Abbe Museum Gathering Gala set for July 18

Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, Maine – On July 18, 2012, the Abbe Museum’s Board of Trustees and Gala Committee will host the Abbe’s annual Gathering Gala at the Bar Harbor Club from 5pm-11pm.  This Gala is the Abbe’s largest fundraising event of the year and the money raised supports the Abbe’s mission to inspire new learning about the Wabanaki Nations with every visit. It enables the Abbe to continue producing innovative, educational exhibits and programs all year long.  Funding also helps the Abbe reach out to schools across Maine, providing the much- needed resources to fulfill the unfunded state mandate that requires teachers (grades K-12) to incorporate Wabanaki history into their curriculum.

The evening begins at 5:00 with cocktails and silent auction, dinner starts at 7:00pm and there is live music and dancing until 11:00pm.  Silent and live auctions will feature an eclectic mix of arts, crafts and experiences created or donated by local and native artists, individuals and businesses.  Gala art can be previewed in person, at the Abbe Museum downtown in the Davis Gallery or in the lobby at Machias Savings Bank on Cottage Street.  Some of this year’s artists include: Ashley Bryan, Molly Neptune Parker, Sarah Sockbeson, Lisa Hall, Jill Hoy, Fred Tomah, Joe Tracy, Butch Philips, Lenny Novak, Jennifer Judd-Mcgee, Eric Hopkins, Cookie Horner, r.scott baltz, Maggie Kelley, Macy MacKinnon, Marcia MacKinnon, Hannah Casey Whalen, Jeff Dunn and Lucy Tracy. A full listing of 2012 artists and sponsors is available at www.abbemuseum.org where one can preview all of the artwork and experiences.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the Abbe Museum at (207) 288-3519. The absolute deadline for RSVPs is July 13.

About the Abbe Museum:
The mission of the Abbe Museum is to inspire new learning about the Wabanaki Nations with every visit. The Abbe holds the largest and best-documented collection of Wabanaki basketry of any museum in the world and holds a collection of over 50,000 archeological, historic and contemporary objects.  Current Abbe exhibits include 2012 Waponahki Student Art Show,  Indians and Rusticators: Wabanakis and Summer visitors on Mount Desert Island 1840s – 1920s, Transcending Traditions: The Next Generation and Maine Indian Basketry, Layers of Time: Archaeology at the Abbe Museum.

The Abbe Museum in Downtown Bar Harbor and at Sieur De Monts Spring in Acadia National Park are open seven days a week throughout the summer.  Museum hours are from 10:00am - 4:00pm; admission is $6 for adults $2 for children ages 6-16 and free for children ages 5 and under.