Mandarin Museum News

December 2025

Embrace the Mandarin Experience

Dear friends,

It seems as though you can message someone on an unlimited number of platforms these days. I recently glanced at the messages we received in 2025 from our customers after they made a purchase in our Museum Shop through our point-of-sale system. The following words appeared again and again: friendly, knowledgeable, interesting, great, thankful, dedicated, enjoyable, a pleasure, wonderful. It was heartwarming to know our customers have the experience we hope they will when they visit the Museum.

However, "customer" is really never a word you'll hear us use when referring to our visitors. Words you WILL hear us use include: friendly, knowledgeable, interesting, great, thankful, dedicated, enjoyable, a pleasure, wonderful. We count ourselves lucky every day at Mandarin Museum that we seem to attract the kindest, most interesting, and wonderful people. It's a gift received over and over, well beyond the holiday season.

If you've yet to be one of the kindest, most interesting, and wonderful people who have visited us, this weekend is the perfect opportunity! Our annual Winter Celebration event on Saturday, December 6th is a day filled with festive cheer and fun for the entire family! The following day, Sunday, December 7th, is our crowd favorite, Music Under the Oaks - an event that brings the community together through song. All event information appears in this newsletter. So, mark your calendar and invite your friends and family to join you - and us!

While you're here, be sure to stop by our Museum Shop to get some of your holiday shopping done - maybe even send us a message when our point-of-sale system asks you to following your purchase.

And as always, I'll see you at the Museum!

Warmest regards,

Brittany Cohill

Executive Director

IT'S FINALLY HERE - that time of year when the community comes together for festive holiday CHEER! Thanks to our presenting sponsors, Colony Bank & TC Federal, our annual Mandarin Winter Celebration is FREE entry for all!

Saturday, December 6

10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Throughout Mandarin Museum & Walter Jones Historical Park

As if you needed convincing to attend, enjoy these scenes from last year's Winter Celebration.

PONY RIDES!

First ride begins at 11:00 am. Have a toddler or timid one? A parent can walk alongside the pony OR even ride in a pull-behind cart with their child. It's the highlight of Winter Celebration!

FREE Photo Opportunities with Santa and Mrs. Claus

While you wait in the Santa line, write a letter to Santa and drop it in our North Pole Direct Delivery Mailbox!

S'mores and other goodies!

Live music on the Farmhouse Front Porch Stage!

Entertainment begins at 11:00 am with the ever adorable Mandarin United Methodist Cherub Choir. Kimberly Beasley and her vocal students will wow the crowd at 11:30. At 1:00 pm, enjoy tunes from our friends with the Ladies Acoustic Jam. Local favorite, UnderDawg, takes the stage from 2:30 to 4:00 pm.

CRAFTS!

Make reindeer food, holiday fans (only in Florida!), and paint miniatures with THE Frog Man.

JFRD is bringing their Fire Safety Simulator!

An interactive and educational activity not to be missed

Museum Exhibits and Tours of Historic Buildings!

Local Nonprofits!

Enjoy information, activities, and give-aways with community groups working to make a difference, including Greenscape, Mandarin Garden Club, All-star Quilters, Mandarin Community Club, UF/IFAS Duval County Master Gardeners, and Golden Tea Cup Society.

First Coast Plein Air Painters

You can purchase their pieces right off the easel!

Meet the Maple Leaf Divers in the Gallery!

Boy Scout Troop 473 will be selling coffee, hot chocolate, and lunch combos near the Farmhouse Front Porch Stage!

An annual service project benefitting Mandarin Museum - be sure to support these hardworking scouts and their efforts! It's 1990s pricing for our Gen X and Millennial crowd (and everyone else)!

New this year at Winter Celebration:

• 50/50 Raffle* with a guaranteed $250 or more in cash for the winner (really great consolation prizes for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th drawings) - Located alongside the Colony Bank & TC Federal Tent
• Cupcake Walk on the Museum front lawn! Just $1 earns you two chances to win a delicious cupcake.

Parking Info for Winter Celebration:

• The main parking lot at Walter Jones Historical Park will be limited to visitors with disabilities.
• All others park at Mandarin Presbyterian Church located right across the street from Walter Jones Historical Park. Parking is FREE.
• Please use the crosswalk that connects Mandarin Presbyterian to Walter Jones Historical Park.
• Volunteers from the Rotary Club of Mandarin will be at the crosswalk ensuring pedestrians can cross safely.

We can't wait to see you at Winter Celebration! Forward this email to friends and family who may want to attend.

Music Under the Oaks

Sunday, December 7

2:00 to 4:00 pm

Museum Front Lawn

Join Mandarin Museum and North Florida Folk Network for a lively acoustic music jam underneath Mandarin's historic oak canopy. Bring your instrument and a song to share as part of this community jam session. Listeners are most welcome to attend! Bring a chair or blanket, set up outside the song circle, and enjoy!

Mandarin Museum and the 1898 Schoolhouse will be open to visitors during the event. Admission is free.

