Monday, November 29, 2010

Gala, Gala, Gala

We are going to be closed to the public on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 3, 4, and 5th. However, we will be here! Our annual Gala is this Saturday, and we need the whole three-day weekend to prep, to party, and to clean it up.

Gala preparation actually started months ago, with committees asking for auction item donations, shopping for big-ticket auction items, planning menus and decorations and party favors... but this week, we ramp up into high gear. Before Thanksgiving, we cleared the lower level galleries of art and put up category signs, and then put out tables for silent auction.

Today, Monday, we are starting silent auction display in those galleries, and clearing art out of the Stairwell Gallery. Not to worry, though: we still have plenty to see in all of our permanent collection galleries. Volunteers and staff are busily gathering all of the auction items into one place, working on decorations (Mandy and Angie outdo themselves every year, it seems), and coordinating everyone from caterers to florists and the Guild ladies who host the auction preview party. It's a hectic week, and an important one for us.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Gala is coming very, very soon.

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will hold its annual fund-raising event The Azure Ball: A Grecian Island Fantasy on Saturday, December 4. Highlighting the evening will be the Live and Silent Auctions, featuring paintings by some of the region’s best-known artists, trips to exotic locations, exquisite pieces of jewelry, and more.

Gala attendees will dine on a menu of authentic Greek delicacies presented by Nick Apostle of Nick’s Restaurant in Jackson. Apostle came onto the dining scene in 1983 and has since set the benchmark for Jackson restaurants. Nick’s was the first Mississippi restaurant to receive Wine Spectator’s "Award of Excellence," and has repeatedly been named "Best Fine Dining" establishment by Mississippi Magazine. Nick’s has been featured in Ford Times Magazine and in Delta’s Sky Magazine as Jackson’s best restaurant for the business traveler. Nick’s executive chef Steven D’Angelo trained under Chef Emeril Lagasse at NOLA and Emeril’s in New Orleans. He has had national media exposure with segments on Good Morning America, CNN, and Food Network’s Emeril Live. Both Apostle and D’Angelo bring careful attention to every culinary detail as well as a fresh approach to incorporating regional foods.




Later in the evening, those in attendance will enjoy music by The Triple Lindy. Based in Hattiesburg, The Triple Lindy consists of Brandon Webb, Ben Jones, Wes Brooks, and Joey Odom. The band has performed together for the past 15 years in and around the state of Mississippi, playing a wide selection of music from swing and oldies to blues and classic rock. Each member of the band has live entertainment experience going back as far as 20 years playing events with national and internationally known touring artists.

LRMA members at the Sponsor ($100) level and above may purchase tickets to The Azure Ball. Tickets are $100 each and include an invitation to the Auction Preview Party on Thursday, December 2.

For more information or to reserve a table for the Gala, please contact the Museum at 601.649.6374 or info@LRMA.org.

Monday, November 15, 2010

LRMA Shop Open House - great holiday shopping!




Kicking things off from 10 a.m. until noon, co-authors Charline McCord and Judy Tucker, along with illustrator Wyatt Waters, will sign their new book Christmas Memories from Mississippi. Neil White, editor of Mississippians, will be on hand to sign copies of this new book. Sarah Grafton of Wolfe Studio will showcase a selection of exquisite hand-painted birds.

Among the special gifts will be Whitt glass bowls, vases, and bottles, Old 61 Frames, and an array of double-weave Choctaw baskets. The Museum Gift Shop carries a wide selection of books including the LRMA Guild’s cookbook A Taste of the Guild, as well as notecards and other stationery items. There will be many unique items for children including nostalgic toys, books, and other stocking stuffers. For a gift that will commemorate a visit to the Museum, there are LRMA t-shirts, canvas totes, handbooks, and mugs.

The event is open to the public. Free gift wrapping will be offered to Museum members.

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh
Street in downtown Laurel. For more information call 601.649.6374.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Walt Grayson at LRMA on Thursday, November 18


Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will present ArtTalk on Thursday, November 18 at noon in the Museum’s Lower Level Lecture Hall. Author Walt Grayson will be the featured speaker and will discuss his newly released book Oh! That Reminds Me: More Mississippi Homegrown Stories. A book-signing will follow immediately after ArtTalk.

Walt Grayson was born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi. He was an announcer for Greenville radio station WJPR while in high school. His first television experience came as a weekend weather fill-in and an occasional travel feature reporter, while working full time in radio at Jackson's WSLI.

Grayson joined the WLBT-TV team as a weather anchor in 1984. He takes viewers on a "Look Around Mississippi" weekly on WLBT and also hosts Mississippi ETV's Mississippi Roads program. He has been inducted into the Associated Press Mississippi Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Grayson writes a monthly newspaper article for the Electric Power Associations of Mississippi. He is also author of three books: Jackson the Good Life, and Looking Around Mississippi with Walt Grayson, as well as Looking Around Mississippi Some More with Walt Grayson.

Art Talk, sponsored by West Quality Food Services, Inc., is free and open to the public. Guests are invited to use the North Garden Entrance and bring a sack lunch. Desserts and beverages will be provided. For more information, call LRMA at 601.649.6374 or visit the website www.LRMA.org.