The Unsinkable Molly Brown Visits the Massillon Museum Brown Bag Lunch

Bring a sack lunch or purchase lunch from the Chit Chat Coffee Shoppe for the Massillon Museum’s next Brown Bag Lunch on Tuesday, June 23. Sally Whiston of Massillon will arrive at the lunch dressed as Margaret Tobin Brown might have looked a century ago—a Victorian lady ahead of her time.

Assuming Brown’s character, Whiston will regale guests with stories about her life from rags to riches in Leadville, Colorado; her fight for women’s and workers’ rights; her quest for an education; her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat; and her world travels. A leader in life, Brown is best remembered as a survivor of the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, after which the media gave her the nickname, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”

Sally Whiston, an enthusiast of reading and history and a regular member of the audience at the Massillon Museum’s Brown Bag lunches, enjoys portraying significant women from the nation’s past, among them First Lady Julia Grant; Teddy Roosevelt’s First Lady, Edith; and Bella Abzug. Her costume, humor, and knowledge will create a memorable image of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” at the Massillon Museum.

The Brown Bag program will begin at 12:10 p.m. and conclude by 12:50 p.m. to accommodate those who wish to 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. Bates Printing sponsors the Brown Bag Lunch series, which is in its seventh year.

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.

Media Contacts:

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

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum PR Coordinator & Lunch Series Chair - 330-832-8469 or 330-844-1525

Photograph:

Sally Whiston as The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Deco Tour Calls for 1920s and 1930s Vehicle Entries

Art Deco meets couture on Saturday, June 27. The Massillon Museum and the Kent State University Museum are collaborating to create a full day of Art Deco style—automobiles, architecture, fashion, graphic design, and dance.

The day will begin with a 1930s car show on the lawn at the Massillon Museum from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. At 11:00, the Museum’s curator, Alexandra Nicholis, will present a gallery talk in the midst of fifty black and white silver gelatin prints recording the 1930-31 construction of New York City’s iconic architecture—“The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building.” ("The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building" was organized by George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, with support of Bausch and Lomb.)

From 3:00 to 6:00. the Kent State University Museum will host a 1920s car show. At 4:00, the Museum will offer free gallery tours of three Art Deco exhibitions: “Great American Glass: The Roaring Twenties and Depression Era,” “The Kokoon Arts Club: Cleveland Revels,” and “Gazette du Bon Ton.” The grand finale of the Deco Tour is “Tangomania,” a masked ball at the Kent State University Museum at 8:00 p.m.

The museums are now accepting car registrations. A $10 fee secures a space at the appropriate venue as well as admission to the Kent State University Museum. (Admission to the Massillon Museum is always free.) Contact the Massillon Museum for 1930s vehicles: 121 Lincoln Way East, Massillon 44646-6633, 330-833-4061, www.massillonmuseum.org. To register a 1920s vehicle, contact the Kent State University Museum, P.O. Box 5190, Kent 44242-0001, 330-672.3450, www.dept.kent.edu/Museum.

Spectator admission will be free for both segments of the Deco Tour. (Tickets for Tangomania will be $25 each.)

For more information, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061.

Media Contacts:

Alexandra Nichois, Massillon Museum Curator - 330-833-4061 / anicholis@massillonmuseum.org

Jean Druesedow, Kent State University Museum Director - 330-672-0303 / jdruesed@kent.edu

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum PR Coordinator - 330-844-1525 / vogt@sssnet.com

Do the Mu!—Architecture

On Saturday, June 6, the Massillon Museum will host its monthly “Do the Mu” program, a free family drop-in activity time. The theme “Architecture,” will be based on the current exhibition, “The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building.”

Families and individuals are invited to tour the exhibition, then join architect Don Allcorn to discuss details of the construction of the Empire State Building, learn more about architecture, and build their own structures. Don Allcorn is an Akron-based architect who has worked professionally for 22 years in northeast Ohio. He established his architectural office seven years ago. He has traveled extensively to New York and has studied its rich architectural, cultural, and geologic history.

The “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 tour, an arts activity, and a snack. No pre-registration is required. “Do the Mu!” receives funding from ArtsinStark.

“The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State Building” was organized by and is traveling under the auspices of George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. It includes fifty classic black and white images of the 1930-1931 construction of America’s iconic Empire State Building—which includes stainless steel fabricated in the Massillon Republic Steel plant. A supporting exhibition in the second-floor photography gallery features architectural images from the Massillon Museum’s permanent collection.

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

Canstruction® Opening Night Is Open to All

Canstruction’s® first annual Massillon area design/build competition spotlights hunger and showcases Stark County’s best designers. The gala opening will be held on Thursday, June 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The casual after-work event will be the first opportunity to see six incredible oversized sculptures created completely from canned goods. The public is invited to attend; no reservations are required. The party is free, but guests are encouraged to bring cans of food for donation to help feed the area’s hungry. Refreshments will, of course, be served.

Six teams of five members guided by architects, designers, and engineers will unveil sculptures they have built from thousands of cans of food. Size and shape of the cans as well as label colors will determine what products will be used to build works of art.

Winners will be announced at Thursday’s opening. The Canstruction® sculptures will remain on exhibition through Sunday, June 28.

Fishers Foods is the major sponsor for Massillon’s Canstruction® project. Organized by the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce and the Massillon Museum, Canstruction® is expected to gather thousands of cans of food for the Akron/ Canton Food Bank and the Massillon Salvation Army. Competing teams will provide their own canned goods for building materials. They challenge exhibit visitors to fill food barrels at the Museum to add to the hunger relief effort. Collection barrels will also be located at the Massillon Public Library and Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce.

Canstruction® bills itself as “the most unique food charity in the world.” A foundation of the Society for Design Administration (SDA)—an affiliate of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Canstruction® is held in selected cities throughout North America. Since its inception, ten million pounds of food have been donated to aid in the fight against hunger.

The local committee, co-chaired by Sanderson and Shearer, includes architect Jeff Day and designer Yvette Otterman of Harris/Day; Museum staff members Jill Malusky Bacon, Chris Craft, Scot Philips, and Sandi Thouvenin; Captain Tawny Cowen-Zanders of the Salvation Army’s Massillon headquarters; and Margy Vogt of Margy Vogt Visions.

For information about the competition, call Christine Shearer at 330-833-4061 or Bob Sanderson at 330-833-3146, or visit massillonmuseum.org or canstruction.org.

Media Contacts:

Bob Sanderson, Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce President - 330.833.3146 / cshearer@massillonmuseum.org

Christine Shearer, Massillon Museum Executive Director - 330-833-4061 / bob@massillonohchamber.com

Margy Vogt, Massillon Museum Public Relations Coordinator - 330-844-1525 / vogt@sssnet.com

Please consider sending a photographer during build-out on Wednesday, June 3, 3:00 to 8:00 p.m.

There should be some great visuals once the sculpture starts to take shape.