NCMC Events From Around the State… September 3, 2012



1). N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences  They’re bees, they’re banditos, they’re desperate. And they’re coming to a Museum near you. On a remote Japanese island, a beautiful but deranged scientist is breeding insects to take over the world, which is all well and good until her “killer bees” bring down an American plane carrying an H-bomb! Watch the fun that ensues as the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts “War of the Insects” on First Friday, September 7 at 7pm. Free.

2). Weatherspoon Art Museum  presents “Artist Talk: Curtis Mann” on Thursday, Sep 6, 5pm. In a discussion about his current exhibition at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), Curtis Mann will share insights into his process of physically transforming photographs of the Middle East and North Africa into fluid re-imaginings of perception and place. Curtis Mann: Modifications is on view at SECCA through September 16. This Artist Talk is co-presented by SECCA and will take place in the Weatherspoon’s Dillard room. Seating is limited.

3). Charlotte Museum of History  is excited to announce that it will be open for a one-time special public program on Saturday, September 15, 2012 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Admission to the museum will be free, with a $5 admission fee for a special tour of the historic Hezekiah Alexander house (free for museum members). Local historic sites and organizations will be at the museum to share their information with the community. Food trucks will also be here, so come hungry! Costumed docents at “An Historic Evening at the Alexander’s” will give guests a peek into the lives of the Alexander family after the sun went down. Learn about evening meals, activities, and entertaining in colonial times. Sunset is anticipated around 7:30 pm, and visitors are encouraged to bring their flashlights.

4). Cape Fear Museum  presents “NC Shell Show” on Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, September 23, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday and 1:00 to 5:00 PM on Sunday. Fee: Free for members or with Museum admission. Experience the largest gathering of shell collections in North Carolina. Displays include some of the world's most beautiful, unusual and rare shells; as well as exhibits of crafts using shells. Identify your shells. Learn where and how to find shells. Learn how to start a shell collection. Hunt for shells at the shell give-away popular with expert and novice collectors alike. Shop for fine shells from around the world.

5). Historic Oak View County Park Mark your calendars! Historic Oak View County Park is hosting a benefit concert to raise money for the Tenant House Restoration! The Front Porch Fundraiser is on September 22, 2012, 4-7 pm. Three down-home bands - The Iron Mountain Messengers, Kudzu Ramblers, and The Happy Valley Pals - celebrate our heritage with this fun family concert on the lawn. Food will be available for purchase from Chick-N-Que Food Truck. Come on out for a Saturday evening of music, fun, and fundraising! Event admission is FREE, but DONATIONS are ENCOURAGED.

6). Guilford College Art Gallery presents “Stephen Hayes: Cash Crop” - a mixed-media sculptural installation that invites viewers to consider parallels between the historic Atlantic slave trade and Third World sweatshops of today. Show will be displayed from August 20 - December 16, 2012 in the main gallery and Hege Library atrium on the Guilford College campus, 5800 West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27410.

7). Catawba County Historical Association Association is bringing back its successful event “Stills in the Hills” presenting the county’s colorful moonshine history of Catawba County on September 8, 2012. The historic Murray’s Mill will once again be the setting for an evening event which includes a BBQ dinner, bluegrass bands The Catawba River Boys and Blu Granite, a wine and beer bar, an auction of local pottery whiskey jugs, and a tasting of some commercially produced 'shine produced in North Carolina. Guests will also have the option to take a short bus tour of the Mountain Creek area moonshine running routes while hearing tales about one of Catawba County’s most notorious moonshine families, the Lippards. The tour will include a stop at Balls Creek Campground where in 1912 T. E. “Bud” Lippard called for sympathy from those gathered in the arbor as he declared he had found religion.

8). Museum of the Albemarle  will host author Charles R. Knight of “Valley Thunder: The Battle of New Market and the Opening of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, May 1864” on Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 2:00 pm in the Gaither Auditorium. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant intended to attack the Confederacy on multiple fronts so it could no longer “take advantage of interior lines.” One of the keys to success in the Eastern Theater was control of the Shenandoah Valley, a strategically important and agriculturally abundant region that helped feed Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Grant tasked Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel, to clear the Valley and threaten Lee’s left flank. The book is based upon years of primary research, previously unpublished documents, and a firsthand appreciation of the battlefield terrain.

9). North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort  Come experience a pristine barrier island with a guided hike on Shackleford Banks. Part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, Shackleford Banks has a rich history involving pirates, Civil War battles and shore based whaling communities, not to mention an array of wildlife that covers endangered species and wild ponies! On Thursday September 6th we will board a water taxi and leave Front Street for a pleasant boat ride to the island. Participants must be at least 6yrs old and accompanied by an adult if under 18. Registration is required and spaces are limited.

10). Waterworks Visual Arts Center  Waterworks Visual Arts Center’s fall exhibition, “The Vocabulary of Printmaking: Its Origins and Techniques” celebrates the rich tradition of fine art printmaking in its many forms including etchings, mezzotints, lithographs, and monoprints. Five artists highlight an exceptional array of printmaking techniques. John D. Gall (Jamestown) tells stories with his art, incorporating figures, symbols, & scientific data in surreal ways. Robert Dunning (UNC- Asheville) blends abstract biomorphic forms with figurative imagery using collage, printmaking, drawing, & painting. Julie Niskanen (Raleigh) focuses on the beauty of forms found in nature. David Faber (Wake Forest University) practices printmaking techniques including intaglio, lithography, relief, monotype, & mixed media. Matthew Thomason (Phoenix, AZ) creates & provides spaces through which the viewer can wander through their own thoughts & memories.