Chair Fair to Celebrate MSV Exhibition Final Weekend

Festivities Include Demonstrations, Chair Raffle, Special Store Sale, and Free Dessert for Dads

Winchester, VA 6/16/10…The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) is celebrating the final weekend of the special exhibition Come in and Have a Seat: Vernacular Chairs of the Shenandoah Valley with a Chair Fair featuring expert chair evaluations and chairmaking demonstrations this Saturday, June 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Throughout this weekend, in addition to evaluations and demonstrations, the Museum will conduct a chair raffle and offer a 20 percent discount on all Museum Store purchases. On Sunday, the Museum Café will celebrate Father’s Day by giving all dads a free brownie with their lunch purchase.

During the Chair Fair, the MSV Guest Curator of Come in and Have a Seat, Jeffrey S. Evans, and Winchester chair expert W. Wayne Anderson will be in the Museum Reception Hall to evaluate chairs owned by Shenandoah Valley residents. While all available time slots for chair evaluations have been filled, the MSV is accepting names for a waiting list. Due to the overwhelming response of residents who want to discuss their Valley chairs, experts Evans and Anderson will return to the MSV in the near future to evaluate the chairs of those who cannot be accommodated on Saturday. Those interested in adding their names to the waiting list should contact the MSV at 540-662-1473, ext. 219, or educates@ShenandoahMuseum.org by Friday, June 18.

Visitors to the Museum this Saturday are invited to watch the evaluations take place. In addition, those at the event will have an opportunity to observe chairmakers Dr. John “Jack” McAllister and Jeffrey Lefkowitz demonstrate their craft. They will present a variety of techniques, including how chairs spindles are split from a log and how chairs are shaped on a shaving horse.

On view at the MSV through this Sunday, Come In and Have a Seat is the first exhibition devoted to the study of chairs that are distinctive to the Shenandoah Valley region. The exhibition presents the three basic Valley vernacular chair designs: ladder-back, Windsor, and fancy chairs. The display includes 43 chairs on loan from nine different private collections, most of which have never before been presented in a public display.

Along with organizing this landmark exhibition, the MSV also published its first exhibition-related catalogue. Authored by Jeff Evans and titled Come in and Have a Seat: Vernacular Chairs of the Shenandoah Valley, the 100-page catalogue contains illustrations and entries for all the chairs in the exhibition and features essays by Associate Professor of English & American Studies at Bridgewater College Scott H. Suter, PhD, and Wayne Anderson. Available in the Museum Store for $24.95, the catalogue will be on sale this weekend for $19.96.

Along with enjoying the Chair Fair and touring the galleries, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase the new exhibition catalogue and participate in a raffle to win the three chairs made by Jack McAllister and Jeff Lefkowitz which have been displayed in the exhibition. Proceeds from the raffle—which will conclude at 4 p.m. on Sunday—will benefit MSV educational programming. Available in the Museum Store, raffle tickets are $5 each or three for $10.

Admission to the Museum is free to MSV Members and children aged 6 and under. Admission for all others is $8 or $6 for seniors and youth.

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, including its Glen Burnie Historic House and Gardens, is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia, and is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information call 888-556-5799, ext. 235 (toll free), or visit www.ShenandoahMuseum.org.  –END–


Contact
Julie B. Armel
540-662-1473, ext. 225
armel@shenandoahmuseum.org