NCMC Events From Around the State… November 04, 2013

1). The Bascom invites you to start your holiday season with fun for the entire family at The Bascom’s Opening Reception and Nog Off on Saturday, November 16th, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. This festive annual event is a celebration of local artists and serves to support the Plateau’s non-profit organizations. Sample delicious homemade eggnog recipes and tour the combined receptions for the current exhibitions, In These Mountains and Giving Trees. Local non-profit groups will have their decorated trees displayed, alongside donation boxes and informational materials in the Atrium and Loft of The Bascom. It’s an enjoyable and convenient way to learn about and support multiple organizations. The Nog Off is an annual friendly competition among local entities, judged by the public. Come taste the candidate concoctions, and see the creative trees and fascinating exhibition.

2). North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences wants to know if you have dino fever? Join them Saturday, November 16th, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. as the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts Fossil Fair in collaboration with the NC Fossil Club. The state’s largest event dedicated to paleontology puts the latest science and breaking discoveries on display. Festivities abound with dozens of displays, activities and presentations by paleontologists from North Carolina and around the world. Discover what it’s like to be a paleontologist, experience the tools and techniques used to excavate fossils in the field, and be the first to learn about the Museum’s newest discoveries, as you meet the experts face to face. Talk with Curator of Paleontology Vince Schneider and see some of the 230-million-year-old reptiles he’s discovered in nearby Chatham County. Get introduced to a brand new species of 9,000-pound megapredator dinosaur discovered by Dr. Lindsay Zanno, Director of the Paleontology & Geology Research Lab. Meet Historian of Science Dr. Paul Brinkman, author of “The Second Jurassic Dinosaur Rush” and an expert in dinomania and the modern obsession with all things Jurassic. And don’t forget to visit our state-of-the-art fossil preparation lab in the Museum’s new wing — the Nature Research Center — where you get a behind-the-scenes pass with Chief Preparator Lisa Herzog to see new dinosaur fossils and learn about the cutting-edge scanning techniques used to study the biology of ancient life.The event is free.

3).Westmoore Pottery presents “Stepping Back in Time:  Hearthside Cooking” on Saturday, November 9th from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Historical cooks Cindy Kepley and Susan Ball will cook foods in the large fireplace at Westmoore Pottery, using historical recipes from the 18th and 19th centuries. Cindy and Susan plan to churn butter as well as prepare Green “Frogs” and sauerkraut and also do a lot of baking – pies and cakes—all cooked using coals from the fireplace hearth.  In addition they will show some comparisons of how foods and recipes have changed over time.   Sampling of many of the dishes will be allowed as foods finish cooking.  Visitors may come at any point during the day, and come back as often as they like to see the various foods being cooked.  No admission fee will be charged and no pre-registration is required.    

4). Mount Airy Museum of Regional History invites you to a special lecture on Saturday, November 9th at 2:00 p.m.  Janet Pyatt, historical interpreter of the Colonial and Civil War periods, will speak about the Uses of Herbs in Colonial Households.  The program will be on the 3rd floor, Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.  Also on November 9th at the Mount Airy Museum, "Learn to Build and Play a Cigar Box Guitar" workshop with Mike Lowe (10am-4pm with one hour lunch break).   Space is limited and pre-registration is required, $60.00 for members, $85.00 for non members, fee includes materials and instruction. Contact the Museum at 336-786-4478 for reservations or more details.

5). High Point Museum and the High Point Historical Society are hosting an interesting and unique program on preserving old cemeteries.  Gina Morton Smith from neighboring Randolph County will talk on cemetery care and restoration. With more than 20 years experience doing genealogical research, she’s an expert on the subject. A former English and history teacher, Smith currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Randolph County Genealogy Society. She is also President of the East Coast Allred Family Association, Inc., a genealogy and historical preservation organization.  This program will take place at High Point Museum on Saturday, November 9, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Program is free for High Point Historical Society members; $5 per non-member.  Please register online at www.highpointmuseum.org/store or call 885-1859.

6). Cameron Art Museum  presents Pro Musica, a concert series celebrating the works of living composers.  The third season of this musical collaboration begins with a concert on Thursday,  November 14th at 7:00 p.m. featuring the North Carolina Guitar Quartet to start off the 2013-2014 season. Tickets for CAM Members and Students are $5.00, and for Non-members it is $10.00.  The concert will take place in Weyerhaeuser Reception Hall.  Newly reformed with new members Justin Hoke and Chris Wear, along with founders Ed Stephenson and Robert Nathanson, this innovative combination will play some of the great standards of the guitar quartet repertoire.  The concert will feature the diabolical Voices from the Garden by American composer David Kechley. Included on the program are works by Leo Brouwer, Andrew York and Gerardo Tamez.  The concert series is co-sponsored by the UNCW Department of Music.  Purchase seats on CAM’s website, by phone or in person. For more information about the NC Guitar Quartet visit: http://www.edwardstephenson.com/ncguitarquartet.htm. 

