South Carolina State Museum to offer free general admission for Fall Fest
October 29, 2019
Annual event will coincide with History Day Sat., Nov. 9
The South Carolina State Museum will celebrate fall by offering free general admission to all guests for Fall Festival and History Day, Saturday, Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Fall Festival and History Day will feature a variety of barbeque, live bluegrass music from local musicians, craftspeople and artists on site, live performances, a gallery tour and more.
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The festival will feature a variety of barbeque made by award-winning South Carolina pit masters cooked on-site at the event including Jim Hayes of West Columbia, Buddy Rogers of Marion and David Elliott of Hemingway. In addition, delicious sides, the event will feature a new beer garden serving local craft beer from Columbia Craft, Steel Hands, Swamp Cabbage and Legal Remedy.
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Guests will enjoy live music from a variety of bluegrass bands, including Savannah River Bluegrass, Palmetto Blue, Blue Iguanas, Slow Drawl, Matt Watson & Matthew Dickerson, and Slope Valley. The South Carolina Bluegrass Association will also be hosting a gallery jam open to all guests that would like to bring their stringed instruments and join in. The Capital City Cloggers will help kickoff all the fun with a live performance starting at 10 a.m.
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A number of accomplished artists and craftspeople from across the state will be demonstrating and discussing their techniques including wood workers Ed Devaney, Tom Haas, Randy Burton and more. Decoy artist Tom Boozer, folk artists Herman Thompson and Geraldine Smith, painter Rick Wells, sweetgrass basket maker Sarah Edwards-Hammond, among others will also be onsite during the festival.
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The museum will also conduct a “Bed Turning,” presenting historic quilts as they were meant to be seen. JoAnn Zeise, State Museum curator of history, will showcase quilts from the State Museum’s collection, revealing their history, pattern, significance and backing. Guests will also get a special tour of the new furniture exhibit, Grand Designs: 19 Century South Carolina Furniture from expert James Brannock.
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They day will be filled with lots of hands-on activities from Victorian creation stations where guests can design their own furniture and create a paper doll house to face painting, balloon animals and waltz demonstrations with Ken Broom.
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Fall Festival and History Day will take place in front of the museum, as well in the lobby and in areas throughout the museum. Guests are welcome to bring their own chair or blanket to enjoy some of the bands playing outside. Food, beverages, planetarium/4D shows and art purchases are an additional charge. Visit scmuseum.org for more information about the event.
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About the South Carolina State Museum
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As the state’s largest and most comprehensive museum, the South Carolina State Museum, offers a unique, entertaining and educational experience to visitors throughout its 225,000 square foot facility located in the heart of downtown Columbia’s Congaree Vista. The State Museum is housed in one of its greatest artifacts, an 1894 old textile mill full of character and charm. In addition to beautiful meeting spaces throughout the facility, guests can explore outer space in one of the largest planetariums in the Southeast, watch an interactive 4D movie and look through a vintage telescope in a one-of-a-kind observatory. These exciting opportunities are all in addition to the four floors of South Carolina art, cultural history, natural history and science/technology that guests can experience. For more information about the museum, visit scmuseum.org.
