Massillon Museum Exhibits Reflect The Big Read Victorian Theme

Massillon Museum Exhibits Reflect The Big Read Victorian Theme

The Massillon Museum’s second floor permanent collections exhibition area will include a Victorian parlor during the month of March, which has been designated as western Stark County’s time to focus on The Big Read. The book selection for this year is Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, which is set during the last years of the 19th-century, The Victorian era.

Visitors can expect to see Victorian furniture, an Oriental rug, and decorative arts reflecting the lifestyle of Massillon’s industrialists and bankers who lived on historic Fourth Street and East Main Street, during the town’s wealthiest era, the late 1800s. “A look at the Victorian parlor can help provide a context for readers who are trying to imagine the setting of The Age of Innocence,” said Massillon Museum Executive Director Christine Shearer, who spearheads The Big Read. The story takes place in New York City, where Massillon’s socialites often visited to keep up with the times.

The new lower level lobby display features fans, lace-up shoes, and other accessories of The Gilded Age worn by local ladies more than a century ago.

Museum visitors can also see “Celebration in Art,” an exhibition of artwork by area students; The Immel Circus; “The Greatest Generation,” teapots, a man’s haori and tea ceremony objects in collaboration with Canton’s “Kimono as Art” exhibition; the sports gallery; and a timeline of Massillon and Massillon Museum history.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. For more information about western Stark County’s Big Read project, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABigRead.org.

Local organizations and individuals collaborating with the Massillon Museum include: the Massillon Public Library; the Lions Lincoln Theatre; Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli; Dr. Leslie Heaphy, Dr. Robert Sturr, Dr. Anne Coen, Dr. Andrea Adolph, and Kent State University Stark Campus; Jason Norris; John Kiste and the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau; Rotary Club of Massillon; the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce; The Independent; the Fairless, Jackson, Tuslaw, and Massillon school systems; State Representative Scott Oelslager; Gretchen Schrantz; Massillon Cable TV; the Chit Chat Coffee Shop; George Nicholis; Camille Leslie; Brian Centrone; Eric Myers; Richard Gercken; The Canton Symphony Orchestra; The Amherst Rose and Parlour Gift Shoppe; Kozmo’s Grille; St. Timothy’s Church; Massillon Family YMCA; Hampton Inn Massillon;and many community volunteers.

Copies of The Age of Innocence may be checked out at the Massillon Public Library. Books may be purchased at the Massillon Museum (121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), the Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), and The Village Bookshelf (746 Amherst Road Northeast in Massillon). Free readers' guides are available at the Museum, the Library, and at offices and businesses throughout the area. Everyone who reads the book will be encouraged to sign a “Victorian calling card” to be displayed at the Museum or the Library.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free.

Media Contact:
Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Photographs:
Mandy Pond - Massillon Museum Archivist - apond@massillonmuseum.org

Ohio Youth Ballet Will Wear Student-Created Kimono

Ohio Youth Ballet Will Wear Student-Created Kimono

More than 250 people attended the “Midori” Japanese-inspired fashion show on Saturday, February 21, at the Lions Lincoln Theatre—a collaborative project of the Massillon Museum, the Fashion Student Organization of Kent State University, and Arts in Stark.

Before the models and designers took the stage, guests viewed a display of kimono created by area students, which was displayed in the lobby, and voted for their favorites. The Fashion Student Organization designed the garments of plain fabric. Groups of students designed and decorated them to display in the community to promote the fashion show and to be judged by those who attended. They used paint, sequins, beads, stitching, applique, and other creative techniques to create an array of Japanese-inspired works of art.

High school students from Massillon Washington, Fairless, McKinley, Jackson, GlenOak, and Perry high schools as well as North Canton Public Library submitted their designs. Erin Sterling, Breann Sterling, and Allegra Gianfagna, high school students in Keri Burick’s North Canton Public Library Youth Manga Group, took first place in the high school category with their kimono design.

Younger students from Glenwood, Oakwood, Hartford, and Louisville middle schools; Sacred Heart of Mary School; Madge Youtz Elementary (with Stark Social Workers Network); and Massillon Public Library Junior Friends participated. Oakwood eighth graders Kayla Kayatin and Katie Scott, under the supervision of art teacher Susan Blurton, took the prize for the favorite kimono in the younger division.

The kimono will next appear on March 7 at Westfield Shopping Center, Belden Village, where they will be featured in a fashion show at 1:00 p.m. The Ohio Youth Ballet will wear them during their performances on March 27 and 28 at the Northeast Ohio Dance Fest; on April 13 at Kent State University Stark Campus at 5:00 p.m; and on April 26 at the closing ceremony for the “Kimono as Art” exhibition at Canton Country Day School, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

The “Midori” project was funded by Arts In Stark in conjunction with the “Kimono as Art” exhibit at the Canton Museum of Art; the Massillon Museum sponsored “Midori,” and the countywide display of original kimono; and the Fashion Student Organization created and coordinated the fashion show.