When the Kiln is Opened: The Art of Charlie Moses Brown

On display now through March 21, 2026

Charlie Brown (1908–1997) was known for transforming humble clay into works of enduring interest, with each creation reflecting his deep connection to craft, community, and place. This exhibition honors his artistry and the traditions he helped preserve, featuring a remarkable selection of his pottery alongside photographs, archival materials, and stories from those who knew him.

When the Kiln is Opened: The Art of Charlie Moses Brown features pieces from the Museum's permanent collection and works generously on loan from MOCA Jacksonville, UNF College of Arts & Sciences, Sandy & Tracey Arpen, Kyle & Bruce Musser, Vina Schemer, Amy Schemer, Ken McCauley, and Dr. Bruce and Mrs. Cathy Yergin.

Special thanks to exhibit curators:

Dr. Elizabeth Heuer, Associate Professor of Art History, University of North Florida

Nofa Dixon, Assistant Professor Emerita of Art & Design, University of North Florida

Vina Schemer, Regional Director, American Crafts Council Southeast Region, 1979-2009

New in the Museum Shop! Our 2025 Ornament is now available. This year features a two-ornament set with the likeness of our life-size bronze sculpture, Harriet Beecher Stowe in Mandarin, sculpted by Brenda Mauney Councill. Get yours today while supplies last!

New WORLD FAMOUS Mandarin Frogs (and friends), handcrafted by Don "Frog Man" Bowden, are on the shelf. They make the perfect gift (or just treat yourself)!

Our November lecture featuring Dr. Quint White as he presented "Fifty Years of Change and the St. Johns River" is now available on the Museum's YouTube Channel! Thank you to all who attended! Images from the evening can be found in our online photo gallery of recent events.

Photos and video made possible by Olis Garber Photography.

Thank you to our friends, Tony Milian & Claudia Margolis, at Endless Summer Roofing, Co. for sponsoring our Fall 2025 Lecture Series!

This holiday season, give the gift of arts and culture! Every purchase of an annual membership enables us to fulfill our mission.

Why is a Mandarin Museum membership the perfect gift, even to those who live out of town? Every Mandarin Museum membership at the $100 level and above comes with NARM benefits!

NARM refers to the North American Reciprocal Museum Association - a network of nearly 1,500 museums, botanical gardens, zoos, aquariums, and more across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and The Cayman Islands.

Visitors to NARM institutions receive the same benefits they receive at their home institution. Mandarin Museum members have gotten in FREE at sites across the nation just by showing their Mandarin Museum membership card! This equates to hundreds and hundreds of dollars in savings.

I know what you're thinking, "this NARM network probably doesn't include anywhere we're likely to visit." WRONG! Search their interactive map, and see for yourself. (The image below shows just the 483 places in the "History" category.)

Mandarin Museum will mail gift memberships directly to the recipient OR to you as the gift giver. Just specify your preference in the "Add a note to the seller" section at the final checkout screen of your on-line purchase.

Want a membership for your own household? We don't blame you!

Read 2025 issues of the Mandarin Newsline online now!

This free newspaper allows Mandarin Museum to share history, events, and programs with the public. The newspaper remains free to readers due to the robust local advertising. Please visit, shop, and eat at those businesses who support the community in this way.

Until next time...

...take a moment to slow down and enjoy your surroundings.

Thank you to all our community partners!

Mandarin Museum is supported, in part, through the Cultural Service Grant Program administered by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and funded by the City of Jacksonville.

*50/50 Raffle Disclosure: The 2025 Mandarin Winter Celebration 50/50 Raffle is hosted by and benefits Mandarin Museum & Historical Society, Inc., located at 11964 Mandarin Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32223. Mandarin Museum & Historical Society, Inc. is a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the Fla. Div. of Consumer Affairs, Registration No. CH16204. Funding for the cash prize and consolation prizes was made possible through monetary and in-kind donations from Mandarin Museum & Historical Society's private corporate donors. The official drawing of winning tickets will be held at Mandarin Museum's Winter Celebration event on December 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM (EST) and is open to the public. Winners need not be present to win. Winners not present will be contacted by telephone at the telephone number provided by the entrant. If a winning ticket does not include a phone number for the entrant or the phone number is illegible, the entrant forfeits the prize and another ticket will be drawn. If a winner does not claim their prize in person at Mandarin Museum by Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 4:00 PM, the unclaimed prize will be forfeited by the winner. Raffle tickets are only available at the 2025 Winter Celebration event beginning at 10:00 AM (EST). Must be 18 or older to participate. No purchase is necessary to enter. Raffle tickets will be available for a suggested monetary donation benefitting Mandarin Museum & Historical Society, Inc.

OUR MISSION: Mandarin Museum & Historical Society shares the stories of Mandarin's history, culture, and natural resources by providing engaging programs that educate, entertain, and inspire.

VISIT. JOIN. VOLUNTEER.

Mandarin Museum & Historical Society

904-268-0784

info@mandarinmuseum.org