1). Joel Lane Museum House: The Joel Lane Museum House is proud to present a lecture by Warren Bingham on “George Washington’s 1791 Southern Tour” in the Visitors Center on February 19, 2009 at 7 p.m. Find out where George really slept. Mr. Bingham is a very engaging speaker who is very entertaining and informative. Seating is limited, and reservations are required. To make a reservation, call with a credit card or mail a check. Please be sure to include the names of all in your party for name tags. Refreshments will be served.

2). Mint Museum of Craft and Design: The Mint Museum of Craft + Design will open its spring season with two important exhibitions: “From the Melting Pot into the Fire: Contemporary Ceramics in Israel” (February 14 – June 21, 2009) and “The Miniature Worlds of Bruce Metcalf” (February 21 – May 17, 2009). The exhibition From the Melting Pot into the Fire includes the work of some of the most acclaimed ceramic artists working in Israeli today.

3). Asheville Art Museum: The Asheville Art Museum invites you celebrate Valentine’s Day afternoon enjoying a unique film screening of “Running Fence” on Saturday, February 14th, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in the Museum’s Studio. This film documents the multi-year process of the creation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California,” a 24-mile long, 18-foot high fabric “fence” which spanned two counties in California.

4). Gregg Museum of Art and Design: The Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NC State University is pleased to present “Norm Schulman: A Life in Clay” from January 22 – March 29, 2009. Schulman will also speak about his work as a part of our Artists & Objects lecture series. The lecture will be at the Gregg Museum on Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 7 p.m.

5). Museum of the Albemarle: The Museum of the Albemarle presents “Junior Museum Explorers” on February 10, 2009 from 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. This program will run regularly on the second Tuesday of each month and is free for 12-17 year olds. These programs will focus on life during the Great Depression. Learn how people made a living in the Albemarle region during these hard economic times.

6). SciWorks will hold its 2nd Annual “WinterFest,” focusing on the science of winter, on February 14. Scheduled activities include: a craft activity for families to do together; cryogenics demonstrations; “The Magic of Science,” an exciting program full of magic tricks and science demonstrations; and a feeding demonstration at the saltwater “touch tank.” For an outside activity, a tour of our Environmental Park will be offered. Participants will learn about wildlife, their habitats and other unique characteristics and will compare wildlife to the domestic livestock in the barn.

7). Weatherspoon Art Museum presents a special event: “Jules Olitski and Post-Painterly Abstraction” on Thursday, February 19 at 5:30 p.m., reception follows. A central figure in abstract painting during the 1960s, Jules Olitski (1922-2007) was a leader in the style dubbed "Post Painterly Abstraction." Norman L. Kleeblatt, Susan & Elihu Rose Chief Curator of The Jewish Museum, discusses Oltiski in the context of his earlier work and his seminal place in the postwar American vanguard. Kleeblatt will lead a conversation with Olitiski's daughter, Lauren Poster, and wife, Kristina Olitiski, following the lecture.

8). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences has expanded its current exhibit of “Wildlife in North Carolina” competition photographs to include winning images from the past. Opening Friday, February 6, the “Best of Wildlife in North Carolina Photos” exhibit, including 65 outstanding images of the natural world, will be on display through April 19. Free.

9). N.C. Office of Archives and History presents “The Lincoln Bicentennial: A Symposium” at the N.C. Museum of History on Thursday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Visit http://www.ncculture.com/ for details. This symposium will explore Lincoln’s tenure in the sessions “Lincoln’s Legacy,” “Lincoln’s Political Leadership: An Overview,” “Lincoln as a Military Commander,” and “Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the End of Slavery.” The Lincoln Symposium is organized by the Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources as part of a larger sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War. Additional sessions of the Lincoln Symposium will examine other influences of Lincoln’s time, including “Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederacy: A Comparison” and “United States Colored Troops.”