ncmuseums

An occasional list of exhibits, programs, and events at North Carolina museums. Sponsored by the North Carolina Museums Council.

Monday, November 28, 2011

NCMC Events From Around the State… November 28, 2011

1). Cameron Art Museum Presents “Hattitude Holiday Tea, Hat Fashion Show and Spoken Word” on Sunday, December 4, 2011. The exhibit includes many one-of-a-kind hats from collections and Crowns are portrait depictions in photographs of black women in church hats in celebration of Cameron Art Museum’s exhibits “Hattitude: A Convergence of Fashion and Faith and Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats”. The holiday Victorian-style tea will include refreshments, a rare community hat fashion show, and spoken word performance inspired by the exhibits by SUN. Seating is limited so reservations are recommended.

2). Weatherspoon Art Museum presents a lecture “The Drama of Identity” on Thursday, Dec 1, 5:30pm. In conjunction with “Persona: A Body in Parts”, Kathryn Shields, Ph.D Art History, will speak about contemporary visual art practices that deal with metaphorical masking, visual communication, and identity. The concept of masking, a general reference to the layering of literal and symbolic meaning in a photograph, also encompasses the malleability of identity and the seemingly fluid boundary between fact and fiction explored by a number of contemporary artists.

3). Turchin Center for the Visual Arts Don’t miss the Fall Boone Handmade Market on December 4th! Mark your calendar for this great opportunity to support your community, buy locally and add unique handmade gifts to your holiday shopping list! This year the market will feature ninety vendors. Visit our website or call 828-262-3017 to learn more!

4). Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site Leave the hustle and bustle of modern holidays behind and travel back to a simpler place and time at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site's "Civil War Christmas" event. On Saturday, Dec. 3, drop by and help decorate an 1860s style Christmas tree, spend time with re-enactor Confederate soldiers around the campfire, sip cider with civilian living historians and tour the circa 1855 Harper House. This free program will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is open to the public.

5). HandsOn! the children’s museum located in downtown Hendersonville, invites all mad scientists and crazy chemists to make 3-D Puffy Paint! The class, which is designed for children ages 3-10, will take place Wednesday, November 30. Cost to participate is free with $5 admission fee (free for museum members). Space is limited, call 697-8333 to sign up.

6). Museum of the Albemarle Enjoy a morning at the Museum of the Albemarle designing and constructing your own natural holiday wreath, Saturday December 3, from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. Supplies, some greenery and a delicious catered lunch will be provided. Registration preferred by November 21. $30-for Friends of the Museum of the Albemarle members, $35-non members. After, Nov. 21: $35-Museum members, $40 non members. Reserve your space early-applications available at the Museum’s front desk.

7). High Point Museum Start the holiday season off by visiting the High Point Museum’s 28th Annual “Holiday Open House” on Sunday, December 4 from 1 pm to 4 pm. It’s a day filled with special reenactments, music, demonstrations, refreshments and hands-on activities. The Harp Ensemble from Penn-Griffin School for the Arts will perform from 1:30 pm to 2 pm. The High Point United Arts Council Children’s and Youth Chorale will take the stage from 2:15 pm to 2:45 pm. The Culler Senior Center’s Happy Tones will delight visitors from 3 pm to 3:30 pm.

8). Fort Fisher State Historic Site presents its “Holiday Open House” on Tuesday, December 6, 2011, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the visitor’s center. Enjoy seasonal refreshments, decorations, and entertainment throughout the day, including the elementary school chorus from Leland Christian Academy, songs and stories of Civil War blockade running by noted historical entertainer John Golden (aka Captain Roberts) and actor/interpreter and storyteller Joyce Grear (aka Harriet “Moses” Tubman), telling stories of the African-American experience and cultural traditions in the Cape Fear area associated with the Christmas season.

