The Berkshire Museum in downtown Pittsfield will present "Galleries in Bloom," a celebration of art and flowers, from May 9 to 12, 2008. Professional and amateur floral designers will create floral arrangements inspired by art, sculpture, and photographs from the Berkshire Museum's permanent collection.
The arrangements will be presented throughout the Berkshire Museum's galleries during the four-day fundraising event. Highlights throughout the weekend will be lectures, workshops, floral presentations, master classes, and an expo featuring antiques for the garden. Admission to "Galleries in Bloom" is $12 adults ($ members). Ticket prices vary for lectures, receptions, and other programs. All proceeds benefit year-round educational programs at the Berkshire Museum.
Following a Friday night gala preview, "Galleries in Bloom" will open to the public on Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Highlights of the day include an inaugural lecture by Ron Morgan, celebrity floral designer, in the Berkshire Museum's theater. Visitors will have the chance to explore the "Secret Garden" expo at the South Street Masonic Temple, featuring exotic plants, antique garden objects, and other rare and unusual items for the garden from a variety of vendors. A special package price of $125 per person includes unlimited admission to Galleries in Bloom throughout the weekend, early preview admission to the Secret Garden, lunch on Saturday, and admission to Ron Morgan's lecture. Tickets to the lecture alone are $35 ($25 members).
Sunday, May 11, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., is "Kids in Bloom" day, featuring floral-themed family activities. Children and their parents will be able to take part in hands-on activities, including flower pressing. "Kids in Bloom" tickets are $15 adults, $10 children ($12/$8 members).
"Galleries in Bloom" final day is Monday, May 12, when the Berkshire Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Keynote speaker Renny Reynolds has been designing both events and floral arrangements since the 1970s, for names like Bill Blass, Yves St. Laurent, Diana Vreeland and Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, owners of famed discotheque Studio 54. He is the founder of RENNY: Design for Entertaining, and now divides his time between lecturing and garden design for private homes throughout America. Guests to Friday night's preview gala will have to chance to hear Mr. Reynolds lecture, followed by a cocktail reception and live music. Tickets to the Opening Celebration Party are $500 at the Benefactor level, $300 at the Supporter level, $125 for standard member tickets, and $150 for non-members. Benefactor guests will enjoy the Reynolds lecture, dinner at private home with a special guest, the Ron Morgan lecture and unlimited admission to Galleries in Bloom. Guests at the Supporter level are also invited to attend the dinner party. Ron Morgan has been a name in floral design for over twenty years. He has designed windows for Harrod's and David Jones. Morgan is currently a highly sought-after lecturer and designer, as well as the author of four books.
Centrally located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, the Berkshire Museum enriches, educates, and inspires through diverse collections of art, natural science, and history, as well as dynamic educational programs and special exhibitions. With particular strength in American art, highlights include paintings by Hudson River School artists Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Church (currently on loan to the National Academy of Design in New York). Other artists represented range from John Singer Sargent, Ammi Phillips, and Gilbert Stuart to 20th- and 21st-century artists Norman Rockwell, John Marin, Alexander Calder, Nancy Graves, and Mark Milloff.
The aquarium features more than thirty tanks and terrariums housing both native and exotic fish, reptiles, and amphibians, ranging from frogs and turtle species that inhabit Berkshire ponds to 25 species of coral. Natural science collections include an interactive dinosaur dig, numerous examples of regional animals, an array of rocks and minerals, and "The World in Miniature"—a group of miniature dioramas from the Northern Tundra to the Amazon Jungle. The Berkshire Museum's collections feature the history of the region and are also a "window on the world" to ancient Mesopotamia, China, Greece, and Rome. Artifacts from ancient Egypt include the mummy of Pahat, a priest from the Ptolemic period (332 - 30 B.C.E.). -- www.berkshiremuseum.org
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