Media Contact:

Alexandra Nicholis, Massillon Museum Curator - anicholis@massillonmuseum.org or 330-833-4061

Photograph:

Back view of Oakwood Middle School's winning kimono

More images or higher resolution:

Mandy Pond, Massillon Museum Archivist - apond@massillonmuseum.org or 330-833-4061

The Big Read Keynote and Symposium

The Big Read Keynote and Symposium

The Massillon Museum, with the collaboration of the Massillon Public Library, and Kent State University Stark Campus, will present a keynote address on Thursday, March 12, and a symposium on Saturday, March 14, both relating to The Big Read and this year’s book selection, The Age of Innocence. The Museum and collaborating institutions and individuals will celebrate The Big Read throughout the month of March.

Keynote

Edith Wharton scholar Carol Singley will present the Keynote program in the auditorium of the Fine Arts Building at Kent State University Stark Campus on Thursday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m. State Representative Scott Oelslager will comment on "The Big Read: Western Stark County Reads The Age of Innocence" and introduce the speaker. The program is free and no reservations are required.

Singley is Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University-Camden, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in American literature and culture, women’s literature, and the literature of childhood. She directs the undergraduate Liberal Studies program, co-directs the American Studies program, and is a fellow at the Center for Children and Childhood Studies.

An internationally known scholar of Edith Wharton, she is the author of Edith Wharton: Matters of Mind and Spirit (Cambridge University Press, 1995, paperback 1998). She is editor of the New Riverside Edition of The Age of Innocence (2000), with more than 500 notes on the novel and selected readings. She is editor of The Historical Guide to Edith Wharton, published by Oxford University Press (3003), a collection of original essays on Wharton in historical context. She is also the editor of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth: A Casebook (Oxford University Press, 2003), a book of essays on the novel. She is past president of the Edith Wharton Society.

Carol Singley has published articles on nineteenth- and twentieth-century American writers, feminist theory, composition and rhetoric, and peer tutoring. She edited two collections of scholarly essays: Anxious Power: Reading, Writing, and Ambivalence in Narrative by Women (State University of New York Press, 1993) and The Calvinist Roots of the Modern Era (University Press of New England, 1997).

She is currently writing a book on representations of adoption in American literature and culture, which includes chapters on Wharton’s novel Summer and novella The Old Maid. This book examines adoption practices and attitudes toward adoption in the literature from colonial times to the twentieth century. She is co-founder and co-chair of the Alliance for the Study of Adoption, Identity and Kinship, an organization of scholars from diverse disciplines interested adoption and related issues such as personal and society identity and family construction. An adoptive mother, she lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with her husband and two sons.

Symposium

The symposium, which is open to everyone, will offer contact hours for English, art, and history teachers who participate. Advance registration is required. Sign-in will begin at Kent State University Stark Campus at 9:00 a.m. and the symposium will conclude at 3:00 p.m. The $15 registration fee includes lunch.

Individual sessions will focus on cultural topics related to Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Age of Innocence. Dr. Ann Coen will discuss the art The Gilded Age; Dr. Leslie Heaphy will address the historical context of the book and Wharton’s life; Dr. Andrea Adolph will talk about feminism of the era and how it is exhibited in women’s literature of the time (c. 1890–1914); and Christine Shearer and Jill Malusky Bacon of the Massillon Museum will lead an interdisciplinary discussion about the architecture and social environment of The Gilded Age.

Contact the Massillon Museum for registration and credit information: 330-833-4061.

General Information about “The Big Read: Western Stark County Reads The Age of Innocence”

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

Local organizations and individuals collaborating with the Massillon Museum include: the Massillon Public Library; the Lions Lincoln Theatre; Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli; Dr. Leslie Heaphy, Dr. Robert Sturr, Dr. Anne Coen, Dr. Andrea Adolph, and Kent State University Stark Campus; Jason Norris; John Kiste and the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau; Rotary Club of Massillon; the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce; The Independent; the Fairless, Jackson, Tuslaw, and Massillon school systems; State Representative Scott Oelslager; Gretchen Schrantz; Massillon Cable TV; the Chit Chat Coffee Shop; George Nicholis; Camille Leslie; Brian Centrone; Eric Myers; Richard Gercken; The Canton Symphony Orchestra; The Amherst Rose and Parlour Gift Shoppe; Kozmo’s Grille; St. Timothy’s Church; Massillon Family YMCA; Hampton Inn Massillon;and many community volunteers.

Copies of The Age of Innocence may be checked out at the Massillon Public Library. Books may be purchased at the Massillon Museum (121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), the Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), and The Village Bookshelf (746 Amherst Road Northeast in Massillon). Free readers' guides are available at the Museum, the Library, and at offices and businesses throughout the area. Everyone who reads the book will be encouraged to sign a “Victorian calling card” to be displayed at the Museum or the Library.

For more information about western Stark County’s Big Read project, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit

www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABigRead.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Camille Leslie - Massillon Public Library Director - 330-833-9831

Jill Malusky Bacon - Massillon Museum Educator - 330-833-4061

Tickets remain for Massillon Museum's Michael Searching Bear Concert

Tickets remain for Massillon Museum's Michael Searching Bear Concert

Tickets remain available for the Massillon Museum’s March 7th Rhythms concert featuring Michael Searching Bear, a Native American of Eastern Cherokee and Powhatan descent. The doors will open for social time in the lobby at 7:30 p.m.; the concert will begin at 8:00 p.m.

