museum and help to educate the public about Merced County history.

You do not need to have any experience or need to know much about the history of Merced County. Docent trainers will guide you through step by step. An annual docent training session is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Jan. 24 at the Courthouse Museum. Coffee and breakfast rolls will be provided. Please make your reservation by calling the museum office at (209) 723-2401.

New and returning docents are invited. The museum is at 21st and N streets.

Merced College Exhibit

The Merced College Art Gallery this month will present an exhibition of paintings, titled “Endure,” by Northern California artist Jay Hill. The exhibition will open Tuesday and continue to Feb. 4, according to a Merced College press release. The public is invited to meet the artist at the gallery at a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Hill creates large canvases, painting acrylic on linen. The Merced College Gallery is open from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and by appointment. For more information, call Susanne French, art gallery coordinator, at (209) 384-6064, or email her at french.s@mccd.edu

Events at Kewl Kats

Karaoke happens at Kewl Kats from 9 p.m. until close Monday through Thursday. Friday nights includes DJs, and live bands perform Saturday nights. Bands this month and February include Southern Breeze on Saturday, Kowhoon on Jan. 25, Night Flight on Jan. 31 and Feb. 14, Sound Remedy on Feb. 6-7 and Pruno on Feb. 21. For more information, visit www.kewlkats.net.

Purgatorio Screening

Local filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes is scheduled to hold a free screening of his film “Purgatorio” 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, 645 W. Main St. Purgatorio is a feature film that takes a look at the U.S.-Mexico border and the political impacts on migrant life and health.

This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Arts in Merced, Jan. 16, 2015."