9). N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Determination, commitment and pride are among many characteristics of North Carolinians depicted in the “Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory: Civil War Sesquicentennial Photography Exhibit”. The exhibit commemorates the role our state played in the Civil War (1861-1865), a defining period in United States history. It will visit the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras and the Catawba County Library in Hickory from Dec. 2-29 on simultaneous eastern and western routes.

10). Joel Lane Museum House will sponsor its annual “Colonial Christmas Open House” celebration on Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, and donations are requested. The house will be decorated with traditional greenery and will reflect the very different way in which colonists and early Americans celebrated the Christmas holiday. Information about the house and grounds will be offered by costumed docents; re-enactors will demonstrate scenes of 18th-century life; the sounds of live music will fill the air; and other interpreters will entertain children using colonial games and crafts through the “Hands-on History” program.

11). Kings Mountain Historical Museum opens their annual “Trains, Trains, Trains” display on Nov. 29th. The exhibit which runs until January 7, 2012 is put on in conjunction with the Piedmont "S" Gaugers. The exhibit brings together several childhood favorites of holidays past, including Christmas cards, antique dolls, and model train components in various scales. A little something for everyone this Christmas, the “Trains, Trains, Trains” exhibit showcases the history of the railroad in Kings Mountain.

Monday, November 21, 2011

NCMC Events From Around the State… November 21, 2011

1). Turchin Center for the Visual Arts Don’t miss Gabriel Lehman’s exhibition “My World”, ending on December 3rd! Gabriel Lehman creates landscapes and scenes with a unique style that stirs up childhood memories of simpler times when imaginations were allowed to run wild. Visit our website or call 828-262-3017 to learn more!

2). High Point Museum presents “28th Annual Holiday Open House” on Sunday, December 4, 1 pm to 4 pm. This annual event has become a tradition with local families. Come for a day of special reenactments, music, demonstrations, refreshments and hands-on activities like candle dipping! Free and fun for all ages. No reservations required.

3). Cameron Art Museum presents Book reading, Discussion and Signing: “Meet the Help ~ An Anthology of True Stories” by Rhonda Bellamy and Bertha Boykin Todd on Sat. Dec. 3, 2:00 pm. Free and open to the public. “Meet the Help” offers rare glimpses into the lives of domestic workers and their employers. Through the eyes of 40 different people from 10 states, the book looks at the relationships from all perspectives. In narratives compiled and written by veteran journalist Rhonda Bellamy and community leader Bertha Todd, readers will get factual accounts of servants and the served. Copies of “Meet the Help” will be available for purchase during the program.

4). Historic Oak View County Park presents “Sleigh Rides and Cider: A Winter Night at Oak View” on Saturday, December 3rd from 5:00-7:30pm. This annual winter event is free and open to the public. This event features decorations and displays showing “Christmas at the Oak View Farm: How they celebrated from 1850 to 1950” on view in the Main House, for starters. Then visitors can ride in a horse-drawn carriage through Oak View’s Pecan Grove, listen to holiday music and stories in the 1855 farmhouse, drink hot apple cider near the 1825 Plank Kitchen, browse and buy handcrafted decorations and crafts, and, of course, visit with Old St. Nick!

5). Orange County Historical Museum On November 26 the Orange County Historical Museum will be hosting "Home for the Holidays: A Storytelling Event" at Leland Little's Auction Gallery with local authors including Daniel Wallace, John Claude Bemis, Stephen Demorest, Jill McCorkle and Alan Gurganus. At 7:30 is the wine and cheese reception, with music from a local bluegrass trio and the storytelling begins at 8 pm. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door.

6). HandsOn! the children’s museum in downtown Hendersonville, invites you join us for “Ivy & Bean Day” on November 22nd all day. If you love these best friends from literature, you will enjoy our crafts and give-aways. Craft is free with $5 admission and is free for museum members. This event is sponsored by Fountainhead Bookstore.