An accomplished musician with more than 35 years of experience as a performance and studio musician, Michael Searching Bear’s love of music and search for his native heritage led him to the Native American wood flute. He plays the electric, acoustic, and classical guitars, and studies music theory, history, and ethnomusicology. Michael Searching Bear makes his entire career as a musician, performer, educator, and Native American wood flute maker. He teaches Native American culture across the country in historical societies, businesses, native arts organizations, colleges, day care facilities, and national events.

The $20 per-person pre-sale ($18 for Massillon Museum members) may be purchased in advance by calling the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or by visiting www.massillonmuseum.org. Tickets will be sold at the door ($22 non-members, $20 Massillon Museum members) as long as seats remain available. Cash, checks, and Visa and MasterCard are accepted. The concert is open to the public.

Guests who attend the concert will also have the opportunity between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. to attend the Studio M exhibition opening for artwork by members of the East Central Region of the Ohio Art Education Association in the Fred F. Silk Community Room in the Museum’s lower level. Light refreshments will be served at the opening; wine will be available for purchase in the lobby.

Community members have stepped forward to make the Museum’s music series possible: In Tribute of Kevin Alden Hunt; Mel and Ann Herncane; Affinity Medical Center; A.A. Hammersmith Insurance, Inc.; Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffith and Dougherty Co.; FirstMerit; The Health Plan HomeTown Region; and The Eye Clinic, Inc. WKSU is the media sponsor. Grant support is provided by the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, Ohio Arts Council, and Arts in Stark.

The Massillon Museum hosts five out-of-the-mainstream concerts in the intimate setting of its main gallery to broaden the arts that it offers to the community. The final concert of the 2008–2009 season will feature trumpet virtuoso Dominick Farinacci (www.dominickfarinacci.com) on March 28.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East, in downtown Massillon. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots. For more information, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

Gilded Age Ball Introduces The Big Read

Gilded Age Ball Introduces The Big Read

Tickets remain for the Massillon Museum’s “Gilded Age Ball” on Saturday, February 28. A Canton Symphony Orchestra octet will play music from the late 1800s for dancing in the gallery of the Massillon Museum. Guests can expect a strolling magician—Brent Schneider, a performance by the Ohio Youth Ballet, Ananda Center dancers, dance cards and nosegays, and other Victorian-era entertainment.

The event will launch The Big Read 2009. The event will start at 8:00 p.m. and conclude at midnight, when free copies of The Age of Innocence will be distributed to all who attend. This year’s book selection, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, portrays social life during The Gilded Age—the late 1800s and the turn of the 20th century.

Costumes and period clothing are encouraged, but not required. Massillon Museum Executive Director Christine Shearer, who leads The Big Read project says, “The staff and committee will be in ball gowns and tuxedos. We will evoke enough Victorian atmosphere to make anyone comfortable who wants to come in costume. But we know that many guests will prefer to wear contemporary clothes.”

The Big Read will be a month-long celebration of The Age of Innocence, funded by a competitive grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Massillon Rotary Foundation has provided additional funding to purchase copies of the book for classroom use. 2009 marks the second year the National Endowment for the Arts has granted funding for the Massillon Museum’s ambitious participation in The Big Read—a national initiative to help Americans return to reading for leisure.

The Big Read, the largest federal literature program since the W.P.A., is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

Tickets for The Gilded Age Ball—$25 per person—include refreshments. They are available at the Massillon Museum in person, by phone (330-833-4061), or online at www.massillonmuseum.org. The Museum accepts cash, checks, Visa, and Mastercard.

Gretchen Schrantz chairs “The Gilded Age Ball.” Barb Moran of Moran Interiors in Canton is providing decorations.

For more information about western Stark County’s Big Read project, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABigRead.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt - Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-844-1525

Art Educators to Be Featured in Studio M Exhibition

Art Educators to Be Featured in Studio M Exhibition

The Massillon Museum will feature artwork by members of the East Central Region of the Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA) in Studio M from Saturday, March 7, through April 12, 2009. This is the third annual art teachers’ exhibition, the first at the Massillon Museum. Participants are certified to teach kindergarten through high school and higher education. They represent six counties and a variety of media.

The exhibition will open on Saturday, March 7, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., in the Massillon Museum's Fred F. Silk Community Room. The public is invited to view the artwork, meet some of the artists, and enjoy refreshments. As always, a visit to the Massillon Museum is free. No reservations are necessary.

Among the exhibiting artists will be: Randy Robart, Rittman High School; Matt Ramseyer, Orrville High School; Gary Spangler, Malone University; Sherri Dennis, Triway High School (retired); Pat Anderson, Triway High School; Hope Long, Wooster High School (retired); Julie Fisher, North Western High School (retired); Chris Triner, Hoover High School; Linda Litterdale, Canton South High School (retired); Rachel Tisher, Rittman Schools (art substitute); and Kathy Matthews, United Local High School. Spangler, a former Massillon Museum assistant, is coordinating the OAEA show with Massillon Museum Curator Alexandra Nicholis, who organizes and installs Studio M exhibitions.