7). Hands On!, the children’s museum in downtown Hendersonville, announces an early visit from Santa. School is out and Hands On! is open Monday, November 11th 10 am – 5 pm with a very special guest from 1:00-3:00 pm - Santa!  Write a letter to Santa and personally deliver it to him. Plenty of time to get those requests in before Christmas! If you forget your letter, we will have letter writing materials for you! Free with $5 admission/free for members.

8). Bellamy Mansion asks you to help preserve their history, and they will help document yours!  Purchase a holiday portrait session to benefit the Bellamy Furniture Restoration Project. Sessions are by appointment on Saturday, November 16th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 17th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Book your spot now!

9). NC Transportation Museum will be celebrating a Railroad Christmas with 3 separate events.  Santa Train Nov 29-30, Dec 7-8, 14-15, 21-22 visitors will be joined by Santa and his elves on a train ride across the museum’s 57-acre property. Kids will be able to make a craft to take home and enjoy other fun activities. Special admission rates apply. Cookies & Cocoa with Santa on Nov 30, Dec 7, 14, 20, 21. Christmas story aboard the train and meet Santa in the Roundhouse. Cookies and cocoa, make a craft and send a postcard to Santa. Special admission rates apply. Advance tickets only. Jingle Bell Express Dec 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 Groups can enjoy a seasonal train ride, receiving their own gold ticket and jingle bell during a trip around the museum. Pre-registration is required.  Call the museum at 704-636-2889 Cookies & Cocoa ext 237 or 257 and Jingle Bell Express ext 258.

10). Museum of Anthropology invites you to their new exhibit “Creating: Quilts and Crafts of the Lakota” that will run until January 25th, 2014.  Eye-dazzling quilts and items of apparel and dance regalia made in traditional style by 20th-century Lakota artists are included in this ground-breaking exhibition, which combines two independent but related exhibits.  “Creating” is organized by the Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, and the Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania.  “Contemporary Creations: Arts and Crafts by Lakota Artists” is organized by C-H Jacobson Produktion AB of Stockholm, Sweden.  MOA and Delta Arts Center will each display about half of the quilts and crafts.  Please visit both museums to see the complete exhibit.  Admission is free.

11). Waterworks Visual Arts Center hosts 5th Annual Big Chili Cook-Off.  Join them on Saturday, November 16th from 6:30 – 11:00 p.m. for the 5th Annual Big Chili Cook-off fundraiser.  Taste the best chili in Salisbury by our 15 local expert cooks and vote on your favorite recipes to win the Big Chili Award.  Dance to your favorite music or compete in the 1st Big Chili Cornhole Tournament.  All proceeds support Waterworks’ educational and outreach programming.  Tickets are $45/person (must be 21 to attend).  Price includes chili tasting, beer, wine and other beverages, dessert, and 15 tickets to vote for your favorites.  To learn more about educational and outreach programming, visit www.waterworks.org..  Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 704-636-1882. 

12). New Winston Museum is excited to announce a new exhibit, “The War at Home: Exploring Winston and Salem during the Civil War” in recognition of the sesquicentennial of United States Civil War. Opened to the public on October 19, 2013, the exhibit presents the War from the perspective of the communities of Winston and Salem in an effort to detach the Civil War story from its traditional emphasis on battlefields, politics and military tactics. The exhibit focuses on three major components: A Divided Community; The War Effort; and Life and Legacies.  The exhibit will run through June 2014 and will include regular programming in collaboration with community partners. This project is made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Local sponsors include M. Lloyd. Barnhardt, III, CFP®, Financial Advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.  Museum hours are Monday-Friday from Noon-5pm and Saturday from 10am-2pm. Admission is free and donations are gladly accepted.

 13). The Museum of the Albemarle will host a “Gallery Talk” on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 1:30 p.m.  Drs. Edwin T. and Diana Dixon Hardison will provide a more in depth look at the landscape masterpieces and maritime views in this gallery talk to be held in “Across Three Centuries:  Art from the Edwin T. and Diana D. Hardison Collection.”  Featuring 36 examples of fine art from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the exhibit encompasses works of all types from Britain, Europe, and America--portraits, landscapes, maritime views, scenes of everyday life, animal images, and sculpture. Included are paintings by the American master Gilbert Stuart, the Scottish Enlightenment portraitist Sir Henry Raeburn, the French Belle Époque artist Theobald Chartran, British illustrators Thomas Stothard and Hablot Knight Browne (who between them brought life to literature classics from Defoe to Dickens), the "forgotten Impressionist" Pierre Prins, and the marine artist Thomas Lyde Hornbrook, a favorite of Queen Victoria. The works of many other notable artists are also on display.  Free Public Program. For More Information Call 252-335-1453.