(From May 2-3, 2007)

Excerpted from the Winston-Salem Journal:
Winston-Salem police have arrested one man in connection with the theft of 20 pieces of Moravian pottery from Old Salem. The ceramic pottery taken includes a few replicas, which have little value, along with original plates, bowls and jugs from the 19th and late-18th centuries.

Police have recovered at least 14 of the pieces after arresting David Curtis Barrow, 56, of 413 Holiday St. on Monday at Brookstown Antiques & Consignment on Brookstown Road. According to Lee French, the president of Old Salem Inc., the same man had sold stolen pottery pieces at the store, then returned Monday to sell more. Old Salem officials had notified local antique dealers after the thefts and asked them to be on the lookout. French said they confirmed that the first pieces sold to the store were stolen, and then police were ready in case the seller returned.

Barrow is charged with possession of stolen property and carrying a concealed gun, which police say was a loaded gun found in his car. He has not been charged with the break-ins or thefts and is out of jail after posting a $15,000 bond. He did not return a phone message yesterday. The pottery pieces were taken in break-ins on the night of April 11 at Winkler Bakery and on April 15 at the Vierling House.

The stolen pieces are not the elaborately decorated plates often associated with Moravians - they are more like the sturdy wares that would be used around the house, said Johanna Brown, the director of collections at Old Salem and curator of Moravian decorative arts. "It's sort of the Rubbermaid of the 19th century," Brown said.

Excerpted from the NC Tourism, Film & Sports Development Department's NewsLink E-Newsletter: MUSEUMS OFTEN TOO SUBTLE IN MARKETING

To help bridge the gap between the programming museum officials want to offer and the programming that visitors actually want, 14 museums throughout North Carolina have teamed up to better educate themselves about marketing, branding, evaluation and market research. That effort has included a series of two-day seminars that have been presented by officials from the Office of Policy and Analysis at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The seminars have been held at Discovery Place in Charlotte, the N.C. Zoo in Asheboro and the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. Topics have included how to interview visitors; evaluate interviews; analyze and present data; build a brand; and measure program impact on visitors. The results of visitor surveys and interviews that participants have conducted at their own institutions will be analyzed at the final seminar, to be held May 3-4 at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. To find out more, visit http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/04/30/newscolumn1.html?f=et1
For more information on these or future seminars, contact Jayne Owen Parker, director of conservation education for the N.C. Zoo Society, at (336) 879-7273 or via jparker@nczoo.com.

Upcoming sessions open for registrants: The Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies and NC ECHO are sponsoring a Hometown History workshop called "Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Creating Attractive Exhibits on a Budget, and the Basics of a Good Web Page." This workshop offers participants a chance to practice important exhibit-building skills, such as making and cutting labels, creating a book mount, and more. The workshop also includes a discussion of issues to consider when designing a web page. Linda Jacobson, assistant keeper of the North Carolina Collection at UNC-CH, and Jill Wagy, reference assistant for the North Carolina Collection, will conduct the workshops. The workshops will be held on Friday, May 18, in the Lincoln Cultural Center in Lincolnton, and on Friday, June 1, in the Brown Public Library in Washington, NC. Cost is $20. For more information and for a registration form, please visit www.ncecho.org and scroll to the description of the Hometown History workshops.

Port Discover in Elizabeth City has its monthly Make-It-Take-It project as Butterfly Wands for May -- the project is free and available during Port Discover's operating hours. On Saturday, May 12 at 10:00 a.m., the Second Saturday Science theme is "Explosive Science." On Thursday, May 17, Toddler Time features Flower Gardens.

SpiderMan 3 is on the way to the IMAX Experience at Discovery Place, Charlotte, tomorrow (May 4).

ComposerWorks is the next music program at Cameron Art Museum from 7-8 p.m. on Friday, May 11. Starting at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, May 18, the discussion and film subject will be 1955's "Guys and Dolls."

Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts will hold a Mother's Day Jazz Brunch on Sun., May 13 starting at 1 p.m. (e-mail delta2611@bellsouth.net for reservations at $20/person). Its 13th Annual Young People's Exhibit will be on view from May 7-26, with a reception and awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 17.

May 4-6 is the Concept Home Tour fundraiser for Greensboro Children's Museum (10-6 Friday and Saturday and 1-6 Sunday) - tour fee, $10. May 5 is also Cinco De Mayo at the Museum. Details on GCM's Summer Camps are also available online.

The Garden Tour Quilt Showcase will be held from May 11 through 20 as a joint venture of the Orange County Historical Museum and the Durham-Orange Quilters' Guild. A Spring Garden Tour is also set for May 19 and May 20, along with mini-workshops. Call the museum at 919-732-2201 or see the website -- and the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough has more on the Garden Tour.

The Hickory Museum of Art's 6th Annual Art on the Avenue is set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 5th. Learn more about llamas on the lawn of the Museum. The free family fair includes a number of other activities as well.

National Historic Preservation Month will be celebrated in Greensboro with a number of events during May. Among them: free tours of Blandwood from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays throughout the month; Art in the Garden on the grounds at Blandwood from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, May 6 (free); and free walking tours on Wednesdays (May 9 - College Hill neighborhood, meet at 7 p.m. at Tate St. Coffee House; and May 13, $5, "The Plants and the Planted" at Green Hill Cemetery, meet at 2 p.m. at southermost gate on Wharton Street, are among them). See www.blandwood.org/events.html#preservationmonth
for more details.

On Saturday, May 5, from 12:30 p.m., the Orange County Historical Museum (201 N. Churton St., Hillsborough) will host a Civil War History Symposium in conjunction with the opening of its new "The Wrath to Come" exhibit. Jennifer L. Koach, executive director, will speak on the role of Southern women as hospital matrons; Ernest Dollar, director of the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, will speak on Chapel Hill during that time period; and featured guest speaker Dr. William C. Harris will present "Abraham Lincoln and North Carolina." Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID, available at the door or in advance by calling the museum at (919) 732-2201.

The Cape Fear Global Warming Conference Committee and the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher will present a Global Warming Conference: What do we know? What can we do? on June 8 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and June 9 from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The cost is $20 until May 25th (no tickets will be sold at the door). For questions, call (910) 681-1161; to register online, visit www.globalwarmingnc.com -- or call (910) 962-3195.

The AASLH will present the 48th Seminar for Historical Administration from October 27 through November 17, 2007, at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis, IN. Application deadline is June 1, 2007. It is "an intensive, residential leadership training experience for history professionals." Tuition for the three-week program is $1200; lodging with some meals included is $1225. 18 participants are chosen each year. For more information and to register for SHA, visit www.aaslh.org/histadmin.htm. For questions, contact Bob Beatty, director of programs, AASLH, at (615) 320-3203 or via e-mail (beatty@aaslh.org).