FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Crissy Smith
Obsidian Public Relations
(901) 461-3139
E-mail: crissy@obsidianpr.com
Bolivar Museum to Host
Traveling Smithsonian Exhibit
Bolivar, Tenn., July 9, 2008 – The Little Courthouse County Museum in Bolivar, Tenn., will host the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street exhibit New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music Aug. 9 through Sept. 20, 2008.
New Harmonies provides a lively cultural history of music and music traditions, exploring the sounds and songs that evolved into American music and can be heard in today’s commercial country, gospel, pop and hip-hop.
“We are thrilled to have the New Harmonies exhibit at the Little Courthouse Museum in Bolivar,” said Cissye Pierce, president of the Hardeman County chapter of the Association of the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities. “It’s actually very fitting as Hardeman County is a county rich in musical heritage. Several notable musicians and recording industry figures are from the area, including Estelle Axton and Jim Stewart, founders of STAX Records, and Lee McAlpin, writer of the 2008 Beijing Olympics theme, ‘Slab Town Boogie.’”
Through photographs, instruments, lyrics and artist profiles, visitors will explore the work of well-known folk, gospel, country and blues artists who have inspired generations of musicians like B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson, Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez, and captures the spirit of musical styles that are at the heart of local heritage in the United States – Tejano, zydeco, polka, Cajun, conjunto and klezmer.
Bolivar Museum to Host Traveling Smithsonian Exhibit
The
Little Courthouse County Museum will also present related programs throughout
the exhibit’s stay in Bolivar, including a pictorial history of the county’s
Hee Haw-style American Cancer Society fundraising event, now in its 29th
year; 30-minute songwriting workshops for children; and oral histories.
The museum, located at 215 E. Market St., is hosting the traveling exhibit in partnership with Humanities Tennessee and the Hardeman County chapter of the Association of the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities. The exhibit will be open to the public on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission for adults is $5 and $2 for children. The exhibit will be open on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for school groups and by appointment only for groups of 10 or more. Admission will be free for all school groups, and those visits will also feature songwriting workshops.
Museum on Main Street was created to serve museums, libraries and historical societies in rural areas, where one-fifth of all Americans live. It is a partnership of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the Federation of State Humanities Councils and state humanities councils nationwide. Venues are encouraged to supplement the exhibitions with objects, stories and programs that celebrate local heritage and inspire community pride. Major funding for Museum on Main Street, including the New Harmonies exhibition, is provided by the United States Congress.
The Association of the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities is the oldest statewide nonprofit historic preservation organization in the state of Tennessee and the fourth oldest in the nation. The Hardeman County chapter was founded in 1965 and allows its members the opportunity to help preserve the county’s historic locations, including the Little Courthouse County Museum and The Pillars, a museum house in Bolivar.
Humanities Tennessee is a not-for-profit organization that provides public education in the humanities for all Tennesseans. For more information about Humanities Tennessee’s programming, please visit www.humanitiestennessee.org.