The Ohio Art Education Association’s membership is open to art educators, retired art educators, college students, and any professional organization as an associate member. The association sponsors exhibits for elementary, high school, and college students at the regional and state level. To encourage current and future art educators, the association provides two teacher incentive grants and two scholarships for students pursuing licensure in art education. The OAEA is one of the largest associations in the United States.

The Massilon Musem will also host a Rhythms concert on the evening of the Studio M opening. Michael Searching Bear’s Native American music concert begins at 8:00 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door for $22 ($20 Massillon Museum members). Advance sale discounts are available now (330-833-4061 or massillonmuseum.org).

Studio M was initiated to strengthen the collaboration between the Museum and the community by showcasing the artistic talents of local, regional, and national artists. Exhibitions are selected by jurors from proposals submitted by artists. Brochures containing guidelines and an application are available by contacting the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or www.massillonmuseum.org.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East (Ohio Route 172) in downtown Massillon. For more information, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org. To learn more about the OAEA, visit www.oaea.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061 or cshearer@massillonmuseum.org

Alexandra Nicholis, Massillon Museum Curator - 330-833-4061 or anicholis@massillonmuseum.org

Book Discussions for Week One of The Big Read

Book Discussions for Week One of The Big Read

Throughout March, the Massillon Museum, with the collaboration of the Massillon Public Library, will sponsor ten book discussions as part of The Big Read, a month-long celebration of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. The community is encouraged to read the book.

Massillon Public Library (208 Lincon Way East) will host two one-hour discussions during the first week of The Big Read. Dr. Leslie Heaphy—Associate Professor, History, Kent State University Stark Campus—will moderate the first at the main branch at 208 Lincoln Way East on Monday, March 2, at 7:00 p.m. This discussion will focus on the author, Edith Wharton. Former Massillon Public Library department head Richard Gercken will lead a discussion centered on the book on Saturday, March 7, at 11:00 a.m., at the Library’s Barry Askren Memorial Branch (1200 Market Street N.E. in Navarre—next to the Towpath YMCA).

Discussions are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. Additional discussions will be held later in the month: Amherst Rose—Tuesday, March 10, 7:00 p.m.; Massillon Museum—Sunday, March 15, 2:00 p.m.; Kozmo’s Grille—Wednesday, March 18, 7:00 p.m.; Massillon Museum—Friday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.; Hampton Inn Massillon—Monday, March 23, 7:00 p.m.; Massillon Family YMCA—Monday, March 25, 7:00 p.m.; St. Timothy’s Church—Saturday, March 28, 11:00 a.m.; and Massillon Public Library’s main branch—Tuesday, March 31, 7:00 p.m.

Copies of The Age of Innocence may be checked out at the Massillon Public Library. They may be purchased at the Massillon Museum (121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), the Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), and The Village Bookshelf (746 Amherst Road Northeast in Massillon).

The Age of Innocence is an appropriate reading level for high school students and adults. Free readers' guides are available at the Museum, the Library, and at offices and businesses throughout the area. Everyone who reads the book will be encouraged to sign a “Victorian calling card” to be displayed at the Museum or the Library.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

Local organizations and individuals collaborating with the Massillon Museum include: the Massillon Public Library; the Lions Lincoln Theatre; Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli; Dr. Leslie Heaphy, Dr. Robert Sturr, and Kent State University Stark Campus; Jason Norris; John Kiste and the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau; Rotary Club of Massillon; the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce; The Independent; the Fairless, Jackson, Tuslaw, and Massillon school systems; State Representative Scott Oelslager; Massillon Cable TV; the Chit Chat Coffee Shop; George Nicholis; Camille Leslie; Brian Centrone; Eric Myers; Gretchen Schrantz; Five Oaks and Massillon Woman’s Club; Richard Gercken; The Canton Symphony Orchestra; The Amherst Rose and Parlour Gift Shoppe; Kozmo’s Grille; St. Timothy’s Church; Massillon Family YMCA; Hampton Inn Massillon; and many community volunteers.

Massillon Museum Executive Director Christine Shearer leads the local project. Massillon Public Library Director Camille Leslie, Massillon Museum Public Relations Coordinator Margy Vogt, Museum Assistant Chris Craft, Dr. Leslie Heaphy of Kent State University, and Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce President Bob Sanderson serve on the committee.

For more information about the book discussions or The Big Read, call 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABigRead.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Camille Leslie - Massillon Public Library Director - 330-833-9831

Margy Vogt - Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

Massillon Museum Board Meeting

Massillon Museum Board Meeting

The Massillon Museum Board of Directors will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, February 26, at 4:00 p.m., in the Fred F. Silk Community Room at the Massillon Museum, 121 Lincoln Way East, in downtown Massillon.

Museum Board officers who were elected at the annual meeting in January are: Jeff McMahan, Chairman; Shane Jackson, Vice-Chairman; Margaret Cocklin, Treasurer; Maude Slagle, Secretary; and Nancy Gessner, Past Chairman.

For information about the Massillon Museum, call 330-833-4061 or visit massillonmuseum.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Public Relations Coordinator - 330-844-1525 or vogt@sssnet.com

MassMu Hosts Celebration in Art Exhibition

Massillon Museum Hosts Celebration in Art Exhibition

The Massillon Museum will host its annual “Celebration in Art” exhibition from March 1 through March 29. The show features the artistic achievements of children, grades kindergarten through high school, from Massillon area schools. About 500 works of art are traditionally included.

