Early June arts picks: Martinsville and Danville museum stops, music and library events

The first full week of June has a workable mix of nearby arts, museum and library options for readers who want something more local than a day trip. The strongest cluster is still Martinsville, but Danville adds two museum exhibits and a fresh round of public-library programs for families and adults.

• Tuesday, June 2: Clyde Hooker Awards at 5:30 p.m. at Piedmont Arts, 215 Starling Ave., Martinsville. Piedmont Arts says this year's awards will honor DelShana LeGrant and 3rd Bay Cafe for support of the arts, with scholarship recognition also on the program.
• Thursday, June 4: Piedmont Arts hosts its Bob Ross Workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.. The June painting is Winter Hideaway. Tickets are listed at $75 for members and $85 for nonmembers, with advance registration required.
• Thursday, June 4: The French Quarter Musical Mini Series continues with Mike Doussan at 6:30 p.m. at TheatreWorks in Martinsville. Martinsville Tourism says admission is $20 and beer and wine will be available at a cash bar.
• Friday, June 5: Martinsville's Sounds on the Square concert series should roll into its next first-Friday date downtown at the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Museum, where the series is advertised as a free monthly run from May through September with half-price museum admission during concert nights.
• June 1-3: Danville Public Library starts the week with a Summer Elementary Bookish Bag pickup on June 1, Little Explorers Storytime on June 2, and Code Challengers: Dino Pet Game on June 3 at Ruby B. Archie Public Library, 511 Patton St.

For museum stops that do not depend on a single event time, the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville continues its Age of Dinosaurs special exhibit, while the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History continues the Danville Public School Student Art Exhibit through July 12, 2026 and the We the People traveling exhibit through June 21, 2026. Danville Museum hours listed on its calendar are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The practical play this week is simple: use Tuesday and Thursday for the ticketed or timed items, then fill in Friday or the weekend with a museum stop depending on whether you want contemporary art, local student work, immigration-history interpretation or the dinosaur show.

Sources: Piedmont Arts events and exhibits pages checked May 31, 2026, including the events page, Bob Ross Workshop page and exhibits page; Virginia Museum of Natural History homepage checked May 31, 2026, vmnh.net; Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society and Martinsville Tourism event pages for Sounds on the Square and tourism listing, both checked May 31, 2026. The June 5 timing is an inference from the series being listed as the first Friday of each month from May through September; Danville Public Library programs page checked May 31, 2026, danvilleva.gov/2467/Public-Library; Danville Museum events calendar checked May 31, 2026, danvillemuseum.org/events.