The grand opening of the new military exhibit titled "Warriors of Carteret County," is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, at The History Place in downtown Morehead City.
Reservations are required for this special event and can be made by calling 247-7533 ext. 106. Tickets are $25 per person.
The new "Warriors" exhibit features history and artifacts that surround the county's service men and women from the past century.
Beginning with World War I and progressing through to the present day, the exhibit's 300 square feet is comprised of artifacts, uniforms, images, color and light according to Cindi Hamilton, executive director of the History Place.
"This is a tremendous project and something bigger than we have every tried before," she said.
There are hands-on displays, period artwork, under-exhibit tunnels for kids, video interviews of veterans, a dress up "Combat Theatre," and full-immersion dioramas with personal stories, artifacts and records donated by the county's military personnel, both past and present, she explained.
"The exhibit is absolutely amazing and something to behold. None of this would be possible without our volunteer, Steve Anderson, who is an absolutely phenomenal exhibit builder. And, he has donated hundreds of hours creating and building the exhibit" Ms. Hamilton said.
Mr. Anderson, an exhibit designer and fabricator, has spent most of the past year working through thousands of decisions necessary to make the exhibit come alive.
"This exhibition will touch audiences in many different ways, and at all ages and levels," he said. "It will be a living memorial because once the exhibit opens, local residents will see a name which is missing and they will want to add to it, an aspect which we anticipate and hope will happen often," Mr. Anderson. "Much of the casework used in 'Warriors' was repurposed old cases being discarded by the Maritime Museum in Beaufort. We just lucked out time wise because they had to make room for their 'Queen Ann's Revenge' exhibit and offered them to us when they heard we needed the materials. Their donation of cases and wood has been a tremendous help to us," Mr. Anderson said.
Sara Barbee, museum curator, has been working through a backlog of more than 40 years of donated military uniforms and artifacts, some of which have never before been displayed because of their fragile nature.
"Now we can exhibit these because they will be secured in casework that ensures their safety and availability for generations to come," she said.
The grand opening of the exhibit will be a catered reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres, wine and live music and a USO themed party.
Taylor McCune
If you have a Facebook account and any friends from Beaufort, you've probably seen a link on your newsfeed about "voting for Beaufort" in the America's Coolest Small Towns contest. The link has been spreading like wildfire.
The Carteret County News-Times has done a couple stories on the contest (Jan. 11 and Jan. 25 editions) for the Facebookless.
So now I'm going to put my 2 cents in: go vote for Beaufort!
The contest, sponsored by www.budgettravel.com, will give one of the 10 small towns in the running some much-needed attention among people booking vacations. Urging vacationers to check out Beaufort could be such an economic boost for the people living and working in Beaufort and all of Carteret!
But I've seen some people argue against supporting Beaufort. They say they don't want extra tourists coming here.
These people are locals, and, quizzically, I've seen several comments against the contest coming from people who work in the tourist industry -- people who depend on seasonal visitors for continued employment.
Come on, guys, none of us love the extra traffic on the roads in summer, but without visitors, this county's economy would all but die out. Consider that. And go vote, once a day until Jan. 31, for Beaufort: www.budgettravel.com.
