Twice a year, at the turn of the seasons, our city’s artists and galleries throw open their doors to the public — and this coming weekend the fall 2011 Saint Paul Art Crawl is upon us. The concentration of events, artist lofts and galleries is densest in the Lowertown and downtown areas, but you’ll find a scattering of participating venues in just about every corner of the city.

So, where should you start? The art crawl website isn’t much help, to be honest. Just barebones information: You’ll find a map (PDF), of course, and a list of participating sites, but that’s about it. Certainly, there’s something to be said for the freewheeling approach to taking in the Crawl; the beautiful weather is supposed to hold out for us all weekend, and it’s easy to while away the afternoon with catch-as-catch-can browsing through various artspots. But while aimless looking has its perks, I find it’s helpful to have at least a few priorities at the ready as you navigate your way through the weekend – the stand-out shows worth seeking out, the after-hours shindigs to hit before heading home. So, I’ve done a bit of poking around and have a few suggestions as you hit the streets of St. Paul looking for art:

You’ll definitely want to stop by McNally Smith College of Music’s SoundCrawl, which will kick off the weekend’s festivities with an evening-long parade of sorts on Friday night. They’re calling it “choreographed human-on-a-stick shtick,” complete with a “laptop marching band” made up of McNally Smith musicians, the Full Circle Maximalist Marching Ensemble (also filled with performers from the college), along with special guest Hastings 3000, the New Orleans-style, strolling Jack Brass Band,  spoken word from Stop! The Black Sheep, a selection of ArtCars, capped off by 16 roving Segways and fire juggling and stilt walking by the Inflammati Fire Circus. SoundCrawl is Friday night, from 6 to 8 p.m., at McNally Smith College of Music, 19 Exchange St. East, St. Paul, Minn. 55101 Echo Arts is hosting “Transfigurations,” a spooky Samhain-themed multimedia, interactive installation by Talissa Mehringer and the artists of Laekun Foto. The gallery will be filled with life-size “soul drones,” a series of large creature sculptures and life-after-death vignettes, environments and soundscapes from Beyond, as well as photo, video, paintings and a variety of other surreal two- and three-dimensional artwork for visitors to explore. Echo Arts is located in the Northwestern Building, 275 East Fourth St., Suite B200, St. Paul, Minn. 55101. The “Transfigurations” installation will be on view throughout the weekend, and there will be an after-Crawl party with music by DJ Redblock on Saturday, Oct. 8, beginning at 10 p.m.

On a related note, something well worth a look while you’re in that neck of the woods: a group of College of Visual Arts photo thesis students are also showing work  in the Northwestern Building, in artist Cheryl Wilgren Clyne‘s studio/gallery, air sweet air, 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 795.

The AZ Gallery is showing pieces in a wide variety of styles and mediums, made by both co-op members and some invited guest artists. Among them, I’m especially looking forward to the wry, illustrative pieces by D.C. Ice, the appealingly warped ceramics of Natasha Poppe and Michael Schmidt’s color-saturated, evocative “Urbanscapes.” In addition, the gallery is hosting live music each day of the Art Crawl: Friday, Oct. 7, Jeff Ray and Hurricane Harold play at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 8, Karl Remus plays at 1 p.m.; Bernie King and the Guilty Pleasures play at 5 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 9, Maria Vejdani performs at 2:15 p.m. AZ Gallery is in the Northern Warehouse Building, 308 Prince St., No. 130, St. Paul, Minn. 55101.

Finally, throughout the Art Crawl, the Black Dog Café and Wine Bar will be exhibiting work by local artists and serving as the unofficial Saint Paul Art Crawl watering hole. It’s also hosting an after-Crawl party on Saturday night, where you’ll find live music by the bluegrass/punk outfit the Knotwells; sometime in the course of the evening, expect a visitation by the undead celebrants of the Zombie Pub Crawl. The Knotwells will perform beginning at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Black Dog Café and Wine Bar, on the corner of Fourth and Broadway, St. Paul, Minn. The fall 2011 Saint Paul Art Crawl takes place: Friday, Oct. 7, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 8, from noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 9, from noon to 5 p.m. Find the full list of locations for this year’s art crawl on the festival website.