"Down Home" Gala Opening

posted 06/17/2010 10:03 AM by Jennafer Pettit
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It was an exciting Sunday evening at the opening gala for “Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina.” The night began with a presentation by NPR’s Susan Stamberg, “Why Museums Matter.” Her talk was followed by a reception and the official ribbon cutting by the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina’s Honorary Chairman, Governor James B. Hunt Jr.. Ms. Stamberg, Foundation Historian Leonard Rogoff, and Foundation President Henry Greene assisted.

Guests then poured into the exhibit experience. Some sat down and joined a Jewish family for their Sabbath dinner, while others browsed the Baltimore Bargain House catalogue and learned about the journey Jewish immigrants made from Peddlers to charitable businessmen and entrepreneurs. Guests also got to glimpse into the famous personality of Harry Golden through various video clips, artifacts, and reproductions of actual Carolina Israelite newspapers. For those new to the Jewish faith, the synagogue model offered descriptions and purposes of the various areas of the synagogue, while a reconstructed Ark from Winston-Salem with a Readers Desk from Wilson demonstrated what the interior of a synagogue might consist of.

For those of you who missed it (or those who attended but would like to reminisce!), browse photos of the opening on our facebook album, Down Home Opening Gala.

The exhibit opening gala was also featured on the front page of The Herald Sun and The News & Observer.

Come see and experience the exhibit for yourself at the North Carolina Museum of History!

Place: North Carolina Museum of History
5 East Edenton Street, Raleigh NC
Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sun 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Dates: Now through March 7th, 2011.

Note the exhibit will be closed from July 11th-August 1st to move to an upstairs gallery.