Press Releases 2006
Celebrate Wheaton Arts!
CONTACT:
Janet Peterson,
Marketing & Public Relations Director
TEL: (856) 825-6800, Ext. 108
FAX:
(856) 825-2410
E-MAIL:
jpeterson@wheatonarts.org
WHEATON ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTER (FORMERLY WHEATON VILLAGE) CELEBRATES NEW NAME. HOSTS FREE COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE JULY 15.
MILLVILLE, NJ – Wheaton Village
will officially become Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center
on July 1. In celebration of the new name, the community is invited to a free open house on July 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. No admission ticket will be required
to attend the event.
WheatonArts
president, Susan Gogan, said, “This event is an opportunity to show the true
nature of what this institution is, and the many ways we serve our multiple
audiences.”
Several community partners will be on site. They include the South Jersey
Cultural Center, Cohanzick Zoo, Seabrook Cultural Center, Master Gardeners, Millville Arts
District, Millville Airport Museum
and the Clay College. The WheatonArts Volunteer Glassblowers
will entertain visitors outdoors near the General Store.
Scheduled throughout the day, outside the Down Jersey Folklife Center, are
the following craft demonstrations: Chinese Temari Balls (Wenning Wang Han);
Italian frescoes for children (Bobbi Berg); Italian Trapunto Quilts (Merry May);
Guatamalan weaving (Armando Sosa); Indian Mehendi (Henna) decoration (Ritu
Pandya); Ukrainian belt weaving (Vera Nakonechny); Ukrainian Nyzynka embroidery
(Eudokia Sorochaniuk); and Native American beading (Roberta Flores). There will
be a display of Native American regalia presented by Christy Pierce and
Patricia Rossello. Visitors can also visit the Center’s new exhibit,
“Artigianato Popolare; Italian Folk Arts and Crafts,” in celebration of the
“Creative Community Connection Series.” Additional ceramic, woodturning and flamework
artists will also set up outdoors and demonstrate for visitors.
On stage: Grupo Magnate, a Millville group,
will perform Mexican music from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Marie di Cocco and Celest
Di Pietropaolo plus two musicians, who will travel from Virginia, will perform Italian village
dances from 1 to 3 p.m. The popular bluegrass group, The Snake Brothers, close
out the day from 3 to 5 p.m.
Kids of all ages can blow a glass bubble in the Glass Studio with the help
of WheatonArts artists. They can explore their creative talents by painting on
glass bottles, a large mural and playing with sidewalk chalk. Plus, each child
will receive a party hat to assemble and decorate.
The Museum of
American Glass will
conduct special guided tours of the major exhibition, “The Fires Burn On: 200 Years of Glassmaking in Millville, New Jersey.”
WheatonArts artists will be demonstrating throughout day in the Glass,
Ceramics, Flameworking and Woodcarving Studios. The museum stores…General
Store, Christmas Shop, Brownstone Emporium and Arthur Gorham Paperweight
Shop…offer a wide array of one-of-a-kind, handcrafted items plus free gift
wrapping.
The new Gallery of Fine Craft exhibit and sale, “Crafts of Italy,” offers Leslie Genniger jewelry, Venetian masks, Italian
glass sculpture, and goblets made by American glass artists in traditional
Venetian glassmaking style. In addition, the Stained Glass Studio will be open
for this event.
The first 1,000 people through the gate will receive a special giveaway.
Door prizes will be announced throughout the day.
Food and refreshments provided
by Papa Joe’s (from the grill), Granny’s Kettle Corn, D’Ascenzo’s Gelato,
Rosie’s Twisted Lemonade and D & D Funnel Cakes.
The
institution’s mission states: WheatonArts
engages
artists and audiences in an evolving exploration of creativity. WheatonArts opened in 1970.
Annual attendance is approximately 60,000. It is home to the Museum of American Glass,
which has the most comprehensive collection of American glass in the country,
Creative Glass Center of America,
Down Jersey Folklife
Center, Glass Studio in
the T. C. Wheaton Glass Factory, Ceramics, Flameworking and Woodworking
Studios, and museum stores.
Programs
include museum and gallery exhibits, interpretive demonstrations in various
craft mediums, artist fellowships, community outreach and on-site school
programs, and collector's seminars. In addition, several special events are
scheduled throughout the year such as Marble Weekend and the Festival of Fine
Craft.
Hours: April through
December, open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Adults
$10.00, Senior Citizens $9.00 and Students $7.00. Children five and under are
free. In January, February and March, open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m., with reduced admission prices. Shopping and strolling is free
(excludes the Festival of Fine Craft in October). Closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving
Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Open Memorial Day and Labor Day.
For more information about
the open house or WheatonArts, call 1-800-998-4552 or 856-825-6800. Web site
address: www.wheatonarts.org.
WheatonArts strives to
ensure the accessibility of its exhibitions, events and programs to all persons with disabilities.
Call two weeks in advance for special accommodations.
Funding has been made
possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of
State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds
from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Geraldine R. Dodge
Foundation. WheatonArts received a general operating support grant from the New
Jersey Historical Commission, a division of Cultural Affairs in the Department
of State. Additional funds
provided by the New Jersey Cultural
Trust.
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