7). Cape Fear Museum Be inspired by the riveting—sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous—stories of the first Jewish immigrants to North Carolina. “Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina”, which opened at Cape Fear Museum of History and Science in October, is in many ways the story of the state itself. The documentary, produced by the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina, will show Sunday, December 4 at 2 p.m. Run time is 81 minutes. The documentary as well as the accompanying book is for sale in the Museum Shop.

8). Reynolda House One of the Piedmont Triad’s newest holiday traditions returns this year as Reynolda House Museum of American Art hosts three evenings of candlelight guided tours on Thursday, Dec. 8, Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10. Tours will be offered every half hour from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tours conclude with live holiday entertainment and refreshments, and beer and wine will be available for purchase. Also included is admission to “Modern Masters from the Smithsonian American Art Museum,” the museum’s featured fall exhibition that has received critical acclaim.

9). N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher
Artists have long been enchanted by the sea and its creatures.The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher, as a learning center for Coastal America, is now accepting original ocean-inspired artwork from full-time students, kindergarten to university level. The contest encourages young artists to use their creativity and talent to express the importance of our oceans, both personally and globally. Submissions will be judged on visual impact, communication of the ocean literacy principle, and artistic merit. Categories are defined by grade levels. Participating teachers are able to submit their top three entries to the Aquarium by Dec. 20, 2011.

10). Hunter Library at Western Carolina University has released “Travel WNC” a new digital collection. The online exhibit includes images and commentary about 27 towns and communities in western North Carolina over five decades. Visitors can follow a route along footpaths and wagon trails in the 1890s, take a train ride in the 1910s, and drive by car along mountain roads in the 1930s. This digital resource makes rare and unique research materials images from Hunter Library’s Special Collections accessible to students, researchers, teachers, and the viewing public. Photographs and documents can be accessed from a searchable database.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

NCMC Events From Around the State… November 14, 2011

1). Asheville Art Museum presents “The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft” from November 18, 2011 – March 18, 2012. Curated and organized by Fuller Craft Art Museum in Brockton, MA, this exhibition tests the boundaries that currently exist between technology, art, and craft. The featured artists use new technologies as materials to be manipulated in tandem with traditional craft materials – clay, glass, wood, metal and fiber – to forge new artistic directions and means of expression. The Asheville Art Museum will celebrate the exhibit opening with a public opening reception on Friday, November 18, 2011 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Museum. The reception is free with Membership or Museum Admission.

2). SciWorks Art can inspire and educate. Science can educate and inspire. The two are not often together as an exhibit. Witness “Our Expanding Oceans”, a comprehensive art and education exhibit created by artist Mary Edna Fraser and scientist Dr. Orrin Pilkey, on display at SciWorks Science Center from November 12, 2011 through February 25, 2012. This exhibit will be on display in tandem with another exhibit of the same theme: “Seasons of Change – Global Warming in Your Backyard”.

3). HandsOn! is excited to announce a new exhibit opening Tuesday, November 15th 2011. “Oh, the Places TO GO” is co-sponsored by the BP Fueling Communities Program and Henderson Oil Company. This exhibit will feature a travel agency, 6 x 9 foot map of the world and a “blaze your own trail” maze. Visitors can research the details of trips around the world through imaginative play in the travel agency. Ribbon cutting by the Chamber of Commerce will occur 11:00 am and refreshments will be available. All special events are included with $5 museum admission fee and are free for museum members.

4). CSS Neuse/Caswell Memorial State Historic Site presents Navy and Marine Living History; The Uniform: A look at the uniform of the Confederate Navy and Marines on November 19 – 20, 2011. Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday 12 noon – 4 p.m. In addition to the traditional naval and civilian demonstrations that have been held in year’s past there will be a focus on The Uniform. There will be a special presentation both days depicting uniforms of both the navy and marines during the Civil War.

