July 8, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact: Amelia Wiggins
Educator, Public Programs, Stark Museum of Art
409.886.ARTS (2787)
Stark Museum of Art Hosts Annie Oakley at Dazzling Family Day
ORANGE, Texas, July 6 – Legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley will make an appearance at the Stark Museum of Art through a portrayal by local actor Krista Courts during the museum’s Dazzling Family Day. The event will take place on Saturday, July 18, between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm at the museum in Orange, Texas. Admission is free.
Dazzling Family Day includes family tours of the special exhibition Pistols: Dazzling Firearms, where children can view the real Annie Oakley’s pistols and learn about the art of engraving. Joining Annie Oakley will be her husband and performing partner Frank Butler, as played by local actor Jeff Courts. The event will also include a scavenger hunt with prizes, stories, art activities and refreshments.
Amelia Wiggins, Educator, Public Programs, invites the public to Dazzling Family Day, saying, “We hope families will visit the museum on July 18 to meet Annie Oakley and Frank Butler, hear their stories and see the historical objects on display.” The Stark Museum of Art welcomes visitors of all ages, but children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
Dazzling Family Day is planned in conjunction with the museum’s special exhibition Pistols: Dazzling Firearms, a display of 50 exceptional American firearms. Pistols: Dazzling Firearms was organized by the Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California, and is on view at the Stark Museum of Art through October 24, 2009.
Actors Krista Courts and Jeff Courts will play Annie Oakley and Frank Butler at Dazzling Family Day in preparation for their roles in the musical “Annie Get Your Gun,” to be presented by Lamar State College-Port Arthur and Port Arthur Little Theater. They will present the play July 23-26, July 30-31 and August 1-2, 2009, at Lamar Theater on the Lamar State College-Port Arthur campus. Reservations for “Annie Get Your Gun” can be made by calling 409-984-6111.
Located at 712 Green Avenue in Orange, Texas, the Stark Museum of Art is open to the public at no charge Tuesday through Saturday. Hours are from 10 am – 5 pm. Group tours are available by appointment. For more information call 409.886.ARTS (2787) or visit www.starkmuseum.org.
Elizabeth and Spencer Johns preview an Annie Oakley book for the
Dazzling Family Day at the Stark Museum of Art.
About the Stark Museum of Art
The Stark Museum of Art focuses on the stunning land, the dramatic people and the diverse wildlife of the American West. Paintings, sculpture and prints interpret the West from nineteenth century frontier artists to the twentieth century artistic colonies in New Mexico. Artists include John James Audubon, Frederic Remington, Charles Marion Russell and Georgia O’Keeffe.
The Museum also features a significant collection of American Indian objects, including baskets, pottery, clothing and weavings. Other permanent collections in the Museum include the complete porcelain American Bird Series by Dorothy Doughty and the only complete series of The United States in Crystal, a collection of crystal urns produced by Steuben Glass to depict the 50 states and the Union.
The Stark Museum of Art is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a non-profit organization whose other programs include the Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, and The W.H. Stark House.
###