Annual Art Museum Major Fundraiser Keeps Growing
Annual Art Museum Major Fundraiser Keeps Growing
The Sun News | March 6, 2017 | Pages 3A, 6A
The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Museum of Art continues building on a major fundraiser with its 17th annual Spring Tour of Homes.
This benefit, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, will cover six residences in northern Myrtle Beach city neighborhoods: one each on North Ocean Boulevard, 82nd Avenue North, Beach Drive, and in Grande Dunes, and two in Plantation Point. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 on the day of the tour; make reservations at the museum, 3100 S. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach, or call 843-238-2510.
A buffet luncheon also is available that day for tour patrons, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, 9000 North Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach, for $22 per person, with reservations through the museum.
Patricia Goodwin, the museum’s executive director, covered a lot of ground summarizing the preparation for this tour, even lining up access for visitors to three homes affected by city parking restrictions on Ocean Boulevard. One house, and a set of two others, will each have a designated parking lot nearby, thanks to partnerships with two local businesses. Shuttles will run to and from these three homes.
Q: What has made the Spring Tour of Homes, in its 17th year, the most rock solid in foundation for museum benefits?
A: When the home tour started in 2001, it was the museum’s first major fundraiser, and it was successful. After the first few years, and once the museum settled on its early March date, the event became anticipated by the public. People looked forward to it and planned for it. We actually start to get phone calls about the tour well before Christmas. The event is, for many, a harbinger of spring.
This event “has legs.” It has a good reputation, with appeal to residents and tourists alike.
The Bag Ladies Luncheon, which marks 13 years in November, and the Collectors’ Event, which just celebrated its sixth year in February – with every ticket sold – have joined the Spring Tour of Homes as three of the most popular events in Myrtle Beach.
Q: How daunting a task is choosing just a handful of homes for visits on just one day?
A: There are so many fabulous houses in the Myrtle Beach area. We look for homes – lived in, loved in, family homes, or perhaps a retirement home or second home. Our goal is to showcase style and lifestyle. And we want to find just the right homeowners who want to share their style with lots of new friends. Although just about everyone loves company, not everyone loves several hundred guests in one day.
Q: Is there a theme or trait shared among the six residences in the spotlight this year?
A: The only shared trait this year – and in years past – is that each home is uniquely fabulous.
We always want to feature something for everyone, and that’s what makes the tour so much fun. You’ll certainly find more than one home or decorative element within a home that will catch your eye and that you’ll remember: a chandelier, a window treatment, a kitchen element and maybe even an art collection.
Q: When do you start planning this springtime celebration?
A: The first thing we do, just after heaving a sigh of relief that the tour is over, is to pick a tour chairperson for the next year: a board member, a friend of the art museum, a museum volunteer.
That person then takes on the process to identify the homes for the next tour. Some homeowners say yes right away and others need to think about it for a while. Then, of course, it’s important that spouses are on board.
It’s also important to recognize the role of our home tour volunteers, without whom this event would not be possible. Those lovely, gracious greeters who welcome you into the home and share home highlights are art museum volunteers. Each home requires two shifts of at least six to eight volunteers per shift or more – depending on the size of the home. Volunteer coordination is a major part of the early, mid and end planning.
Q: What other special events already are circled on the museum’s calendar for later this year?
A: Our goal for 2017 – the museum’s 20th anniversary – is to offer exhibitions that salute our region and our museum. This summer look for “Feast Your Eyes: Celebrating the Food of the South,” a delicious exhibition of about 100 works of art depicting Southern food. To deepen the experience, we’ll offer “Food for Thought,” a series of lectures and food events to explore topics, locally and regionally.
“Grand Strand Collects,” our final exhibit of the year, will consist of art borrowed from private collections along the Grand Strand. This very special exhibit will bring to light not only the caliber of art in these collections, but also pay homage to the local art enthusiasts who collect them.
In addition – throughout the year – we’ll spotlight the museum’s permanent collection as well as paintings of our beautiful historic building.
Source of article: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/entertainment/article136578098.html”>MyrtleBeachOnline.com