5). Cameron Art Museum presents “Gallery Conversations: William McNeill” on Sat. Nov. 19th from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm. William McNeill discusses his extensive collection of handheld church fans which he has acquired through over forty years of collecting. Emphasizing their cultural importance, McNeill’s walkthrough offers a glimpse of Americana and a vanishing way of life. Held in collaboration with the exhibition “William McNeill: My Life as a Handheld Church Fan A Rhapsody on Sweat, Sweet Tea and Salvation” currently on view at CAM.



6). Turchin Center for the Visual Arts Join us for a screening of John Scarlata’s Retrospective Lecture held at the Wellington B. Gray Gallery at East Carolina University on January 15, 2010. 80 minutes in length, this video provides an in depth look at the work and processes of the photographer. Visit our website or call 828-262-3017 to learn more!

7). N.C. Musuem of Natural Sciences While Genghis Khan is famous as the ruthless Mongol warlord who conquered half the known world of the early 13th century, he is also revered as an innovative leader and statesman who brought unity, stability and much more to his people. Join us for a spectacular and uniquely interactive exhibition that tells the amazing true story of Khan — his life, his land, his people, his culture and his enduring legacy. Genghis Khan: The Exhibition opens Saturday, November 19 at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh, and runs through January 16, 2012.

8). Museum of the Albemarle “History Tales: Make It, Take It” will be held at the Museum of the Albemarle on Friday, November 18, at 3:30 pm. Participants must be elementary age school children and accompanied by an adult. Drop in and discover how early American Indians constructed earthen pots to cook their food over fire and participate in a hands-on activity. This is a free family program.

9). Orange County Historical Museum On November 17, the Orange County Historical Museum will be opening its new temporary exhibit "Keeping the Bed Warm (And Beautiful): American Woven Coverlets from the Southern Piedmont and Beyond." Local expert Craufurd Goodwin will be giving a talk during the opening on the aesthetics and expression of coverlet design. The opening will be from 6-9pm.

10). Port Discover Explore the science of aviation through fun interactive air stations during “Aviation Exploration,” Port Discover’s Afterschool Science, Thursday, November 17, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Pilots and experts in aviation sciences will be at Port Discover for an afternoon of flying fun! This program is made possible thanks to Getting Off the Ground, funded by Piedmont Natural Gas. Afterschool Science is Port Discover’s free, interactive science program featuring a different and timely topic each month. Afterschool Science is made possible thanks to the City of Elizabeth City.

Monday, November 07, 2011

NCMC Events From Around the State… November 7, 2011

1). Waterworks Visual Arts Center
presents “Big Chili Cookoff” on Saturday, November 12, 6:30 – 11 pm. A fundraiser to support education and outreach programs at Waterworks Visual Arts Center. A festive evening of fun, food and friendship. Invite your family, friends, and co-workers. Taste the best chili in Salisbury from our fifteen volunteer cooks’ “famous” recipes and vote for your favorites to win! Chili tasting will be 6:30 – 8 pm. The Big Chili Award will be presented to the winner at 8:30 pm. The fun continues until 11 pm! Dance to your favorite songs, ride the mechanical bull, or try your hand at calf-roping. Casual attire.

2). North Carolina Collection On Wednesday, November 16, Bill McDiarmid, dean of the UNC School of Education, will moderate a panel discussion about the current state and future of textbooks in North Carolina. Panel discussion is being held in conjunction with the opening of “Curriculum and Controversy: Two Centuries of Textbooks in North Carolina.” Reception and exhibition viewing at 5 p.m. in the North Carolina Collection Gallery, program at 5:30. Free and open to the public.

3). Greensboro Historical Museum Each year, the Greensboro Historical Museum observes Veterans Day and remembers those who served. On Saturday, November 12 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm the museum will show the American motion picture classic "This is the Army" starring George Murphy, Joan Leslie, Rosemary DeCamp and Ronald Reagan. Veterans and their families are invited to view the film, share stories about their time in uniform, and view the “Service and Sacrifice Gallery” in the “Voices of a City” exhibit.

