Catalina Island Museum Welcomes a Record-Setting Crowd for National Museum Day

2016-09-30
Catalina Island Museum

Nearly 1,200 people celebrated National Museum Day at the Catalina Island Museum this past Saturday. In conjunction with Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live initiative, visitors of all ages enjoyed free admission to the museum’s galleries, digital theater and plazas throughout the day.

“Saturday’s celebration was an extraordinary success,” said Julie Perlin Lee, Executive Director of the Catalina Island Museum. “National Museum Day is a great way to introduce people of all ages to Catalina Island history, art and culture. We welcomed visitors from across the country, many of whom had never stepped foot in a museum before.”

Throughout the day, a record number of guests explored the museum galleries, experienced the digital theater, listened to live music in the open-air plazas and shopped for exclusive Catalina Island merchandise in the Museum Store. Families also enjoyed the museum’s treasure map that leads children through the galleries, answering questions found in the exhibitions, eventually earning a prize. Catalina Island Museum Board Members and staff were on site to answer questions and interact with guests.

In addition to the exhibitions dedicated to Catalina Island history, museum guests were able to view the photography exhibition, Bettie Page Uncovered: The Unknown Photographs of Bunny Yeager, and To the Wind that Will Blow Tomorrow, an exhibition of plein air paintings that provides a glimpse into life in Avalon. Both special exhibitions are set to close in the next few weeks.

The spirit of the day was enriched with a Community “Meet and Greet,” which occurred from 5:00 -7:00 pm on the museum’s second level. The museum’s new Executive Director Julie Perlin Lee and other key new faces in Avalon from the City of Avalon, Catalina Island Medical Center, Catalina Island Conservancy, and the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce participated in the event.

Mark your calendars…Next year’s National Museum Day celebration will take place on Saturday, September 30.

The Catalina Island Museum offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary and international film. Open seven days a week from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, the new Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Avenue. For more information, the museum may be reached by phone at 310-510-2414 or at its website.