Wheaton Wednesdays

Image of the banner for Wheaton Wednesdays. "Wheaton Wednesdays" is displayed, in large white text, over a multicolored patterned background with four fireworks. The background is a diagonal gradient that starts in the bottom left corner with blue, turns to purple, then pink, red, orange, and yellow. The gradient ends with green in the top right corner after the yellow.

Wheaton Wednesdays
July 17 & August 14, 2024

Open Late with FREE Admission
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. rain or shine!

WheatonArts is open late on two special Wednesdays this summer! Experience the grounds with creative activities designed for the entire family from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Highlights include a glass mask design contest in the Glass Studio, collaborative glassmaking demonstrations, special exhibit tours in the Museum of American Glass and Folklife Center, a Community Mural Squares art project, free family art activities, a campus-wide scavenger hunt, live music, and more.

Wheaton Wednesday dates are FREE to the public, part of WheatonArts Family Days! Presented by PNC Arts Alive!

Below are details from the 2023 Wheaton Wednesday Events. We will update this page with new 2024 information as it becomes available. Please check back later for updates.

Image of one of the glass masks chosen from the "Design a Glass Mask" contest held during Wheaton Wednesday. The mask is attached to the end of a glass blowing pole. The face of the mask is white with a purple smile and purple circles for eyes. At the top of the mask are two dark purple triangular ears with a short maroon and orange horn in the middle. The image was taken in the Glass Studio, where WheatonArts Glass Artist Kendall Frank is speaking into a microphone in the background.

Glass Studio

Design a Glass Mask Contest – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
After visiting The Good, the Evil, and the Funny: Ritual & Mask Dance of Latin America exhibit in the Folklife Center, design a mask inspired by your experience. Select designs will be picked by the Glass Studio Team to be sculpted out of glass. Bring your designs to the Studio each hour before 5 p.m. for a chance to watch your vision come to life! A special reception featuring last month’s designs will take place at 4 p.m.! 

July 19 – 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
Watch as Glass Studio Director Alex Rosenberg transforms molten glass into delicate blown glass forms! 

August 16 – 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
Meet our newest Glass Studio Interns, learn more about their work, and watch them collaborate on new designs.

Image from the Amber Cowan exhibit. The piece displays a blue iridescent glass woman, in a long gown with her hands clasped in front of her. She is facing in the same direction as a dark blue ring that is floating in front of her face. To the left of her is a light blue sheep resting in a bushel of glass spheres and flowers that are various shades of blue. To the left of the sheep, is a large light blue podium with a dark blue sphere resting on the top. All of this sits in front of a glass background of spheres, flowers, and leaves that are various shades of blue.

Museum of American Glass

Revel in the enchanting glass worlds of Amber Cowan in the Alchemy of Adornment exhibit. Cowan transforms American pressed glass into exuberantly adorned diorama-like wall installations & free-standing sculptures using centuries-old glassblowing & flameworking techniques. Her works are rich in symbolism with themes of transformation, femininity, and nostalgia.

Guided Tours – 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., & 3 p.m.
Experience a 30-minute docent tour of the Alchemy of Adornment exhibit.

I-Spy Family Fun – 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., self-guided
Look closely through the Museum displays with an I-Spy activity the whole family can enjoy! Discover what inspires the creative minds of glass artists.

Bottoms Up: Two Centuries of American Drinking Glasses
August 16 – 6 p.m.
Whether you prefer milk or martinis, join us for a special 30-minute evening tour of the drinking glasses designed to hold your favorite beverages.  

Down Jersey Folklife Center

In The Good, the Evil, and the Funny: Ritual & Mask Dance of Latin America exhibit, explore a comparative perspective of ritual and celebratory use of masks, their costumes, and dances, as well as an interpretation of symbolism and aesthetics associated with the cultural heritage of the Latin American communities in our region.

Take a Docent Tour
4 p.m.
Experience a 30-minute docent tour of the exhibit exploring the “Concepts & Aesthetics of Good & Evil.” 

Newspaper Basket Weaving
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. & 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Learn a basketry technique that has been around for centuries! Traditionally, fibers like weeping willow, honeysuckle, and grapevine are used for this type of basket weaving, but innovative basket weavers are experimenting with new materials, including newspapers, aluminum, and plastics. The weaving process remains unchanged, and baskets are durable enough for continuous use. Let us weave together!

