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Lazy Fun in the Summer Sun
Summer might be winding down, but outdoor fun is just getting warmed up. The Town of Cary’s Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival continues its end-of-August tradition for the 32nd year, taking place Aug. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Cary.
Annually, more than 50,000 visitors attend the event, which features award-winning artisans from around the country along with performers on three entertainment stages, a variety of food and lots of fun for the young ones at Kid’s World. Lazy Daze is ranked as one of the best festivals of its kind in the country.
More than 350 artists are taking part this year, ranging from glass blowers and basket makers to furniture builders, jewelers, metal sculptors and more. Those who like to munch while they wander can enjoy everything from soy-based chicken and barbecue to falafel and gyros to sausage biscuits and fried bologna. Shaved and Italian ices, smoothies and lemonade are some of the refreshments aimed at beating the heat.
And Kid’s World opens up a “make-your-own” creative space where children can design crafts along a “Keep Cool” theme. Options include fans, coffee-filter hats and decorated animals to add to a water scene art wall. Planting activities and more crafts with the Scrap Exchange are planned. The area also features its own kid-friendly entertainers, including magicians, puppets, musicians and clowns. Kid’s World, sponsored by Bright Horizons, is at the corner of Park and Academy streets.
Parking for the event is free at Cary Towne Center with a shuttle running every 15 minutes. There also is parking in the City Hall parking deck. More information is available at www.townofcary.org or 919-469-4061.
— Aleta Payne
Ancient Finds on Display
Fragments of ancient scrolls, including some from books of the Bible, are part of a far-reaching exhibit of rare antiquities on display at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences through December.
“The Dead Sea Scrolls” exhibit includes fragments that have never before been on display, some more than 2,000 years old. They include pieces from the books of Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah and the Apocraphal book of Jubilees, as well as the sectarian Damascus Document and Community Rule. During the exhibit, six different scrolls on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority will be displayed, each for a three-month period.
In addition, more than 100 ancient artifacts from Qumran are also displayed, including pottery, coins, sandals and oil lamps. Qumran was a settlement on the shores of the Dead Sea closest to the caves where the scrolls were discovered.
Duke University’s Special Collections Library is loaning ancient and medieval manuscripts to the exhibition as well. Duke played a crucial role in bringing the scrolls to public attention when William Brownlee, a Duke scholar, was one of two Americans to first see the scrolls and help verify their authenticity 60 years ago. Duke University Chapel was one of the few U.S. locations to host the first scrolls when they were put on exhibit in 1950.
All of the scrolls have been fully interpreted with translations and background information. The exhibit explains their history, discovery and significance it also provides interesting details about the region where they were discovered and life there. Learn how they were reconstructed from more than 100,000 fragments initially discovered by Bedouin sheep herders and then by archaeologists in the mid-1940s to 1950s.
While admission to the museum is free, there is a charge for this exhibit, which includes an audio tour. Advance ticket purchase is encouraged. Visit www.naturalsciences.org/scrolls for more information or call 919-733-7450. The museum is located at 11 W. Jones St., Raleigh.
— Aleta Payne
New Exhibit at Kidzu Encourages Creativity
Works by more than a dozen local artists and craftspeople are incorporated in the first original exhibit at Kidzu Children’s Museum in downtown Chapel Hill. Called “KidZoom: The Power of Creativity,” the exhibit features three main creation zones: the Green Thumb Garden-to-Table Market, the Build-a-Dream Construction Zone and the Kidoodle Moodle Art Studio.
In addition, KidZoom features an updated Tot Spot, BookNook and Care-giver Resource Area. The exhibit is bilingual with text in English and Spanish.
For two years, Kidzu has featured traveling exhibits borrowed from other children’s museums around the country. Funding from private donations and foundation grants made KidZoom possible, including funding of an exhibit manager position. Additional sponsors for the exhibit are welcome.
Executive Director Cathy Maris says the original exhibit marks a turning point in the museum’s development. “Featuring an exhibit inspired by our community’s creativity will allow Kidzu to more fully enact our commitment to serving, celebrating and reflecting our community,” she says. “Ultimately, KidZoom will move us one step closer toward our vision of becoming one of the best community children’s museums in the country.”
Some of the local works on display include a canvas mural by Michael Brown, a textile work by Elaine O’Neil featuring a smiling cow, a Mr. Potato Head-like soft sculpture by Debbie Englund, a giant kaleidoscope by pop-up book artist Pam Peace and colorful welded benches by Dana McMahan.
Exhibit crafts people from Charlotte created a millhouse-style kitchen and garden, a kid-powered Gravitron ball machine with an Archimedes screw/ball launcher, a “noodle magic” interactive sculpture and more.
KidZoom is on display until Kidzu expands to a new site in the next few years. The exhibit is designed to evolve and change over time with the addition of new creative elements from the community.
Kidzu is at 105 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. For more information, call 919-933-1455 or visit www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org.
— Aleta Payne
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