The exhibition will open with a reception for the young artists on Sunday, March 1, from 2:00 to 5:00, in the main gallery of the Massillon Museum. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

Student work will be included from 22 area schools: Bowers, Franklin, Gorrell, Emerson, Whittier, Fairless, Northwest, Reedurban, T.C. Knapp, Watson, and Whipple Heights elementary schools; Jackson, Massillon, and Tuslaw middle schools; Edison Junior High School; Fairless, Jackson, Massillon Washington, Perry, and Tuslaw High Schools; and St. Barbara’s and St. Mary’s Schools.

Jill Malusky Bacon, Museum Educator, is coordinating the exhibition, which may be seen through March 29 during regular Museum hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Visitors can also enjoy the Immel Circus, exhibits featuring the Victorian era (relating to “The Big Read: Western Stark County Reads The Age of Innocence”), the sports gallery, and “The Greatest Generation” exhibition. Artwork by members of the East Central Region of the Ohio Art Education Association may be seen beginning on March 7 in Studio M.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. For more information, contact the Museum at 330-833-4061 or www.massillonmuseum.org. A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Director - 330-833-4061

Jill Mlusky Bacon, Museum Educator - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum Public Relations Coordinator - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

MassMu Invites the Community to The Big Read Film Series

MassMu Invites the Community to The Big Read Film Series

The Massillon Museum, with the collaboration of the Massillon Public Library, will present a free three-part film series related to Edith Wharton’s novel, The Age of Innocence, as part of The Big Read. A film will be shown in the Massillon Public Library auditorium at 7:00 p.m. each evening. Guests are asked to use the Library’s canopied street-level entrance on Second Street Northeast.

On Friday, March 6, the movie, “The Age of Innocence,” based on The Big Read book selection for 2009, will kick off the series. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder, it is a tale of 19th-century New York high society.

Saturday’s film (March 7) will be “House of Mirth” starring Gillian Anderson and Dan Aykroyd, the film adaptation of another Wharton novel. One of the first novels of manners in American literature, it is about New York socialite Lily Bart’s attempt to secure a husband and a place in rich society.

The film on Sunday, March 8, will be the 1997 version of “In Love and War” starring Sandra Bullock and Chris O’Donnell, based on the semi-autobiographical Ernest Hemingway novel by the same name. The story is told from the point of view of an injured soldier who falls in love with his nurse during World War I, which marked the end of The Gilded Age, Wharton’s “age of innocence.” It was just after the war that she penned her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Age of Innocence.

The film series, part of “The Big Read: Western Stark County Reads The Age of Innocence,” is free and open to the public. The Big Read is a month-long celebration of leisure reading. The organizers selected the book because it depicts an era when Massillon’s industrialists and financiers reflected the social ways pictured in the novel. The Massillon Museum’s collections of furniture, clothing, art, china, and glassware represent their lifestyle.

The movie nights are among two dozen events scheduled to encourage the community to read The Age of Innocence. A complete schedule of events is available at the Massillon Public Library, the Massillon Museum, or online at www.massillonmuseum.org.

Copies of The Age of Innocence may be checked out at the Massillon Public Library or purchased at the Massillon Museum, the Massillon Public Library, and The Village Bookshelf (746 Amherst Road Northeast in Massillon).

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

Local organizations and individuals collaborating with the Massillon Museum include: the Massillon Public Library; the Lions Lincoln Theatre; Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli; Dr. Leslie Heaphy, Dr. Robert Sturr, Dr. Andrea Adolph, Dr. Ann Coen, and Kent State University Stark Campus; Jason Norris; John Kiste and the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau; Rotary Club of Massillon; the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce; The Independent; the Fairless, Jackson, Tuslaw, and Massillon school systems; State Representative Scott Oelslager; Massillon Cable TV; the Chit Chat Coffee Shop; George Nicholis; Camille Leslie; Brian Centrone; Eric Myers; Gretchen Schrantz; Five Oaks and Massillon Woman’s Club; Richard Gercken; The Canton Symphony Orchestra; The Amherst Rose and Parlour Gift Shoppe; Kozmo’s Grille; St. Timothy’s Church; Massillon Family YMCA; Hampton Inn Massillon; and many community volunteers.

For more information about the book discussions or The Big Read, call 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABigRead.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Camille Leslie - Massillon Public Library Director - 330-832-9831

Margy Vogt - Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-844-1525

Brown Bag Features 19th-Century Medicine

MassMu Brown Bag Features 19th-Century Medicine

Matt Lautzenheiser, Director of the Dover Historical Society and J.E. Reeves Home, will speak on Tuesday, February 24, at the Massillon Museum’s Brown Bag Lunch.

The program, “Lancets, Leeches, and Laudanum: A Short History of Medicine in 19th-Century Ohio,” will focus on alternative medicines, common cures, and remedies used during the 1800s in Northeast Ohio. He will discuss early medical training and will cover some early phyicians of Stark County.

