At the first of Edgartown’s gallery strolls this year, which will see the wine, cheese and music — oh, and don’t forget the art — spread out at four simultaneous gallery receptions on Thursday, Elizabeth Eisenhauer will be looking “to see what that little element’s going to be that’s different and unexpected.”

Each year, there’s a little bit of a difference in Edgartown’s Evening of Fine Art, according to Ms. Eisenhauer, who owns the Eisenhauer Gallery.

Valet parking will be new, for one thing. “It’s the first time the gallery stroll will have the option to experience valet” in front of the Eisenhauer gallery on Water street, she said.

Ms. Eisenhauer’s gallery, which will be showing paintings by Cheri Christensen, Jill Soukup and Fred Calleri in an exhibition called Farm Fresh, will join the North Water Gallery, the Willoughby Fine Art Gallery and the Christina Gallery in celebrating the Edgartown art scene.

Each gallery has its own approach, but North Water Gallery owner Chris Morse said, “Everyone’s celebrating what they have that’s new.”

Mr. Morse said the gallery stroll differs from a typical opening because of its party atmosphere. “It’s a celebration, and that’s ultimately what we’re doing, we’re celebrating the artists that we’re featuring at that time,” he said.

North Water Gallery will feature works by Suzanne Crocker, Ken Auster and Ken Otsuka. “It’s an exciting time socially, but you have the wonderful cultural component as well,” Mr. Morse said. Often the artists are there to talk about their works.

The first stroll of the season, Mr. Morse said, is a nice time to welcome back returning customers, and for him the combination of the social aspect of a stroll and the art is important.

“They’re exciting evenings,” he said, noting that often people come in without meaning to buy anything yet walk out with a painting.

“Lots of times, art isn’t a conquest where someone is going specifically to find a piece to go over their sofa. It’s just looking at something and saying, ‘I really like that. I can find a place for that in my kitchen, or in my den.’”

It can be difficult, however, to strike the right balance between wanting patrons to feel comfortable and keeping the stroll from turning into an all-out party.

Ms. Eisenhauer said that because she has a courtyard (her gallery is located in the same complex as Chesca’s restaurant), people tend to congregate there.

“I want it to feel like a six o’clock social event,” she said of the mood she wanted to create.

For Christina Cook, whose Christina Gallery will continue an already running show of John C. Traynor’s paintings, the social aspect of the stroll takes a back seat to the art.

“I wish it was more of an appreciation event and that people really appreciated what the galleries are showing, and less of a social event,” she said.

The point, after all, is the art.

At Willoughby Fine Art Gallery, Rick Willoughby will be exhibiting works by a number of artists including Thomas McLauchlin, Mark Shasha, Elizabeth Leary and Sean Farrell.

Mr. Willoughby will be encouraging his patrons to stay and sip their wine in his gallery, rather than walking around town with it.

Mr. Willoughby will be hanging works by most of the artists he represents rather than celebrating just a handful during the stroll. “Our first show will be an opening highlighting all the new work that’s arrived in the last month,” he said of his approach to the stroll. “I want everyone to see what they’ve all done.”

Hanging new work every day, Mr. Willoughby is exhibiting work from 15 or 16 artists at the moment. “I think what we have right here, right now is a pretty good mix of what we represent,” he said.

Mr. Willoughby feels there is strength in numbers, noting that the turnout is higher during gallery strolls than it is during solo openings. With the season abbreviated in recent years by the slowed economy, strolls can give galleries a boost.

Ms. Eisenhauer is a believer in the sales potential of the stroll. “It’s social, but then we see significant sales following in the next few days based on exposure from the stroll.

“It’s kind of like having a crush on this boy and you meet him and you have this little moment with him ... and he actually calls the next day,” she said.

The benefit for the consumer of any art stroll, she added, is the opportunity it brings to see the work of a variety of artists. Edgartown is no different.

“It seems like everybody is bringing a different piece of the puzzle to the art scene in Edgartown,” Ms. Eisenhauer said.

“I’ve gone in a contemporary direction and it’s been really, really emotionally satisfying because I now have my own niche,” she said.

Mr. Morse hopes that more galleries will participate in future gallery strolls. “It does help to define the Edgartown art community, as well,” he said.

Within these four galleries, though, whether you prefer the art or the socializing, there’s plenty to enjoy on Water street.

An Evening of Fine Art is on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. in downtown Edgartown with receptions inside the art galleries and Mike Benjamin playing music in the courtyard of Eisenhauer Gallery.