South County Museum has officially wrapped its 2023 season! However group tours remain available by appointment (groups must have 12 or more participants.) Email us at info@southcounytmuseum.org or call (401) 786-2442 for more information or to book your tour.
The grounds remain open to all outdoor explorers or anyone looking for a nice picnic spot. There are a variety of trails to walk, maintained by the Friends of Canonchet. Their website features trail maps and information on guided walking tours. There's only a couple of guided walks left this season so sign up while you can.
Last Sunday, Friends of Canonchet hosted a walk led by Craig Hotchkiss, Community Project Coordinator with the RI Tree Council.
Participants enjoyed the lovely weather and examined a variety of trees along the trail.
This Sunday's walk will be led by Tom Hoagland and Alan Woodmansee, Master Gardeners and respectively Friends of Canonchet President and Trail Manager.
Sign up here.
2023 Season Highlights
Another big thank you to everyone who visited the museum or attended one of our events. From the annual 4th of July Chick Hatch to the Folk Art Quilt Show, and especially our first Farm to Table Dinner. We are so grateful to all the attendees for making these events so successful.
It is difficult to narrow the season down to just a few notable highlights when so many exciting activities happened this summer.
The start of our season had us welcoming our new Deputy Director and Curator, Rebecca Kelly.
Rebecca has years of experience as a textile conservator at the Preservation Society of Newport County and later at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is also a lecturer in the Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design at the University of Rhode Island.
Catch her upcoming talk "Newport: Gilded Age Fashion Capital" through the New York Historical Society. The talk will be over zoom and you can register here.
We were also lucky to have Payton Becker, a graduate student in the University of Rhode Island's Textile, Fashion Merchandizing, and Design program, join us as a Summer Research Fellow.
Payton examined our collection of historic wedding dresses, curated an exhibition of selected examples, and gave a fabulous talk on "When Wedding Dresses Went White: Bridal Fashions From the 1850s to 1950s".
Together, Payton and Rebecca led the museum's first series of natural dye workshops. Participants hand-dyed bandanas with their choice of one of nature's natural primary colors. Colors included red from madder, yellow from marigold, or blue from indigo.
After dyeing their bandanas, Participants were shown different embroidery embellishment techniques. The results were stunning! Stay tuned for future workshops in our newly established fiber shed.
Another incredible project undertaken this season occurred in our print shop. Press curator Ed Shunney, and volunteer Dave Marseglia printed reproductions of John Dunlap's broadside of the Declaration of Independence. Ed and Dave painstakingly hand set all the type over a period of six month before printing the first edition. Prints are still available - email info@southcountymuseum.org to reserve yours.
Again, thank you to everyone who supported our museum this season. A special thanks to our volunteer team - we couldn't do it without you!
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