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Mandarin Museum News
July 2024
Embrace the Mandarin Experience
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Dear Friends,
A favorite quote of mine adorns a wall in Mandarin Museum. Maybe you've noticed it, maybe you will on your next visit. It reads, "the past, the present, and the future are really one: they are today." Authored by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it is a lovely sentiment to sit with and ponder. To me, Stowe is conveying the importance of "today." That whatever action or inaction you choose today can have an immeasurable impact. Whatever action or inaction you choose today cannot be separated from the past that informs it or the future that inherits it.
This year marks Mandarin Museum & Historical Society's 35th anniversary. In 1989, a group of individuals with an eye to the future and a love for the past decided to act. They formed what would become the Mandarin Museum you know and love today. They began collecting, preserving, and sharing the stories of Mandarin's history, culture, and natural resources with the community. Over decades, their decision to act has grown from boxes of documents and objects stored in the nooks and crannies of living rooms and spare bedrooms to a Museum that has become a cornerstone of our neighborhood - a place where quite literally the past, present, and future have converged.
To celebrate that "today" 35 years in the past, and ensure a future of many more "todays," we invite you to join us for our 2nd annual fundraising dinner on September 12th (all details below). It will be a special evening highlighting our organization's impact, the friendships forged, and a community forever changed by that one decision to act.
But until then and as always, I'll see you at the Museum!
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----Brittany Cohill
----Executive Director
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Mandarin Museum will be CLOSED on Thursday, July 4th in observance of the federal holiday. We wish you and your family a wonderful day together! | |
Throughout the entire month of July, visit Museum Guest Services to enter for your chance to win this one-of-a-kind set of Patriotic Mandarin Frogs created by Don "Frogman" Bowden!
It is free to enter! One entry per visitor.
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Memphis Wood Revisited is on display in the Stowe Gallery at Mandarin Museum and is hosted in honor of MOCA Jacksonville's 100 year celebration.
Curated by UNF Associate Professor of Art History, Dr. Elizabeth Heuer, and UNF Assistant Professor Emeritus of Art and Design, Nofa Dixon, the exhibition explores the decades-long career of famed fiber artist and longtime Mandarin resident, Memphis Wood.
Experience the color and shapes that brought Memphis "the keenest joy."
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First Saturday @ the Museum
Saturday, July 6
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
All historic buildings throughout Walter Jones Historical Park will be open to the public. Stroll along the park's paved pathways and stop in to the 1898 St. Joseph's Mission Schoolhouse for African American Children, the 1892 Losco Winery, the 1876 Barn, and the 1875 Webb-Jones Farmhouse.
Located just down the road from Mandarin Museum & Walter Jones Historical Park, the historic Mandarin Store & Post Office will also be open to visitors (12471 Mandarin Road). Admission is free.
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Pictured: The 1875 Webb-Jones Farmhouse before and after restoration. | |
Mandarin Frog Painting
Saturday, July 6
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Museum Front Lawn Limited spots remain!
Pick, paint, and take home your very own Mandarin Frog (or turtle, squirrel, or alligator). Advanced registration is required. To register, please email info@mandarinmuseum.org. The cost is $22 ($26 for an alligator), payable upon arrival.
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Meet the Maple Leaf Divers
Saturday, July 6
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Maple Leaf Shipwreck Gallery
Meet the men who dove the Maple Leaf Shipwreck! In 1864, the Union steamboat Maple Leaf was sunk by a Confederate mine just off Mandarin Point in the St. Johns River.
In the 1980s, Dr. Keith Holland and his team located and excavated the site. Now a designated National Historic Landmark, the nearly 3,000 artifacts his team recovered have been entrusted to the State of Florida for preservation. Mandarin Museum displays many of these artifacts through a long-term partnership with the State Archives.
The Maple Leaf Divers will be in the gallery from 10:00 am to noon, this Saturday, July 6th. This is an informal, conversational-style event. Drop in to hear their story of discovery, recovery, and preservation.
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Third Thursday Lecture
Thursday, August 22
6:30 to 8:00 pm
Mandarin Community Club
12447 Mandarin Rd.
The Fall 2024 Third Thursday Lecture Series begins August 22nd. Marking 160 years since the Maple Leaf's sinking, you will not want to miss this special storytelling event featuring Dr. Keith Holland and the Maple Leaf Divers. Their stories and banter are bound to delight as they share what didn't make it into the exhibit!
*Astute readers will notice the 22nd is the fourth Thursday in August. This is only for the month of August due to special scheduling considerations.
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2024 Fundraising Dinner: Celebrating 30 Years of Mandarin Museum!
Thursday, September 12
6:00 to 9:30 pm
Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro
Mandarin Museum & Historical Society is thrilled to host its 2024 annual fundraising dinner on Thursday, September 12th at Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro. Honoring the Museum’s 35th anniversary, the evening will be a true celebration of our decades-long love for the community and the incredible impact of our mission over time!
Tickets go on sale to our patron-level members Wednesday, July 10th at 10:00 am, in-person and online. (purchase instructions will be sent by email July 9th)
General ticket sales begin Friday, July 12th at 10:00 am, in-person and online.
We anticipate a sold out event.
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Music Under the Oaks
Sunday, October 6
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Museum Front Lawn
Music Under the Oaks, held in partnership with the North Florida Folk Network, returns in October after its summer hiatus.
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New in the Museum Shop! Our Duval County Master Gardeners were working in overdrive during the recent dry spell, making sure the Shade, Butterfly, and Vegetable Gardens in the park remained happy and healthy! They even brought us plant starters, potted using seeds dropped by the gardens' mature plants. They are available in the Museum Shop while supplies last for just a $5 donation per plant. Varieties include Cranberry Hibiscus, Candlestick Cassia, Blue Pea Vine, and more! Care instructions provided.
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Summer is here! And what better way to enjoy it than with a membership to Mandarin Museum? Benefits at the individual, family, and patron levels include free guided walking tours of Walter Jones Historical Park, reciprocal benefits at other museums across the nation, discounts in our Museum Shop, and more!
Every contribution made through the purchase of an annual membership enables us to fulfill our mission!
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Mandarin Newsline
Read 2024 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.
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...choose to act for a better future!
Flashback to a Music Under the Oaks jam 10 YEARS ago.
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More ways to stay up-to-date! | | |
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Thank you to all our community partners!
Mandarin Museum is funded, in part, through the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville.
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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
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