For years, the “first Friday” art walk has been a time for Island art lovers to gallery hop, munch on appetizers and help themselves to glasses of wine.

At times, the festivities have even spilled onto the street as gallery-goers roamed from exhibit to exhibit, absentmindedly carrying cups of wine with them as they chatted with friends on the sidewalk.

As it turns out, it’s also a tradition that has turned Vashon’s shops and streets into a crime scene.

This month, after receiving a letter from the Washington State Liquor Control Board, many Island shops and businesses are planning to make this a “dry” first Friday, until they can better understand how to comply with a new law that regulates how galleries can serve alcohol.

“We’re not going to break the law,” promised Molly Reed, executive director of Vashon Allied Arts, as she contemplated a wine-free opening reception at the Blue Heron Art Center this Friday.

The issue surfaced about a month ago, when many Vashon gallery and business owners received a letter from the liquor control board’s Seattle enforcement office. The July 7 letter, addressed specifically to Vashon business owners, began with what some interpreted as a stern tone:

“It has come to the attention of the (Washington) State Liquor Control Board that illegal alcohol service may have been conducted at some local businesses during art walks,” the letter said, before going on to spell out the specific legal codes that prohibit galleries and other unlicensed establishments from offering alcohol at public events.

The letter also reminded gallery and shop owners that sidewalk drinking is illegal, and that their customers could face a fine of $103 if they are caught opening a sealed container of alcohol or drinking it in public.

But another purpose of the letter was to inform gallery and business owners of a new law that would, in fact, enable them to begin serving wine legally at art openings — for the first time ever, as it turns out.

That law, which took effect on July 26, creates an exception to Washington’s current code, which prohibits unlicensed establishments from serving alcohol.

Under the new law, “true” art galleries — defined as “a room or building devoted to the exhibition and/or sale of art” — may now offer one glass of wine or beer to each customer, provided that it is served by gallery employees who have completed an alcohol server training program at a liquor control board office.

In short, the new law allows galleries a legal way to keep the wine flowing on gallery cruise nights.

Still, for some shop owners, the law has caused confusion and even some degree of alarm. Others said they won’t serve alcohol until they’re certain they’re conforming with the new regulations.

Marci Christopher, owner of Treasure Island, said that the letter from the liquor control board was hand-delivered to her by two enforcement officers.

“They scared me,” Christopher said. “They made me feel like they were going to ticket me, and they gave me the feeling they were going into every store.”

Christopher said she wasn’t planning to serve wine during the gallery cruise this Friday and that although she planned to take the required classes to begin offering wine again in the future, she was concerned the new law would put her at risk.

“It has made me nervous,” she said. “How do you keep your eye on every single person all night long when you have a show going on? If somebody came in here drunk, how would I prove that I only gave them one glass of wine?”

Another curator, Greg Wessel, who arranges exhibitions at Two Wall Gallery, said he would also be only offering non-alcoholic beverages on Friday.

“I’m not going to be offering wine, period, until we can resolve it or figure out a way to do it,” he said.

At the Blue Heron, Reed said she was doing homework on the new law.

“We’ll have to find out how difficult it is to get that wine server training and find out if we have a group of volunteers willing to go through that,” Reed said.

However, according to a liquor control board spokesperson, the alcohol serving training program may not be as onerous as some Islanders fear and may not even require a ferry ride.

Anne Radford, a liquor control board spokesperson, said classes are offered on a regular basis at control board offices throughout the state, but that in the case of Vashon, the training could be arranged to take place on the Island, if a large enough group requests it. The training sessions last less than an hour.

In addition, specific fines have not been set for infractions of the new law, which is a misdemeanor offense.

“If we got a complaint, our officers could get involved and provide some education,” said Radford. “They would make sure everyone understood the law, and then they’d have to decide from there how to pursue it. The law doesn’t spell out a penalty.”

Still, the recent developments have sparked discussion about how much wine has contributed in the past to making the gallery cruise such a festive monthly occasion.

“People are used to coming to the Blue Heron and being able to have a glass of wine and an appetizer,” said Reed. “It encourages people to show up. I hope that’s not the only reason people come. I hope they also come to see the art and meet the artists and socialize, but I don’t know. We’ll find out.”

Margaret Heffelfinger, co-owner of Silverwood Gallery, said, “We would be more than happy to take the course if it was on Vashon, because it’s nice to be able to offer people a glass of wine as part of the reception, but it’s hard to imagine that it will make that big of a change on opening night. People come to Silverwood to celebrate the art and the artists.”

Priscella Schleigh Kimmel, owner of the fair trade shop Giraffe, said she won’t be serving wine this Friday either, but added that she isn’t worried about the new rules.

“My big draw now is that I’ve been making a big pot of Haitian rice and beans on First Fridays,” she said with a laugh. “I use spices that I have in the store, and they’re different every time. People come here for the food more than the wine.”