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Gay Day
2003
Hillwood Museum and Gardens Celebrates Second Annual Gay Day
Washington,
D.C. ––On
September 6, 2003 from 1:00-8:00 p.m., Hillwood Museum and Gardens, will
host the second annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT)
community for a day of special events celebrating the life and collecting
passions of Marjorie Merriweather Post.
Hillwood
began its outreach to the GLBT community on January 2002. To foster the
relationship, Hillwood held a reception for community advisors in June
2002 followed by the first annual Gay Day in September 2002. As a result
of Gay Day, Hillwood formed the GLBT Advisory Board, which includes
representatives from the Whitman Walker Clinic, One In Ten, Gay Men's
Chorus, Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), the Mautner
Project, and the Human Rights Campaign.
“Hillwood has taken a giant
step forward in embracing the GLBT community and we at One In Ten are
proud to be partners in their efforts,” said Carlos Arias, Executive
Director of One In Ten.
The board formulated programs for the GLBT community including Mother's
Day 2003, a lecture by curator Karen Kettering on gay and lesbians
influence on cultural life in St. Petersburg and an evening at Hillwood
for SMYAL kids.
Ellen
Willenbecher, Deputy Director for Interpretation, has been directly
involved in Hillwood's outreach to the GLBT community. Says Willenbecher,
“We began our GLBT outreach two years ago with the best professional
intention of diversifying our audience. A GLBT audience made sense for
Hillwood because of the close proximity to Dupont Circle, the historic hub
of the gay community. Yet, the word outreach may infer a one-sided, maybe
passive relationship. But that is not the case. The response from the
community has been rewarding and encouraging. The community has inspired
us. We now feel that we are engaged in a relationship, one that is
mutually beneficial and enriching, to both the GLBT community and
Hillwood.”
Gay Day 2003
will include performances, tours of the mansion and gardens, hands-on
activities, family activities, and lunch and dinner at the café. Visitors
can stroll through the gardens, making use of an audio tour, and attend a
demonstration and discussion of Hillwood practices for designing floral
arrangements. Prabhdeep Chawla, a Hillwood volunteer and orchid
enthusiast will discuss the orchid collection in a presentation in the
greenhouse.
Participants can also take in the French and Russian collections in the
mansion. Audio tours will be available throughout the day. Actress Halo
Wines will appear as Catherine the Great and perform a monologue created
and directed for Hillwood by noted local director Nick Olcott. “In
Fabergé's Studio,” participants young and young-at-heart can create their
own Fabergé object to take home. Special activities organized exclusively
for families include Meet the Romanvos, an audio tour for children.
Marjorie Merriweather Post's lifestyle is intriguing to many so rooms
usually closed to the public will be open for viewing on Gay Day. Textile
Curator Howard Kurtz will discuss European Travels, a display of
turn-of-the-century fashions that Mrs. Post wore and acquired on her
travels overseas.
Gay Day would not be complete without an appearance of the Gay Men's
Chorus of Washington, DC. Performances will take place under the
afternoon skies, at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the Lunar Lawn. The museum shop
will debut the Gay Studies section on its bookshelves and the café will
have a café cart on the Lunar Lawn throughout the day. The café will also
be open for lunch and dinner.
For additional press information please contact Maggie Oufiero at
202-686-8505 ext 8075. 4155 Linnean Ave., N.W., Reservations required.
For reservations and information call 202-686-8500; $12 adult, $10 senior,
$5 child.
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