NCMC Events From Around the State… August 24, 2009

1). Reynolda House Museum of American Art will begin American Arts Discovery on September 1, 2009. The course is a general introduction to American art through the close study of Reynolda House’s fine art collection. The six-week course serves as the foundation of the Museum’s nationally recognized volunteer program, which numbers more than 200 local residents. “American Arts Discovery” will be taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., concluding October 8, 2009.

2). Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center hosts Cape Lookout Lighthouse 150th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibition. Artwork registration is due on or before Monday, October 5, 2009. All entries must include Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the exhibition will run October 10 – November 1, 2009. Check website for more details.

3). Orange County Historical Museum On August 28 from 6-9pm, the Museum will be hosting Ears to You. Come satisfy your hunger at the Museum with grilled corn on the cob, drinks, and hot dogs. All proceeds benefit the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County, which operates the Orange County Historical Museum.

4). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences presents Of Chocolate and Kings: The Origins and History of Chocolate in Ancient Mexico on Tuesday, September 1 at 7 p.m. Join Dorie Reents-Budet, Curator of the Art of the Ancient Americas collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, for a discussion of the origins of chocolate, its social and economic roles, and its myriad recipes among the Olmecs, the Maya and the Aztecs, spanning more than 2,500 years of culinary history and enjoyment.

5). N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher Curious about the Fort Fisher hermit? Take a walk in the footsteps of the Hermit at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Join Aquarium staff for the Fort Fisher Hermit’s School of Common Sense program which takes you on a journey through the life of a real “survivorman”. After viewing the award winning documentary, The Fort Fisher Hermit: The Life & Death of Robert E. Harrill, participants walk through the salt marsh to the bunker where he lived for countless years. The next opportunity for this program is August 26 at 8:00 am.

6). Bellamy Mansion Museum presents a member event presentation Why We’re Called Tar Heels by Harry Warren, director of the Museum of Forestry on August 25th at 7:00. Seating for this presentation is limited to the formal parlors so reserve your spot. A light reception will follow the presentation.

7). Weatherspoon Art Museum The Weatherspoon Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro is pleased to present Dike Blair: Now and Again, a major solo exhibition of the artist’s work that focuses on the years from 2001-2009, including fifty of his trademark gouache paintings and fourteen sculptures. The exhibition opens to the public on September 13, and continues through December 6, 2009.

8). President James K. Polk State Historic Site Legend says Andrew Jackson called her “wealthy, pretty, ambitious, and intelligent,” and urged James K. Polk to marry Sarah Childress, which he did. The President James K. Polk Historic Site will have a birthday celebration for that active first lady on Saturday, Sept. 5, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., commemorating her birth on Sept. 4, 1803. Salem College graduate Christina Walsh will examine Sarah Polk’s time at Salem Academy at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Catawba Valley Cooking Guild will host a period tea at this free public program.