Lautzenheiser, a native of Dover, Ohio, has served as the director of the local historical society and J.E. Reeves Victorian Home since 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hiram College and a Master of Arts from the University of Akron. While at Akron, he worked part-time at Hale Farm and Village as an interpreter. After graduation, he joined Hale Farm in a full-time capacity as the site’s historian.

Lautzenheiser has introduced new programs and events to the Dover Historical Society including the “Moonlight Picnic and Wine Tasting,” an Oktoberfest, a lecture series, and a living history program—”Backdoors and Backstairs: A Visit with the Reeves Housekeeper.” He is currently working on a book for Arcadia Press under their Images of America Series. The book will be a photographic history of Dover. Matt lives in Nimishellen Township, Stark County, with his wife Kelly and two sons.

Brown Bag guests may bring a sack lunch or purchase lunch from the Chit Chat Coffee Shop in the lobby of the Museum. The Museum will serve free cookies and coffee.

The program will begin promptly at 12:10 p.m. and conclude about 12:50 p.m. to accommodate guests who attend during the lunch hour.

The event, which is held in the Museum lobby, is free and open to the public; no reservations are required, but seats fill early. The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. For more information, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org.

Bates Printing sponsors the Brown Bag Lunch series, which is in its seventh year. Schedules for the first half of the 2009 series will be available at the event.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Director - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Museum Public Relations & Lunch Series Chair - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

Soup Lunch Benefit at the Massillon Museum

Soup Lunch Benefit at the Massillon Museum

The Massillon Museum’s fifth annual “Soup Up Your Support” lunch will be held on Wednesday, March 11. The soup lunch will be served from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the Museum lobby and the Chit Chat Coffee Shop at the Massillon Museum. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Museum.

Pottery soup bowls—handcrafted and donated by volunteers and off-duty staff members—will be displayed in the lobby of the Museum beginning on March 4. Museum friends are invited to choose a bowl and purchase it for a minimum donation of $15. Payment secures a reservation for the lunch.

Supporters may phone in “soup” reservations with Visa or Mastercard (330-833-4061), or they may make their reservations in person with cash, check, or credit card, which will provide the opportunity to select bowls in advance. Advance purchases will be tagged and displayed in the lobby until March 11 to show each contributor’s support of the Museum.

Bowls may be selected during all Museum hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

On the day of the lunch, each bowl will be filled once—at no charge—with soup from the Chit Chat Coffee Shop, which is now located in the Museum lobby. The lunch will include bread, dessert, and iced tea or lemonade.

Those who have created the bowls are: Jill Malusky Bacon, Libby Bracy, Christopher Craft, Flora Csejtey, Sylvia DeMarco, Keith George, Jacqueline Holmes, Angela Klusty, Judith Lancaster, Brittany Mazur, Clarice Nelson, Alexandra Nicholis, Judy Paquelet, Scot Phillips, Gloria Pope, Holly Reiber, Amanda Roberts, Bob Sanderson, Missy Schreckengost, Christine Shearer, Sandi Thouvenin, and Jessica Yoder.

The Kent Area Chapter of Links, Inc. offered special support and Aqua Ohio sponsored the clay and glazes.

“The soup lunch is one of the many ways that Museum supporters can contribute and be a part of the Massillon Museum,” Shearer says. “Most of all, we want people to participate here at the Museum, to know that this is their Museum.” This is a fun event to attend, she said. “The lobby is filled with people enjoying great soup, lively conversation, and original art. It’s casual. Some people eat and leave; others stay to see who’s coming next.”

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way, East, in downtown Massillon. Call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org for details.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Director - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum Public Relations - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

“Do the Mu!”—Celebrating Victorian Style

“Do the Mu!”—Celebrating Victorian Style

On Saturday, March 7, the Massillon Museum will celebrate Victorian style for its third monthly “Do the Mu” program. Families and individuals are invited to join staff members between noon and 2:00 p.m. for a tour of the second-floor Victorian parlor exhibit and the lower level lobby display on The Gilded Age. Participants will be treated to tea and sweets, and then, using the Victorian "language of flowers," they will be encouraged to make a tussie mussie or butionaire.

The March “Do the Mu” is based on the Massillon Museum’s second annual National Endowment for the Arts grant project, “The Big Read: Western Stark County Reads The Age of Innocence.”

The popular new “Do the Mu” program, instituted by the Massillon Museum’s educator, Jill Malusky Bacon, is free and open to all. Participants may drop in any time between noon and 2:00 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month, for a special talk and an arts activity. No pre-registration is required. "Do the Mu" is one of many free activities for families at the Massillon Museum.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East (Ohio Route 172) in downtown Massillon. A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free. For more information, call the Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Jill Malusky Bacon, Educator - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum Public Relations Coordinator - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

MassMu and Glenmoor CC Call for Artists

MassMu and Glenmoor CC Call for Artists

The Massillon Museum will present, in collaboration with Glenmoor Country Club, the inaugural edition of an outdoor art fair, “Gallery on the Greens,” on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12, on the grounds of Glenmoor. White tents filled with original art will line the boulevard that leads to the clubhouse.

Admission to the show will be just $5 (free for members of the Massillon Museum) to encourage artists’ sales. Each artist will be responsible for his own space and sales.