4). The Bascom is hosting an event to bring attention to all the non-profits on the plateau and to give our visitors an opportunity to donate to multiple organizations. All non-profits are invited to participate in the first annual “Giving Trees” exhibition! The Bascom will provide the space and participating non-profits are asked to provide a beautifully decorated tree, informational materials on your organization and a donation box which will be on display at The Bascom from November 12-January 3. All “Giving Trees” donations will benefit the participating non-profit organizations. On Saturday, November 12 from 5-7 pm, everyone is invited to the “Giving Trees and Nog Off” opening reception.

5). Joel Lane Museum House Dr. Alan Feduccia will lecture on “Mark Catesby and his Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, 1731-1743” on Sunday, November 13 at 2:00 pm. Admission will be $15 for the general public and $10 for members of the Joel Lane Historical Society. Refreshments will be served. Seating is limited, and advanced payment is required.

6). Cameron Art Museum presents “ONE4$1: A Friendly Call with Margie Worthington” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 1:00pm – 1:30pm and Thursday, Nov. 19, 6:00pm – 6:30pm. Program admission is $1.00. Art educator and artist, Margie Worthington offers a closer look at a work by William Merritt Chase, “A Friendly Call”, 1895. ONE4$1 is an ongoing illustrated mini-lecture series featuring community speakers from a broad spectrum of backgrounds who have a strong interest in art.

7). Historic Bath State Historic Site presents “Revolutionary War Encampment” on Saturday, November 12th from 10am – 4pm on Bonner Point at Historic Bath State Historic Site. Living history interpreters will represent soldiers of the British Army, colonial militia and sailors from the Revolutionary War. Events include weapons and drill demonstrations, clothing and equipment demonstrations and living history programs and events throughout the day!

8). Cape Fear Museum presents “Cape Fear Indians” in the Learning Center on Saturdays, November 5, 12, 19, 26 from 1-4 PM, for ages: 5-12. Fee: Museum members: free; Non-members: Free with Museum admission. Who were the first inhabitants of the Lower Cape Fear region? Examine local Native American potsherds and make your own clay pot to take home. Learn about Cape Fear Indians’ early hunting and fishing. Make shell jewelry and play a Native American game.

9). Port Discover Explore the world of aviation with Elton Stone, Director of Aviation Maintenance Technology at The College of the Albemarle, who will present “The Plain Truth about Planes,” during Port Discover’s Second Saturday Science program, on Saturday, November 12 at 11:00 am. Learn all about the variety of flight components that you need to become an aviation scientist or pilot. This program is made possible thanks to Getting Off the Ground, funded by Piedmont Natural Gas.

10). Battleship NORTH CAROLINA For the explorer at heart, a new date for the behind the scenes tour of the Battleship has been added for Saturday, November 12, 2011. Bring a friend and join us for a unique, behind-the-scenes tour of un-restored areas of the Battleship. The four-hour tour consists of small groups with guides. Choose between a morning (8:30 - 12:30) or afternoon (1:30 - 5:30) tour. Registration and payment are due by Thursday, November 10th.

11). Turchin Center for the Visual Arts Engage in the Arts through our lecture series! This month, we are featuring artist Val Lyle as she discusses her new exhibition “Sanctuary”. The current exhibition and installation continues the artist's exploration about what it means to be a human being in Appalachia.

12). High Point Museum
will host a “Civil War Symposium” on Tuesday, November 8 from 6:30 pm to 8 pm at the High Point Museum. Two High Point University students, Elizabeth Ellis and A.J. Jones, will share their research on what was happening during the Civil War in the Greater High Point area. Ellis focuses on Randolph County (where she is from), and particularly the rise of opposition to the Confederacy within the county during the war. Jones uses the example of Greensboro as a case study on the attitudes of North Carolinians toward secession and how those attitudes shifted from 1860 through the war years.