For Immediate Release
Contact:
Stark Museum of Art
Sue Harris, Director of Education and Programs
409.883.6661
W.H. Stark House
Patsy L. Herrington, Director
409.883.0871
Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center
Michael Hoke, Executive Director
409.670.9113
Stark Foundation Programs Join Art in the Park Fun
Orange, Texas, October 12, 2007 - Entertaining children's activities and fascinating tours are the focus of the Stark Foundation programs at this year's Art in the Park festival. The annual event, which celebrates art along with food, music, and fun, will be held Saturday, October 27, 2007, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in Stark Park, located in Downtown Orange.
The Stark Museum of Art will help children create individual wood block prints, an activity that coordinates with the Museum's current Gustave Baumann exhibition, Block by Block: Gustave Baumann Wood Blocks and Prints. Children will also receive a prize when they bring their parents to the Museum for an abbreviated tour and turn in the completed activity sheet at the Museum store. Docents will be available to provide tours and assist with the children's activity during the festival. Groups larger than 15 should schedule their tour in advance.
The W.H. Stark House will offer extra tours of the fully restored, 14,000 square foot Stark family home. Docents from the House will also be in Stark Park with paper plates and colorful craft supplies to help children create their own china or Napoleon death masks, two of the many highlights in the W.H. Stark House. The craft activity will be held from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and the last tour of the House will begin at 3 p.m. Tour reservations are requested, but not required. Stairs are an essential part of the tour, and admission is limited to those ages 10 and above.
Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center will also participate in the Art in the Park festivities. Volunteers will be available to answer questions about Shangri La and the highly anticipated spring 2008 grand opening, and an interpretive children's program will focus on the creatures of the swamp.
Stark Park, which is owned by the Stark Foundation, was commissioned by Nelda C. Stark as a central element between the Stark Museum of Art and Lutcher Theater. It was originally planted with pine trees to reflect the lumber company heritage of the Lutcher and Stark families. Today, it is a central location for fun-filled activities in Orange, Texas.
The Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation is a private foundation established in 1961 to improve the quality of life in Southeast Texas by encouraging, promoting, and assisting education, the arts, and health and human services. The Foundation seeks to continue the legacy of its founders through the programs of the Stark Museum of Art, the W.H. Stark House, Lutcher Theater, and Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. It also continues their legacy through grants to educational and qualified scholarship programs as well as organizations seeking to improve local health care and community or social needs.
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