Family Holiday Workshop 2003

ROCKWELL MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART CELEBRATES THE SEASON WITH A FAMILY HOLIDAY WORKSHOP

November 21, 2003

Children of all ages enjoy the creative bustle, sights and sounds of the winter holidays. This season, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art wraps up all three in one special package: the Bears, Boots and Stars Family Holiday Workshop. The workshop will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2003, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., just before the start of Corning's Sparkle of Christmas festivities. It includes a variety of ornament making activities, Native American storytelling, and an opportunity to help create a winter solstice exhibition for the Education Gallery.

Admission to the museum is free for members, and $6.50 for not yet members. Children are free of charge through December 31, 2003, as part of the Museum's "Kids Free at the Rockwell" promotion. There is a fee of $2 to participate in the Bears, Boots and Stars art projects. All other museum activities are included with admission. Reservations can be made by calling 974-2333.

Participants in the Holiday Workshop will find three different art projects to engage their creative impulses. In one, children can choose to paint a clay bear or cowboy boot ornament to take home. In another, children can decorate colorful paper star ornaments with their holiday wishes. In a third, museum staff will help children think about their hopes and dreams for the world, illustrate them on paper star ornaments, and place the ornaments in a winter solstice exhibition.

Between art activities, children can listen to Native American stories and legends about bears in the Remington and Russell Lodge. Storytelling will begin on the half-hour throughout the workshop.

Families can also explore the museum galleries, which are open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Children's Artpacks -- backpacks full of information, activities, puzzles and games -- make seeing the Museum a trailblazing adventure.

Museum staff chose the Bears, Boots and Stars theme for this year's holiday workshop to capture the spirit of the many cultures represented in the Rockwell Museum's collection. Cowboy boots symbolize the history of the American West. Bears figure prominently in Native American mythology. And stars signify light, a symbol of the winter festivals of many religions.

Light was also an important symbol in the winter celebrations of early indigenous people, for whom the winter solstice was a special event. "Winter was a very difficult time in the north," notes Cindy Weakland, Director of Public Programs for the Museum. "As the days grew shorter, many Native American groups feared that the sun would disappear for good. With the winter solstice, they celebrated the sun's return to strength and hope for the future. The Rockwell Museum's winter solstice exhibition is our way of honoring these traditions, and a symbol of our own hopes for the future."

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art owns one of the largest and finest collections of Western and Native American art in the Eastern United States and provides the public with a chance to see the Best of the West in the East. All of the Rockwell Museum's exhibits and services - galleries, events, Artpacks, Trading Post gift shop, Kids' West play area, and the adjacent Cantina - reflect the people, places, and ideas of the West, immersing visitors in an authentic Western experience.

Now through December, the Museum Trading Post is featuring special holiday items with a Western flair. Christmas stockings in the shape of cowboy boots, matching Christmas tree skirts, and whimsical cowboy and Pendleton ornaments capture the charm of a Western holiday celebration. These items complement the regular selection of prints, reproductions, gifts and toys for children, household and culinary items, and authentic Native American jewelry available year-round. The Trading Post is open during regular museum hours, with no admission fee to shop.

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art is located at the corner of Cedar and Denison Parkway in Corning, just one block from historic Market Street. From November through April, Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. The Museum is closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Directions and further information can be found by calling 607-937-5386.