Artists’ applications are now available for the juried show. Any Ohio artist is eligible to submit a proposal. Tents (10x10 feet), tables, chairs, and overnight security will be provided as part of the entry fee—$150 before March 15 or $250 after that deadline. Additional space, tents, tables, and chairs can be provided for an additional fee. The entry fee will not be due until the time of acceptance.

All media will be eligible. Artists will submit digital images of their work for consideration by the jurors. Cash awards totalling $600 will be awarded.

Artists may obtain entry forms with complete application information by contacting Sandi Thouvenin at the Massillon Museum, 330-833-4061 or sthouvenin@massillonmuseum.org.

Glenmoor Country Club is located at 4191 Glenmoor Road Northwest in Canton. The Gallery on the Greens will include a patron reception and silent auction on Friday, July 10, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.; the two-day public outdoor show on July 11 and 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and a golf outing at Glenmoor Country Club on Monday, July 13. Proceeds from the preview night, the art show, and the golf outing will benefit the Massillon Museum.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Sandi Thouvenin - Massillon Museum Volunteer & Special Events Coordinator - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt - Massillon Museum Public Relations Coordinator - 330-832-8469

MassMu Hosts Michael Searching Bear Concert

Massillon Museum Hosts Michael Searching Bear Concert

Michael Searching Bear, a Native American of Eastern Cherokee and Powhatan descent, will perform at the Massillon Museum’s Rhythms Concert on Saturday, March 7. The doors will open for social time in the lobby at 7:30 p.m.; the concert will begin at 8:00 p.m.

An accomplished musician, Michael Searching Bear’s love of music and search for his native heritage led him to the Native American wood flute. With more than 35 years of experience as a performance and studio musician—as a drummer and percussionist—he developed his talents and perfected his gift for mastering intricate rhythms. He later learned the electric, acoustic, and classical guitars, as well as music theory, history, and ethnomusicology. With this knowledge, Michael Searching Bear desired to incorporate many types of instruments and backgrounds into his compositions.

Michael Searching Bear makes his entire career as a musician, performer, educator, and Native American wood flute maker. He teaches Native American culture across the country in historical societies, businesses, native arts organizations, colleges, day care facilities, and national events.

He was a 2008 Native American Music Award nominee and a Spirit Wind Records Silver Arrow Award winner for outstanding contribution to Native American music in 2008. He was a presenter at the annual Native American Music Awards (Nammy's) in 2007 and 2008, and he was nominated in 2007 for the Aboriginal People's Choice Awards in three categories. In 2006, he earned the Just Plain Folk Music Award for album of the year for “Voice From Within” and was nominated for song of the year for “The Gathering.” That year he was nominated in six categories for the Native American Music Awards. His music has been heard on The History Channel's "Windtalkers" weekly radio show; Kulture Kids; and spots for ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC.

The $20 per-person pre-sale ($18 for Massillon Museum members) may be purchased in advance by calling the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or by visiting www.massillonmuseum.org. Tickets will be sold at the door ($22 non-members, $20 Massillon Museum members) as long as seats remain available. Cash, checks, and Visa and MasterCard are accepted. The concert is open to the public.

Community members have stepped forward to make the Museum’s music series possible: In Tribute of Kevin Alden Hunt; Mel and Ann Herncane; Affinity Medical Center; A.A. Hammersmith Insurance, Inc.; Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffith and Dougherty Co.; FirstMerit; The Health Plan HomeTown Region; and The Eye Clinic, Inc. WKSU is the media sponsor. Grant support is provided by the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, Ohio Arts Council, and Arts in Stark.

The Massillon Museum hosts five out-of-the-mainstream concerts in the intimate setting of its main gallery to broaden the arts that it offers to the community. The final concert of the 2008–2009 season will feature trumpet virtuoso Dominick Farinacci (www.dominickfarinacci.com) on March 28.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East, in downtown Massillon. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots.

For more information, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

Massillon Museum History Group To Meet

Massillon Museum History Group To Meet

The Massillon Museum’s History Discussion Group, “Massillon Remembers,” will talk about old-time home remedies at its monthly session at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, at the Museum. Participants may tell about their personal experiences and family tales. Bringing objects and photographs to illustrate the stories enlivens conversation. Chris Craft moderates the discussion.

The History Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month from 10:00 a.m. until noon to chat casually about a pre-announced topic, usually a narrow segment of Massillon history. The April subject will be old-time radios and radio shows.

The “Massillon Remembers” group is free and open to everyone; new participants are welcome at any time. Some people come to every session; others attend when the topic is of particular interest. No reservations are required.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East (Ohio 172), in downtown Massillon. For more information, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Chris Craft, History Group Moderator - 330-833-4061

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum Public Relations Coordinator - 330-832-8469 / 330-844-1525

Massillon Museum Launches The Big Read

Massillon Museum Launches The Big Read

The Massillon Museum, with the collaboration of the Massillon Public Library, has designated March as “The Big Read” month in western Stark County. It will be a month-long celebration of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, funded by a competitive grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Massillon Rotary Foundation has provided additional funding to purchase copies of the book for classroom use.

Organizers selected the classic, The Age of Innocence, because the Victorian Age depicted in the book is the era most strongly reflected by the Massillon Museum’s permanent collection.

