CANCELED
due to weather conditions
Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 – 2 p.m.
Old Courthouse Museum
Sarah Bliss Wright - The Mount Ida Quilt Project
Alabama native Sarah Bliss Wright spent 30 years in performing arts before quilts captured her attention. Though she grew up surrounded by quilts, it was not until 2006 that the idea of turning her talents to textile art was born. A crazy quilt that she made from her late father’s silk neckties ignited a desire to add quilting to her creative pursuits. Serious study of quilt history began after a serendipitous meeting of Franklin, Alabama native Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff, well-known author of numerous quilt books.
Wright holds a B.A. in psychology from Samford University (Birmingham) and studied at the University of Exeter, England, as a Rotary International Fellow. She is curator for “Our Quilted Past,” an exhibit of Alabama feedsack quilts and Bemis Bro. Bag Company, and her research on the subject is published in "Uncoverings 2013." A member of the American Quilt Study Group, Wright lives in Mobile.
Imagine getting a group of your neighbors to agree to make a quilt. In 1851, 12 women of the Mt. Ida community in rural Alabama created a floral album quilt as a wedding gift to a young bride and groom, each signing her square with her name and the name of her plantation home. In 2013, 12 women, none of whom were quilters but who live on or near the same land as the original quiltmakers, re-created the quilt, one-quarter of the original size, as a challenge by the American Quilt Study Group. “The Mt. Ida Quilt Project: One Community, Two Quilts, Three Centuries” weaves together the stories of two quilts and the women who made them, connected by land but separated by three centuries. Each 21st century woman adopted the square of the 19th century woman who lived closest to her present home and, through replicating the old quilt, came to know the original quiltmakers, the history of the community, a greater knowledge of Alabama history, and, in the end, created a sense of community that existed 163 years ago. The Mt. Ida Quilt Project is a history lesson, quilting tutorial, and introduction to valuable research tools easily available to novice researchers.
This entertaining and visually captivating presentation introduces the Mallory and Welch families who moved in 1834 to the wilderness of Alabama recently ceded by the Creek Indians. Their cotton plantations flourished, happy marriages occurred, tragic losses were borne, and, through their own words, we learn of the effects of the Civil War on their lives. The Mt. Ida Quilt Project also takes a humorous look at the challenge of organizing 12 busy 21st-century women with varying needle skills and keeping them on task to accomplish a project that was guaranteed to be fun and have lasting rewards!
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025 – 2 p.m.
Old Courthouse Museum
Delores Hydock - Soldiers in Greasepaint:
USO Camp Show Performers of World War II
Dolores Hydock is an actress and storyteller whose presentations highlight the “story” behind a variety of topics from history, art, and literature. She is a Monroe County Museum favorite, and we're thrilled to have her back! Her work has been featured at conferences, festivals, and special events throughout the United States, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. She has served as the teller-in-residence at Jonesborough's International Storytelling Center, and her 12 CDs of original stories have all received awards from Storytelling World magazine for excellence in storytelling. She has collaborated with the Birmingham Museum of Art to blend stories with art, and her Christmas story special airs annually on NPR affiliate WBHM in Birmingham.
It was bigger than Bob Hope! From Utah Beach to the Philippines, USO Camp Shows during WWII were part of a diverse, hilarious, moving, and inspiring story of voluntarism and service. This program shares stories, pictures, and video excerpts of some of the 7000 famous and not-so-famous USO Camp Show performers who brought music, laughs, and a touch of the familiar to US service personnel far from home during World War II.
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 – 6 p.m.
Old Courthouse Museum
Dr. Allison Upshaw - Black Music Is
Allison Upshaw, Ph.D., has worked as an opera singer, a professional actress, and a poetry performer. She is also a master teaching artist for grades K-12, engaging students and teachers by integrating the arts into the learning process. She is a newly selected fellow in the Intercultural Leadership Institute and is currently enrolled in another terminal degree program.
A native of Forest Home, Alabama (20 miles outside Greenville), Dr. Upshaw grew up in a small community descended from the formerly enslaved peoples of the Lewis plantation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory and a master's degree from LSU, both in voice performance. Her doctorate from the University of Alabama is in interdisciplinary studies and incorporates performance/education/arts-based research methods.
More than you hear on the radio, Black music braids together a history, culture, and entertainment of a people. Dr. Upshaw’s talk lays the historic foundation of American music in the mournful melodies of Negro spirituals, frames African American culture in the Blues, and landscapes the world through the improvisation of jazz. Interactive elements make this presentation engaging to diverse audiences.
Thursday, Feb. 27 2025 through Saturday, March 1, 2025
Old Courthouse Museum
Monroeville Literary Festival
Join us in the courtroom made famous by To Kill a Mockingbird for captivating readings, enlightening discussions, amusing conversations and Monroeville’s famous brand of hospitality. We’re welcoming friends, old and new, to discover new authors, celebrate favorite writers and share great times with others who love Southern literature.
Click here for full schedule and information.
Click here to register on Eventbrite.
