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Updated
August 29, 2003 |
For Immediate Release |
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Gay Day
2003
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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