Image of two masks resting on two separate white podiums against a black background. One mask depicts a man with a multicolored headpiece that drapes over the podium. The other mask depicts a woman whose yellow headpiece is draped over the podium.
Image of a basket that was woven with newspaper against a white background.
Image of three people participating in the "Community Mural Squares: Art and Nature" Free Family Art Activity held during Wheaton Wednesday. Each person has a pale wooden square in front of them, that they are painting. One of the two pictured squares has a six petal flower in the right corner. When the artist is finished, the flower will have two teal petals, two purple petals, and two dark orange petals. One of the teal petals is still in progress. The flower also has a bright yellow circular center. Next to the flower is a palette filled with the colors being used on the square. On the other side of the square is a Wheaton Wednesday brochure. In the center of the white table, are two small bottles of black and purple paint, a yellow-tipped paint brush, a red plastic cup, and a clear bin filled with supplies. On the other side of the table is another wooden square that has a green, blue, purple, and yellow nature design being painted on the surface. Another palette sits close by with the colors being used on the square inside of it.

Community Mural Squares: Art & Nature

July 19 – 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
August 16 – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
During this FREE activity, become inspired by the natural world by walking down our nature trail and visiting the pollinator garden. Paint a wooden tile showing how nature inspires you. We will seal the wooden tiles and display them in a large, quilt-like mural. Bring your friends & family back to WheatonArts to see the completed community mural!

Image of WheatonArts potters Amy Pesseller and Phyllis Seidner-Vesely. Amy and Phyllis are wearing WheatonArts t-shirts and are sitting around two pottery wheels, smiling at each other while shaping clay. They are surrounded by a variety of clay projects.

Community Clay Coils

August 16 – 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In the Pottery Studio
Play with clay! Our Potters are offering visitors the opportunity to learn how to roll a clay coil and attach it to one larger, free-form community piece. The finished project will be glazed & fired by the Pottery Studio and placed in the Discovery Garden for everyone to see. Documentation on the process can be followed via Instagram by searching the hashtag #CommClayCoils.

A child is wearing a blue button up and safety goggles while designing a pendant to be fused in the center of the image. At the bottom of the image are materials for the pendant place in cups. There are 3 cups of materials and 3 containers of beads. The first cup on the left contains green glass pieces, the middle cup contains small blue glass , and the right contains small yellow glass. The pendant in the center has an orange base, a blue square glass fragment, a blue and yellow fragment, a square black fragment, and a bright yellow fragment. The kid is holding a small design tool in his right hand.

Education Studio

Fused Glass Magnet, Pendant, or Suncatcher
Fee-based, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. 
Create a fused glass magnet, pendant, or suncatcher beginning with pre-fused glass blanks. Using small pre-cut pieces of glass and an assortment of accessory glass, including frit and stringers, create a design to be tack fused. After firing your fused glass, our artists will attach a bail, magnet, or leather cord, depending on your project choice. In one week, completed glass projects will be ready to pick up or ship (for a fee). This glass fusing activity has a discounted fee of $10 per magnet/pendant and $20 per suncatcher. 

Free Family Art Activities inside the Event Center

Break Art, Make Art: Ceramic Mosaics 
July 19 – 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
August 16 – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Explore the possibilities of using ceramic shards to make a mosaic composition. The WheatonArts Potters share their pottery shards for you to break into small pieces to create a small mosaic along with glass gems.

En Plein Air Easel Art Using Pastels 
July 19 – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
August 16 – 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Enjoy en plein air (outdoor) sketching activity on our scenic grounds. We have various native plants, pineland flora, and fauna to learn about and sketch. Pick a miniature easel & blanket on the ground to create comfortably.

Garden Rock Painting 
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Discovery Garden
Paint a rock, leave a rock! Help us add community art to our Discovery Garden by painting a rock with imagery that is meaningful to you. Find a special location in the garden and place your rock for all to enjoy. 

Sidewalk Chalk 
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the blacktop 
Play games or create works of art using sidewalk chalk!

Music on the Grounds

July 19
1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Ceremonial Brass Band
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Chris Lax
August 16
 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. – The Rollers
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Chris Lax

Food Vendors

July 19
12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Frosbite

2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Top Shelf Mobile Cuisine

August 16
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Mac’s & Munchies
12 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Frosbite
2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Chef Steve’s Popcorn
Image of Chris Lax performing outside in front of the Museum of American Glass. Chris is playing a guitar with a black and white houndstooth strap, while sitting in front of and singing into a microphone. Chris has a black hat, black sunglasses, a reddish brown beard, and is wearing a black t-shirt.
Artwork of a woman with gray, curly shoulder-length hair and a dark and light blue polka-dot shirt. She is holding a baby toward her face. The baby is swaddled in a large white blanket, has brown hair, and is extending an arm around the woman's shoulder.

Book Signing with Italian American Author Lorraine Haddock

July 19 – 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
In her new book, Bella Figlia della Mamma, Haddock celebrates the growing bond between mothers and daughters, emphasizing the culture and traditions carried from Italy to America by Italian women in a poetic way. Stop by the General Store to meet Haddock and get your copy of the book signed! 

We will update this page as programming for the event becomes available. Please check for updates as the event gets closer. Thank you!

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