Events will include a book give-away, a Victorian parlor exhibition, ten book discussions, The Gilded Age Ball, a film series, a stage presentation of one-act plays, a brown bag lunch, an archery demonstration, a salon, and a Victorian etiquette program with afternoon tea at Five Oaks. At Kent State Stark Campus, national Wharton expert Carol Singley will present a keynote address and art and literature educators will lead a symposium.

2009 marks the second year the National Endowment for the Arts has granted funding for the Massillon Museum’s ambitious participation in The Big Read—a national initiative to help Americans return to reading for leisure. “The Massillon Museum sought this second NEA grant to help us continue to engage the community in an activity that everyone can enjoy together. We’re thrilled with the enthusiastic collaboration of more than two dozen individuals and organizations within western Stark County,” said Massillon Museum Executive Director Christine Shearer.

Local organizations and individuals collaborating with the Massillon Museum include: the Massillon Public Library, the Lions Lincoln Theatre, Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Dr. Leslie Heaphy and Kent State University Stark Campus, John Kiste and the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, Rotary Club of Massillon, the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce, The Independent, the Fairless, Jackson, Tuslaw, and Massillon school systems, State Representative Scott Oelslager, Massillon Cable TV, the Chit Chat Coffee Shop, George Nicholis, Camille Leslie, Brian Centrone, Eric Myers, Richard Gercken, The Canton Symphony Orchestra, Amherst Rose, Kozmo’s Grille, St. Timothy’s Church, Massillon Family YMCA, Hampton Inn Massillon,and many community volunteers.

Copies of The Age of Innocence may be checked out at the Massillon Public Library, which has bolstered its Edith Wharton collection for The Big Read. Reasonably-priced paperback books may be purchased at the Massillon Museum (121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), the Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), and The Village Bookshelf (746 Amherst Road Northeast in Massillon).

The Age of Innocence is an appropriate reading level for high school students and adults. Free readers' guides will be available at the Museum, the Library, and at offices and businesses throughout the area. Everyone who reads the book will be encouraged to sign a “Victorian calling card” to be displayed at the Museum or the Library.

The Big Read, the largest federal literature program since the W.P.A., is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Individual communities may choose from among 23 book selections from American and world literature. Since the program’s national launch in 2006, the NEA has funded more than 500 Big Read programs.

Massillon Museum Executive Director Christine Shearer leads the local project. Massillon Public Library Director Camille Leslie, Massillon Museum Public Relations Coordinator Margy Vogt, Museum Assistant Chris Craft, Dr. Leslie Heaphy of Kent State University, and Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce President Bob Sanderson serve on the committee.

For more information about western Stark County’s Big Read project, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABigRead.org.

Media Contacts:

Christine Shearer - Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061

Camille Leslie - Massillon Public Library Director - 330-833-9831

Margy Vogt - Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

New play tells the story of Kimono artist

New play tells the story of Kimono artist

Kimono artist Itchiku Kubota is the subject of a play co-authored by Lois DiGiacomo and Frank Motz. The performance of "Master Kubota and Me" will be held on Friday, March 20, at 7pm in Cable Recital Hall, and is organized by Soroptimist International of Canton/Stark County. Admission to the play is free. The local Soroptimist club was one of the recipients of an ArtsinStark grant to create a program connected to the Kimono as Art exhibit.

Lois DiGiacomo, Soroptimist member and host of the local television program, State of the Arts, says that “The audience will learn about Itchiku Kubota's life through this play.” DiGiacomo, the creative force behind this play, is well known in Stark County for her connection to the arts. As the founder of the Rainbow Repertory Company and Canton Cabaret, Lois brings her years of theatre experience to this project. In collaboration with Frank Motz, the two arrived at the premise for the play rather quickly. “I called upon Frank for artistic advice since I knew him to be a very gifted writer and dramatist. He was inspired by the direction I wanted to take the play and chose to collaborate with the writing. I also consulted with Joe Martuccio, another very gifted thespian—a person I have worked with on several productions.”

Motz, an attorney-mediator, has a great interest in theatre and was instrumental in helping to create the Kathleen Howland Theatre in Canton’s Second April gallery. Motz has been inspired by the life and work of Kubota, and says of his collaboration with DiGiacomo that, “We have both been amazed by this great artist and his life. We hope this play will convey that same amazement for the audience.”

Admission to the play is free but reservations for tickets must be made in advance by calling 330.524.7113. Cable Recital Hall is located inside the Canton Cultural Center, 1001 Market Avenue North, in downtown Canton.

Soroptimist is an international women’s organization that works to improve the lives of women and girls locally and around the world. In addition to having received this grant from ArtsinStark, the Canton/Stark County club, under the leadership of president Alexandra Nicholis, earned a $10,000 grant last June to facilitate a project in collaboration with the Domestic Violence Project, Inc. of Canton. In March, they will distribute more than $3,000 in scholarships to deserving young women.

Media Contacts:

Lois DiGiacomo - rainbowrep@neo.rr.com;

Alexandra Nicholis - President, Soroptimist International of Canton/Stark County - 330.524.7113 / anicholis@massillonmuseum.org