By Paul T. Choate
Dec. 13, 2012. The Blowing Rock Art and History Museum currently has a wide range of ongoing and upcoming events throughout the holiday season and beyond to please all ages. From the North Carolina Treasures exhibition to Cork and Canvas to multiple programs for children, there’s something for everyone at BRAHM.
“We’ve got a lot of different programs that would appeal to a lot of people,” said Allison Wonsick, communications director at BRAHM. “We’ve had a lot going on. … It’s kind of all over the place.”
BRAHM has two exhibits that opened in August and are currently in the halls of the museum – North Carolina Treasures and From Secession to Sesquicentennial: Commemorating the Civil War in Western North Carolina.
North Carolina Treasures features works from potter Glenn Bolick and seventh-generation chairmaker Max Woody. Visitors to the exhibit will see examples of the artists’ fine work that spans their long careers as well as memorabilia, tools, photographs and other belongings that tell the stories of their lives.
From Secession to Sesquicentennial: Commemorating the Civil War in Western North Carolina is a look at how the civil war has been perceived from the end of the war until the present day in the western mountains of North Carolina. A timeline spans the exhibit with key points in history related to perception.
“It’s not really a typical civil war exhibit. it’s more about how people are currently remembering the war,” Wonsick said.
BRAHM is also hosting a traveling exhibit of 30 paintings from the Watercolor Society of North Carolina’s 67th annual juried exhibition from Nov. 29, 2012, to Feb. 10, 2013.
The full 2012 WSNC exhibit opened in Elizabeth City in October with 70 original paintings. The BRAHM exhibition provides a sneak-peak preview of the full exhibit that will come to BRAHM on Sept. 8, 2013, that will feature all 70 paintings.
BRAHM also has several events for adults and children alike. For adults, there is always the monthly Cork & Canvas, that is described as, “a little bit of paint, a little bit of wine and a whole lot of fun!” The next Cork & Canvas will be on Thursday, Dec. 13. There is also the newly-formed book club, which will hold their next meeting the first Thursday in January. Both events are from 5 to 7 p.m.
For the little ones, there are snow day programs where kids enjoy painting, exploring the museum and a snack before going swimming at Chetola in the afternoon. There will also be a mini camp on Jan. 2 to 4 from 9 to 4 p.m. where children will spend the morning at the museum and spend the afternoon enjoying activities with the Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation Department.
On Fridays, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., there is also the weekly Doodle Bug Club geared toward preschoolers, where kids can learn the basics of colors and painting as well as getting a healthy snack.
Upcoming from BRAHM, Wonsick said the museum has just today decided to start publicizing The Carolina Mountains: Photography of Margaret Morley. The exhibit includes a wide array of photographs by Morley, who traveled to the Appalachian Mountains in the 1890s and photographed what daily life looked like during that time in history.
“In the 1890s, there really weren’t photos of ordinary life [in this area], so the exhibit kind of fills in that gap,” Wonsick said.
BRAHM is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Admission costs are $8 for adults, $5 for children (5+), students and military and $6 for groups of 10 or more.
For more information, visit blowingrockmuseum.org.
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