News from the Ney -- Lots of It!

One hundred fifty parents and children dressed as their favorite fairy-tale characters attended the Museum's Fairy-Tale Costume Party the following night featuring Zilker Theatre Productions, classical guitarist Ian Douglas Case, and storyteller Kim Lehman with a special appearance of "King Oberon" to close the evening. The party concluded the Museum's annual Children's Hour at the Ney summer storyhour series . . . 30 teachers attended a special AISD Institute on local history at the Ney June 5. Over 2000 AISD school children tour the Ney each year in the Museum's Elisabet Ney and Three Texas Heroes outreach program . . . Portrait Sessions at the Ney, a collaborative project with Austin portraitists, continued the first Sundays in June and July with visitors commissioning original portrait sketches on-site by professional artists Marla Camp, David Ketchum and Mike Krone. Next Session will be on Sunday, October 6.

The Museum has taken part in 45 collaborative projects with area organizations to date in 2001-02 . . . The Ney's exhibit in Austin's Museums - A Summer Experience! continues at Austin Bergstrom Airport until August 12. Shakespeare, the Globe

and the World, a panel display on loan from the Texas Council for the Humanities, can be seen at the Ney until August 11. Another TCH exhibit, Drummers of Change: Modern Art and Public Responses, opens October 5 . . . Installation of the Museum's new fire detection and security system went smoothly in July. The Museum wishes to thank Hyde Park neighbor Ann Graham again for her advocacy in raising the project's funding through the City of Austin CIP bond process and for her project planning assistance. The Museum is also grateful to Peter Maxson of Hyde Park as well as representatives of the Austin Fire Department, University of Texas Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center and Texas Historical Commission for their generous assistance on the project. Feller Builders was the project contractor. ACR Engineering and Emily Little Architects were project consultants . . . Travelers' comments left in the Ney's guest book in June and July include "What a find! Austin . . .What a delight! Austin . . . Had a wonderful time. Thank you! Austin . . . Fascinating museum! Great historical experience, Austin . . .Very nice, Ft. Worth . . . Just lovely, Houston . . .What a wonderful place, Temple . . .Wonderful to see again, Bills . . .Third visit, San Antonio . . . Marvelous piece of work, Waltham, MA . . . Delightful, N. Andover, MA . . . Thank you! Providence, RI . . .Truly inspiring, College Park, MD . . . Great!! Lake Oswego, OR . . . Interesting! Fairmont, MN . . .Very unusual and enlightening, Albuquerque, NM . . . My son told me all about it, Eagle Rock, CA . . . It's still amazing! Santa Barbara, CA . . . Excellent! Munster, Germany. . .Thanks! Saudi Arabia . . . Super! Dublin . . . Most interesting, Australia . . . Precioso lugar y hermosa obra, Mexico . . . Most interesting! Norway . . . ." Austin Museum Day is scheduled for Sunday, October 13. 26 Austin museums will be open free of charge with exciting, special Austin Museum Day programs including the Ney's Elisabet Ney Clay Place on the Museum's grounds. Visit www.austinmuseums.org for a current listing of activities! --Mary Collins Blackmon, Curator

Please Clean Up After Your Dogs! These signs have made a difference in our neighborhood. A new run of signs has been produced and are now available for a strategic location in your yard or garden. In an effort to cover the actual cost of producing the signs, HPNA will now charge Hyde Park residents $5 and non-residents $8 per sign. Each sign comes with a metal stand. For a sign, or more information, contact Gary Penn at 452-3103 or Ann Graham at 458-8096. Thanks!

Pecan Press -- August, 2002 -- Page 13