WHAT’ S NEWS IN GREENSBURG-SALEM
THE WESTMORELAND MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART IS A BLUE STAR MUSEUM
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is participating in Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation’ s active duty military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve, and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2016. Free admission for military and their families as well as for veterans is always offered at The Westmoreland, and the museum’ s annual participation in the Blue Star Museums program helps to make this fact more known to the general public.
Leadership support for Blue Star Families programming and promotional materials has been provided by MetLife Foundation. The program also provides families an opportunity to enjoy the nation’ s cultural heritage and learn more about their new communities after a military move. The complete list of participating museums is available at arts. gov / bluestarmuseums.
“ We are happy to be a part of the Blue Star Museums program and to always offer free admission for our military and their families,” says Judith H. O’ Toole, The Richard M. Scaife Director / CEO of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.“ This important initiative gives military families the opportunity to visit cultural institutions across America at no charge in recognition of their service and the sacrifices they make.”
This year, more than 2,000( and counting) museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa are taking part in the initiative. Museums are welcome to join Blue Star Museums throughout the summer. The effort to recruit museums has involved partnerships with the American Alliance of Museums, the
Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of Children’ s Museums, the American Association of State and Local History, and the Association of Science- Technology Centers. This year’ s Blue Star Museums represent not just fine arts, but also science museums, history museums, nature centers and dozens of children’ s museums. Among this year’ s new participants are the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, Arkansas; the Children’ s Museum of New Hampshire in Dover, New Hampshire; the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History in Pacific Grove, California; the Rochester Museum & Science Center in Rochester, New York; and El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a living history museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
About The Westmoreland Museum of American Art
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, located at 221 N. Main Street in Greensburg, recently completed a transformational renovation and expansion project, hosting a community grand reopening celebration in late October, 2015. A new LEED-certified addition adds over 13,000 square feet to the museum and features a dynamic cantilevered design along with a stunning view of the City of Greensburg and the Laurel Highlands beyond. The Westmoreland’ s permanent collection is comprised of works by major American artists from the 18th century through the present, with a special emphasis on southwestern Pennsylvania art and artists. The museum also offers an impressive schedule of temporary exhibitions of American art – both nationally traveling and those organized in-house – as well as events and community-oriented educational programming for all ages.
More information is available at thewestmoreland. org.
FREE SUMMER CONCERT IN THE PARK WITH THE WSO
Summer Sparklers, a free annual outdoor concert, was presented by the Westmoreland Symphony on Saturday, July 2, at 7 p. m. at St. Clair Park’ s Robertshaw Amphitheater in downtown Greensburg. Conducted by
WSO’ s Artistic Director Daniel Meyer, the program featured pops, music from the movie blockbuster“ Harry Potter,” patriotic favorites and Tchaikovsky’ s famous“ 1812 Overture.” The concert was repeated on Sunday, July 3, at 4 p. m. during the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival.
For more information, call the WSO Office at 724.837.1850 or visit westmorelandsymphony. org.
FIVE STAR TRAIL POKER RUN The 17th annual Five Star Trail Poker Run was held on Saturday, July 23, beginning at Lynch Field in Greensburg at 9 a. m. The Poker Run is not only a race, but two events in one! Participants chose between a four-mile walk and a 12-mile bike ride, although this was not a race to see who finished first! Those who participated chose a playing card from a deck of cards at each of five checkpoints along the trail, thus assembling a full poker hand. The top three poker hands received a trophy and a special prize package. The Poker Run also featured a giant door-prize giveaway after the event, a Norco bike raffle courtesy of the Bicycle Shop in Youngwood, tasty snacks for sale, a 50 / 50 drawing and much more!
The Westmoreland Heritage Trail Chapter partnered again with the Five Star Trail Chapter to host the Poker Run, and all proceeds from the event benefitted the two trail chapters. Participants were able to choose which trail group they wanted their entry fees to benefit. n
Photo courtesy www. facebook. com / WestmorelandSymphonyOrchestra
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