The MSU Museum will be honored with a prestigious award this weekend.
The museum’s “The FairTime Project,” which began in 1995, will receive an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History on Friday. The association has presented an Award of Merit since 1945 as the highest recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of local, state and regional history.
“It’s fantastic anytime your organization is recognized,” MSU Museum information officer Lora Helou said. “It’s always great to receive an award like this.”
“The FairTime Project” was highlighted by a series of special exhibitions and educational programs titled “It’s FairTime! ReDISCOVER Our Agricultural Roots.” Three exhibits explored the history of America’s fairs and showed visitors the difference between fairs of the early 1900s and today.
“The exhibit was very popular and successful,” Helou said.
This is the third award the MSU Museum has received from the association. The museum received an the association Award of Merit for the exhibition “Michigan Folk Art: Its Beginnings to 1941” in 1977 and for the “Heritage Gardening” Project in 1983.
The MSU Museum will be honored Friday at the association’s annual meeting in Portland, Ore.
The “The FairTime Project” was also recognized with a special presentation at the Hillsdale County Fair on Sunday.
The Hillsdale County Fair, which participated in the project, drew a fairly large crowd for the presentation.
The project also included traveling exhibitions, the development of a documentary “Blue Ribbon Walkways: 150 Years of the Michigan County Fair,” and the publication of “Agricultural Fairs in America: Tradition, Education, Celebration,” exploring fairs through arts, innovation, education and community development.
“It was very exciting,” said Julie Avery, the assistant curator of history at the MSU Museum and The FairTime Project co-director. “It was a very pleasant surprise that many people would come that far.”
Avery also said 69 people from different fairs all over Michigan were in attendance.
“It was great that people felt good enough about our exhibit to travel that far on a Sunday.”
For more information, call (517) 355-2370.
