Family and Friends Reaching for Abilities holds its Abilities Fine Art Gala on Friday, Sept. 18, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Art Center of Citrus County on North Annapolis Avenue in Hernando. This year's edition carries the title A Kaleidoscope of Color, and the whole evening is given over to work made by artists with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

The format is straightforward and the point is not. Visitors walk the gallery, look at the pieces, and meet the people who made them. For artists whose work rarely gets a room of its own, a gala with an audience is a different thing entirely from a craft table in a day program, and FFRA has built the event around that difference.

FFRA is a Citrus County nonprofit with a long history behind it. A group of parents of developmentally delayed children founded the 501(c)(3) in 1997 after finding few reliable resources in the county, and it has grown steadily since. The organization now counts more than 180 members and describes its work as improving the welfare, safety and quality of life of intellectually challenged adults, through support, education, socialization and advocacy.

The Art Center of Citrus County makes a fitting host. The county's community arts venue runs a gallery, a theatre and a teaching academy out of its campus off County Road 486, and it has hosted the Abilities gala before.

The gala runs four hours on the Friday evening, leaving room to arrive late and still see the show. Kathy Turner is the contact for details and tickets, at 352-220-2351.