I Love Paros!, Winter Getaway Show at Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s

“GETAWAY ALREADY?: While it’s the first day back for most of us, it’s also never too early to think about vacations ahead. That is exactly what our WINTER SHOW, which goes up this Saturday, will conjure in your head. On display will be the output of 10 talented artists, including several OFF THE WALL veterans, who traveled to the Greek island of PAROS last year — under the guidance and tutelage of ALICE MEYER-WALLACE – to create, celebrate life, collaborate, find inspiration and then create some more! Please mark your calendars for the OPENING RECEPTION on THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 7:00 – 10:00pm. We look forward to seeing you then and getting away — if only for a few hours…and only through the power of art!” – Togo Travalia

• Linda Avila
• Meri Collier
• Anders Hansen
• Alice Meyer-Wallace
• Jess Perlitz
• Ron Ploeg
• Susan Ploeg
• Susan Stromquist
• Phillis Dyer Weldon
• Rick Wright

“Paros is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about 8 kilometres (5 miles) wide. It lies approximately 150 km (93 miles) south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets totaling 196.308 square kilometres (75.795 sq mi) of land. It’s nearest neighbor is the municipality of Antiparos, which lies to its southwest.

Historically, Paros was known for its fine white marble, which gave rise to the term “Parian” to describe marble or china of similar qualities. Today, abandoned marble quarries and mines can be found on the island, but Paros is primarily known as a popular tourist spot.” – Wikipedia

The Dirty History of Franks, in a shot glass:

• Dirty Frank’s opened its doors as “Franks” on November 8th, 1933, and was owned by Lou Silverman.
• Prohibition was repealed December 5th, 1933 (how did Lou know?).
• Frank Vigderman was the second owner. Apparently due to his hygiene, the name ‘Dirty Frank’s’ was born.
• John Segal was the third owner from 1959-1978. He tried to change the name to the ‘347 bar’ but it never really stuck. In August of 1965 Dirty Frank’s was closed for 45 days as penalty for serving minors. John took the opportunity to tear down the dividing wall between the two rooms and to build the horseshoe-shaped bar that we still have today.
• Jay McConnell became the fourth owner from 1978 – 2011. He completely embraced and embodied the Dirty Frank’s persona.
• The Off the Wall Gallery was launched in 1979 by by Jay with Mary Liz, Bunky Devichios, and Phil Sumpter.
• Since 2011,  Dirty Frank’s is owned by Brad Pierce and Jody Sweitzer, two longtime employees of the “institution”.

There you have it. And, as they say, much is still to be written…

Thank you to Togo Travalia for the content of this post.

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