A little rain didn’t stop art in Nashua on Saturday and Sunday.

The annual ArtWalk — a citywide showcase of local art work, performances and ideas — may have been a little quieter than in years past, but there were still plenty of things to see and do.

“The weather has affected the numbers, but people who come are having a lovely time,” said Elise MacDonald, director of Studio 99, a downtown Nashua listening room where audiences can hear jazz, acoustic and blues musicians perform almost every night.

“There’s a lot of energy and art and downtown Nashua,” said MacDonald who added that City Arts, an alliance of actors, musicians, performers and visual artists, does a great job promoting the city’s artistic and cultural community.

Nashua is home to many young and innovative talents that thrive off that energy and the city’s riverfront setting. Painters, photographers, musicians, potters, jewelers, sculptors, historians and art history scholars are all in on ArtWalk.

“ArtWalk is a great opportunity for people to introduce themselves to local art,” said Nancy Ferrier, a former gallery owner who manages and promotes several local artists.

Ferrier said it’s not just the variety of exhibits and performances, it’s the atmosphere that makes ArtWalk a great event.

“It’s not like going to a tony gallery where you have to speak softly and not touch anything,” said Ferrier. “It’s a wonderful, welcoming event that tries to engage children and adults in art.”

Ferrier was at ArtWalk, showing a collection of neon-colored acrylic abstract paintings by Ken Gidge, who has a number of other job titles, including inventor and state legislator. Ferrier offered everyone who came into the room a pair of 3-D glasses, which gave the view the illusion of colors and shapes springing from the walls.

“It’s great as flat art, but when you put the glasses on, it’s party time,” Ferrier told a couple who had been drawn into the room of paintings by the explosive colors.

Gidge’s wife, Lee Guertte, a sculptor who creates animals with local stones, said her husband has tried a lot of different things during his career, including an eight-month flag pole sitting stint in Peabody, Mass.

“We met after that while waiting in the line at unemployment,” said Guerette, adding that life in a house decorated with neon-colored 3-D paintings is pretty interesting. “We laugh a lot,” she said.

All types of musicians were performing in pockets of downtown Nashua, including Studio 99 where Mike Loce sat with his sapphire blue guitar and Scott Litchfield of Higher End Instruments to play for visitors.

“I guess you could say we’re improvising or jamming,” said Loce, who added they were ramping up the sound with a recorded backtrack. “Really, we’re just playing guitars.”

The Nashua Public Library had an exhibit of mixed media canvases with splashes of paint, chunks of wood and large folds of fabric. Inside the library theater, Nancy Baker present a slideshow of decorative patterns used in art from ancients times through the 20th century abstract expressionist movement.

“Ideas, patterns are passed down century after century, just like stories and mythologies,” said Baker. “It’s the same thing with certain patterns that are cross-cultural.”

Ferrier said that in addition to making art accessible to residents, ArtWalk also unites the city’s artists with the business community which owns plenty of buildings with acres of wall space to exhibit work, and lots of nooks and crannies in where musicians can perform.

“It’s just a great time, and a great representation of Nashua,” she said.

btaormina@newstote.com