Clients in the News – June 2013
There’s a lot to cover this month, with Avalon’s clients so busy creating all kinds of exciting spring and summer events and projects.
- Exciting news for the National Museum of African American History and Culture—Oprah Winfrey is donating $12-million to newest the Smithsonian museum! Ground was broken in February 2012 at the Museum’s five-acre site next to the Washington Monument, with the Museum scheduled to open in 2015. Its 350-seat theater will bear Ms. Winfrey’s name. For more on the donation, and to see an architectural rendering of the future Museum, read the article in The Washington Post.
- June 1 was a great day for the Chesapeake Bay, marking the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s 25th Clean the Bay Day. Just look at what 6,000 volunteers accomplished in only three hours: They removed 135,000 pounds of harmful debris from more than 200 sites along more than 500 miles of streams and shoreline! Read more about this tremendous accomplishment at CBF’s website.
- CBF held its 8th-annual Bands in the Sands fundraiser on June 15 at CBF’s Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis. People came by car or by boat to CBF’s signature event—ticket revenue supporting CBF’s efforts to defend and protect the Bay with its educational programs, on-the-ground restoration activities, and advocacy initiatives.
- In early June, the American Horticultural Society presented its 2013 Great American Gardeners Awards to individuals, organizations, and companies that represent the best in American gardening and horticulture. Visit AHS’s website to learn more about the work this wonderful nonprofit does, and how you can get involved.
- The National Museum of Women in the Arts recently announced two exciting new exhibitions you won’t want to miss. Both are open now and run through November 10, 2013, they are: American People, Black Light: Faith Ringgold’s Paintings of the 1960s, featuring Ringgold’s bold images in response to the Civil Rights and feminist movements; and Awake in the Dream World: The Art of Audrey Niffenegger, described on NMWA’s website as “A fantastic, strange, and mysterious world—real and imagined…book art, works on paper, and paintings reflect [Niffenegger’s] captivating narrative talent and her explorations of life, mortality, and magic.”
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express recently announced the winners of the Partners in Preservation (PIP) prizes—$1 million in grants to restore 13 Washington, DC Metro Area historic places. Although it didn’t win a PIP, National Museum of Women in the Arts was awarded $5,000 for participating. For a full list of PIP winners and more, visit NTHP’s website.
- NTHP is also in the news as board member and seven-time Grammy-winner Gloria Estefan takes a prominent role in the ongoing advocacy campaign to restore the iconic Miami Marine Stadium as a centerpiece of cultural life in Miami. A Trustee since 2012, Estefan will serve as the voice of efforts to preserve the Stadium at a time when the Miami City Commission is weighing approval of a new site plan for the stadium.
- For the first time ever, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is soliciting nominations from the public for the Kennedy Center Honors—honorees will be announced after Labor Day. Responding to a call to ensure more diversity among honorees, The Kennedy Center is excited to have the public’s help in selecting who will receive this major cultural prize for excellence in dance, music, theater, movies or television. For more on the Kennedy Center Honors, and how to nominate an artist, go to KC’s website.
- A year after his death, the Galapagos Conservancy celebrates the life of Lonesome George—thought to be the last remaining pure Pinta Island Giant Tortoise—with some good news. Some hybrid Giant Tortoises have been found on Isabela Island in the Galapagos archipelago! Read more about this fascinating genetics story at the Galapagos Conservancy’s website.