NCMC Events from Around the State… November 30, 2015

1). Levine Museum of the New South (www.museumofthenewsouth.org) invites you to experience ¡NUEVOlution! Latinos and the New South, a new bilingual exhibit that explores the dramatic demographic transformation occurring across the South, a shift many historians consider to be the biggest story in Southern history since the Civil Rights Movement. Developed by Levine Museum in partnership with Atlanta History Center and Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, ¡NUEVOlution! features videos, art, interactives, artifacts, and more that share the powerful, personal stories behind the statistics, and the surprising ways Latinos are shaping the South and the South is shaping Latinos.

2). The Tobacco Farm Life Museum (www.tobaccofarmlifemuseum.org) presents A Stroll in Time: Candlelight Tour on December 8th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Guided tours of the grounds will be offered by candlelight. Guides and interpretive volunteers stationed at the Museum's historic buildings will recount past holiday traditions and stories of life on the farm in the winter. While you wait for your tour you may also enjoy holiday music played live by local musicians, holiday refreshments, or Santa's Workshop where you can meet Santa and make a holiday craft. Admission for the event is $5 with refreshments sold separately. Proceeds from this event support the Museum's programming.

3). The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (www.naturalsciences.org) reveals how Santa can watch every child on Earth, and every good or bad thing they do!  See all the weird and wonderful characters of make-believe! The fantastic crystal workroom of the happy elves! The fabulous realm of the candy-stick palaces! All are available for your viewing pleasure, when “Santa Claus” comes to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on First Friday, December 4, 7 p.m. This isn’t your daddy’s Santa Claus movie, but rather a strange Mexican fantasy film from 1959 in which Merlin the Magician helps Santa Claus save Christmas by defeating the evil machinations of Pitch, a demon with a digestive disorder. The movie was featured on “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” where they correctly observed that the film was “good old fashioned nightmare fuel.” TV Guide calls it “a cult classic among viewers who crave something a little more psychotronic than the usual holiday fare.” Quite a way to kick off the Holiday Season!

4). New Winston Museum (www.newwinston.org) is pleased to announce an upcoming program in concert with their latest exhibit, Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Winston-Salem’s Wheels of Change. Family Saturdays: Fun on Two Wheels will take place on December 5^th from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Join us on “Family Saturdays” for activities, safety demonstrations, and discussions with local cycling experts on hand to answer all your pedaling questions. Participating in the event will be representatives from the Winston-Salem Police Downtown Bike Patrol, Winston-Salem Cycling Classic, Safe Kids of Northwest Piedmont and City of Winston-Salem Dept. of Transportation. This event is free and open to the public.

5). Hands On! (www.handsonwnc.org), a Child's Gallery in Hendersonville, invites you to learn about dreidels and play the game, Tuesday, December 1^st – Thursday, December 4^th. The fun starts at 2:00 p.m. on December 1^st and is self-directed until 3:00 p.m. on December 4^th. This activity will help children learn more about a seasonal tradition that is during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah which begins on Sunday, December 6th and ends Monday, December 14th. Drop-in activities & educational information. Free with admission/free for members.

6). Tryon Palace (www.tryonpalace.org) invites you to the 35th annual Candlelight Celebration on Saturdays, December 12^th and 19^th from 4:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.  This famed North Carolina tradition returns to Tryon Palace in 2015 with beautiful, new decorations and heartwarming holiday vignettes illuminated by the magical glow of candlelight. Travel back to 1773 at the Governor’s Palace, 1814 at the Stanly House, and to 1835 at the Dixon House.  On the Palace Grounds enjoy the magic and wonder of 18^th century circus acts including fire eating, sword swallowing, acrobatics, and magic tricks. Then, end your enchanted evening with a display of black powder fireworks illuminating the night sky over Tryon Palace. Candlelight is a “rain or shine event” but fireworks may be cancelled due to severe weather. All ticket sales are final and nontransferable, and only good for evening activities. For information about our group and bus tour opportunities, call 252-639-3524.

7). Mount Airy Museum of Regional History (www.northcarolinamuseum.org) invites you to their FREE Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 4^th. Tour four floors of museum exhibits, view themed Christmas trees, shop for holiday gifts, plus enjoy light refreshments and holiday music throughout the day.  Santa Claus will make a special appearance in the Children’s Gallery from 2 – 4 p.m. The Museum will be open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and admission is FREE.

8). Wrightsville Beach Museum of History (www.wbmuseum.com) invites you to their Open House on Sunday, December 6^th from 2 - 4 p.m. They are decorated for the holidays and want you to come by and visit! Be sure to see their newly rebuilt pond made possible by a donation from The Wrightsville Beach Foundation. They have wonderful gifts for the holidays including a number of new books for adults and children and a great selection of prints by Ben Keys. Bring a friend! Coffee and light refreshments served. For more information and to RSVP call: 910-256-2569.

9). Fort Fisher State Historic Site (www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher) presents “We Kept Our Courage Up: the 151st Commemoration of the First Attack on Fort Fisher” on Saturday, Dec. 5^th. Free and open to the public, the program will be held from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and will include special tours, costumed interpreters, a free lecture, and periodic firings of the site’s 32-pounder seacoast rifled and banded cannon. Cannon firings will be held at 10 a.m., 12 noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. The site’s special “Above the Scenes” tours will be offered at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tour tickets are $10 (plus tax) for adults and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Children 12 and under are free. Historian and author Dr. Chris Fonveille will present a free lecture at 12:30 p.m. in the site’s auditorium. Local historian Richard Triebe will also be on hand to sign and sell books related to Fort Fisher history.  For more information on the site, please call (910) 458-5538.

10). Cameron Art Museum (www.cameronartmuseum.org) presents José Bernal: Obra de Arte which will be on view through February 21^st, 2016. This special exhibit is the first retrospective of Cuban born-American artist José Bernal (1925-2010). Born in Santa Clara, Cuba, Bernal excelled at both music and visual art as a child and, after receiving his Master’s Degree, began his teaching career while continuing to produce his artwork. In 1961, Bernal was arrested for unpatriotic behavior for refusal to work in the sugar cane fields. After this incident, Bernal and his wife Estela secured visas for themselves and their three children to leave Cuba for America and, by 1962, relocated to Chicago. Although he rarely exhibited, Bernal worked prolifically, producing hundreds of works throughout his lifetime and exploring the various mediums of painting, collage, assemblage and ceramics. Works curated for this exhibition are from the Bernal family, other private collections as well as ten museums across the US including Cameron Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, San Antonio Museum of Art, Tucson Museum of Art and El Museo del Barrio. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Wells Fargo, N.A.