Rain dampens some of First Friday's festivities

Titus, Rench and Wheary sang -- but not for long

It was a little after 6 p.m. on First Friday, and the heavy mist was turning into droplets of rain. Titus, Rench and Wheary were setting up their amps in Crosswalk Park, in front of a small group of family and friends waiting for the music to begin. Finally, all was set; what to play?

How about a sea shantey, someone suggested? How about an umbrella, came the riposte.

Gamely, they jumped into Hard Travelin' Man, and for a few minutes they, and their audience, concentrated on the music -- and not the rain, which clearly was not just droplets. The song ended, and the set-list became, "That's it!" as musicians and audience members alike took shelter from the sudden downpour.

Minutes later, the scene was what you see below; driving rain. It put quite a damper on Racine's First Friday, but there were still plenty of indoor attractions worth visiting. We've shown some below.

The Viola Frey exhibit at RAM -- really big and amusing sculptures

Edwin Kalke honors Joyce Ottum, a founding member of the Artists Gallery

Painter Sue Horton greets guests at Photographic Design Studio

Mean Jake sang from under cover on Monument Square,
but the group's fans definitely got wet (see below)

Ruben Vela kept Fiesta Mexicana dancing under the big tent...

Hundreds of all ages enjoyed the lively music