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Spring Greetings from your friends at the Wrightsville Beach Museum!
April showers are upon us and hopefully will bring plenty of May flowers this year. As the Azalea Festival is going on, we wanted to recap some of the items and events that are the latest happenings at the Museum.
The First Annual Oyster Roast, presented by Intracoastal Realty, was a HUGE success! We hosted over 270 people, ate 24 bushels of oysters and raised over $12,000 for the preservation of the Ewing- Bordeaux cottage. Thank you to everyone who helped, we could not have done it without your assistance and dedication! A special thanks to Jim Wallace and Intracoastal Realty!!!
We are currently busy planning our Wright Holman Shrimperoo! This tasty event will be held on June 22nd with Hardee, Hunt and Williams as our title sponsor again this year. We will have more information on this event shortly. We are looking for sponsors and silent auction items!! Suggestions??
Hurricane Waters: Storm Talk with Jay Barnes
June 13th 7:30 PM
Jay Barnes is a Hurricane Historian. He lectures widely on U.S. hurricanes, and will be hosting a talk about Wrightsville Beach and the incredible storm history the Luminous Island has experienced. He is the author of several books and articles on hurricanes, including North Carolina’s Hurricane History, now in its third edition, Florida’s Hurricane History, now in its second edition, and Faces From the Flood: Hurricane Floyd Remembered. Barnes has appeared in various productions for The Weather Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC, The NBC Nightly News, National Public Radio, and others. Barnes lives in Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.
New Book Alert: Shagging in the Carolinas
Shagging in the Carolinas is a history of dance, romance and the New South. The Shag defied social conventions as carefree white teenagers were inspired by the possibilities inherent in improvisational black dance and music. Touted here as first danced by Lewis Phillip Hall and “Julia” at Lumina at the 1927 Feast of Pirates, The Shag has been a part of Wrightsville Beach for nearly a century.
Author ‘Fessa John Hook is a well-known broadcaster who became Billboard magazine’s Program Director of the Year in 1983 andis also credited with having developed the very first full-time Beach Music radio station. Today he heads the Endless Summer Network.
This book goes into detail on how the Shag came to be, giving credit to Wrightsville Beach and other nearby beaches for solidifying the dance into American culture. Currently available in the museum’s gift shop!
Spring Interns: Barrier Islands
The museum has upcoming field trips planned with Trask Middle School. These April student outings are highlighted by the educational focus on barrier islands and the increasing role they play in protecting our state’s coast line. One of our UNCW interns, Rebekah Taylor, will talk with the teenagers about her barrier island thesis and research this semester. This will be an exciting day as we love to have our interns show off what they have learned from their time at the museum!
Lumina Daze: Mark your Calendars
Lumina Daze coming on Sunday, August 25!
Would you like to help? Have something for the silent auction? Want to be a sponsor or know someone who might want to sponsor?
New Membership Pricing:
Effective April 1st, new membership pricing is officially in effect.
$40 Sand Daisy- Individual
$70 Jetty Jumper (1 year)
$130 Jetty Jumper (2 year)
$100 Beach Comber (1 year)
$185 Beach Comber (2 year)
$250 Benefactor
$500 Lifeguard (with engraved plank in boardwalk)
New Level for 2019: Sand Dollar- $35- Senior Individual (1 year)
Upcoming Events: Yes, we are BUSY!!
April 20-21 – Wrightsville Beach SUP Surf Pro-Am to benefit the museum – Custom Hot Wax Surfboard raffle.
April 27th– Members Only: Sneak Peek at Bordeaux Cottage to see behind the scenes as the new building and its exhibits take shape. 4:00 – 6:00 Light refreshments
May 21 – 1st week of Lemonade on the Porch – 14 weeks to follow! Sponsorships still available!
May 27 – Museum open 24 years!
June 2 – Membership Open House – Live music, Food Truck, Games, and an expanded Gift Shop
June 5 – First of weekly Kid’s Club free programs for youngsters. 10 more weeks to follow!
June 13– NC Hurricanes with Jay Barnes, author of NC Hurricanes, Weather Channel consultant and Southport native. PowerPoint presentation and talk. Show-and-Tell time to share your hurricane photos and stories after the talk. 7:30pm
June 17-21 and 24-28 and July 8-12 and 15-19 – Camp Chris Stone. Fun and learning in the marsh
June 22 – Wright Holman Shrimperoo– perennial favorite hosted by Hardee, Hunt and Williams!
June 27 – Illustrated Talk by Elaine Henson on Wrightsville Beach “Between the Wars” with
remarkable photographs from the Barry family 7:30pm
July 13 – Lumina Event- Games, music, swing dancers and book signing with Mary Flinn, author of the new novel Lumina set in 1920s Wrightsville Beach.
August 25 – Lumina Daze fundraiser
October 24-26 – Plein Air Art Days and Wet Paint Sale
October– Pirate Day- Activities for all ages!
Late summer/ Early fall – Waterman Hall of Fame Celebration
November 9th– Friends of WB Reunion
December- 11th Annual Jingle Bell Run
Be in touch any time! We love hearing from you!!
Come by:
Wrightsville Beach Museum of History
PO Box 584/303 West Salisbury Street
Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480
Phone: 910-256-2569
Website: www.wbmuseumofhistory.com
The 1924 Bordeaux Cottage transformation is almost done. Come by and take a look at the progress we are making!
The 1924 Bordeaux Cottage has been moved, the pilings set and the building lowered to its proper height!!!!
Saving an historic building – The 1924 Ewing- Bordeaux Cottage, originally located at 405 N. Lumina Avenue, along with its neighbor, the Williams-Bordeaux, were the oldest fully-intact structures north of Stone Street. They are the last two of six cottages that survived the Great Fire of 1934. Currently the greatest threat to historic cottages is the steady rise in property values and demand for development. Moving the Ewing- Bordeaux Cottage saved a rare example of local Wrightsville Beach architecture of which only a handful remain and transition it into a public building to be enjoyed on a much wider scale.
Growing the museum Not only has moving the Ewing-Bordeaux cottage allowed the Wrightsville Beach Museum to preserve this special building, but it also made it possible for the Museum to expand its programs, exhibits and other services to the community. The cottage is allowing our growing project, the Waterman Hall of Fame, to have a permanent home to celebrate water sports and professions that are so important to our community and celebrate those who make positive contributions to our way of life. This is an exciting time in the life of the museum as this cottage allows us to grow our outdoor teaching spaces and indoor experiential learning resources.
See the video of the move!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=algN6nq9hWk
