NCMC Events From Around the State… November 16, 2009

1). Hunter Library at Western Carolina University announces two book signings on Saturday, November 21st. The new book “Cherokee Basketry: From the Hands of our Elders” highlights the collections of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual. Author Anna Fariello will be at Osondu Booksellers in Waynesville at 11 a.m.

2). Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens presents Centuries of Celebrations - Festive Holiday Kick-Off, Friday – Sunday, November 27 – 29, 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., Friday-Saturday, and 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Sunday. Come enjoy a special Christmas tour of the Palace, three historic houses and festooned gardens. Performances this weekend include: Simon Spalding will present a different themed one-man act each day that will be a mixture of character portrayal and music, Storyteller Terry Rollins will offer holiday stories in the Visitor Center and Musical group Thursday Morn’ will present two 45-minute colonial concerts.

3). N.C. Museum of History presents Fourteenth Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration on Saturday, Nov. 21, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Celebrate American Indian Heritage Month with musicians, dancers, artists and storytellers from North Carolina’s eight state-recognized tribes. This lively festival is the museum’s largest annual event. The celebration offers activities for all ages and is a firsthand opportunity to learn about the state’s Indian culture, past and present.

4). Mint Museum of Art Love a good mystery? A new exhibition at the Mint Museum of Art contains the elements of an art history whodunit—a carefully crafted forgery, a persistent art scholar and a painting thought to be lost for more than 100 years—while taking the viewer behind the scenes of museum life. The exhibition, Identity Theft: How a Cropsey Became a Gifford, is on view November 21, 2009 through March 27, 2010.

5). SciWorks The Amazing Feats of Aging exhibit will be at SciWorks through January 2, 2010. This exhibit, sponsored by the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, explains mysteries of aging and why animals, including humans, age in this colorful, carnival-themed exhibition. Visitors will marvel as their face instantly ages 25 years, and more!

6). Museum of the Albemarle An exhibit entitled America’s Secret Warriors: the OSS and the George Watts Hill Collection is now on display at the Museum of the Albemarle. Most Americans know little about the ultra secret Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Organized in 1942, the OSS marked the early entry of the United States into the fields of international intelligence gathering and military special operations.

7). Orange County Historical Museum November 27th and 28th: Support the Museum and laugh with An evening with Mark Twain. This one-man play will transport you back to when author Mark Twain was living. Pre-registered tickets are $12 for adults, or $15 at the door. The event is on Friday, November 27th and Saturday, November 28th. The show starts at 8pm at the Leland Little Auction and Estate Sales, 620 Cornerstone Court, Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278.

8). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will take visitors on a journey to the center of our Galaxy when it unveils unprecedented mural-sized images of the Milky Way’s core as seen by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. The images will be unveiled to the public on Thursday, November 19.

9). The Bascom The community is invited to view an exhibition of children's art this Saturday, Nov. 21, when a special Enchanted Forest exhibition opens at The Bascom. The exhibition showcases work done all semester by the kindergarten through eighth graders who take weekly classes at The Bascom, such as these students, above. All are welcome to attend the exhibition opening in the ground-floor Children's Gallery at noon on Saturday. Free refreshments will be served. The exhibition continues through Dec. 18.