| 118th Year, 3rd Issue | Thursday, August 31, 2006 | Sparta, North Carolina |
A grand opening celebration for the teapot "Preview Gallery" will be held Saturday, Sept. 2 at 10 a.m.
The grand opening is free and open to the public. The gallery is at 18 S. Main Street in Sparta, between Henry Thorne's Antiques and The Alleghany News.
This event launches the opening of a temporary gallery in a downtown storefront where people can see a preview of the Kamm teapots, said Jonathan Halsey, project manager for the Sparta Teapot Museum. Dignitaries will speak and refreshments will be served.
Halsey said Tuesday that 5th-District U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx and 90th District N.C. House Rep. Jim Harrell have committed to be at the event. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. The gallery will remain open that day until 6 p.m. It will also be open Labor Day Monday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After that, the gallery will be open Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.
"We realize a lot of people are anxious to see pieces from the collection and we realize not everyone got to go to Charlotte two years ago when ‘The Artful Teapot' was exhibited at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design," Halsey said. "We want to give people a taste of what's to come.
"We also get people weekly passing through who call and want to see
the teapot museum, not realizing it's not open yet," he said. Site
preparation is under way for the museum, which will open in 2008.
Halsey said the Preview Gallery will be operated by volunteers.
Margaret Crouse of Sparta is the coordinator. It will have about
2,000 square feet of exhibit space and will feature about 70 teapots.
Curator Mary Douglas has chosen several groups of teapots that tell
stories about the history and culture of teapots. The exhibit is
titled "Traditions and Trends: The Teapot in Art, Craft and Design."
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