“The Stickley Weekend” To Be Held October 7th and 8th
The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Morris Plains, NJ has announced that their annual fall celebratory weekend – now known as The Stickley Weekend — will be held October 7th and 8th.
As Executive Director Vonda Givens explained, “The weekend, which attracts attendees from all over the country, is terrific fun, and it’s also fundamental to the museum’s health, as a substantial portion of our annual operating budget is raised over these two days.
“As significant as this weekend is each year, we’ve always struggled to describe it. It’s been called it a reunion, a party, and a homecoming. None of the descriptors has been quite right. After stumbling over this issue for years, it finally occurred to me that we were overthinking it.
“This part reunion, part party, part homecoming has always had one word at its heart: Stickley. Gustav Stickley’s Arts and Crafts vision and Craftsman Farms, the home he built to embody that vision, is what our two-day extravaganza is all about. With that in mind, we made a simple shift, renaming this event ‘The Stickley Weekend,’ and in so doing, making the weekend’s focus clear. It’s a lot of things, but all of those things point in one direction. The Stickley Weekend is about Stickley and about advancing the museum’s mission to share his legacy through the preservation, protection and interpretation of Craftsman Farms.”
At the heart of The Stickley Weekend is the Saturday evening Craftsman Gala, co-chaired this year by Eliane Talec of Rago Arts and Auction Center and by John P. Walcher of the John Toomey Gallery. The Gala is a formal party with informal camaraderie and a celebratory fundraiser, including both live and silent auctions, at its core.
Before the Craftsman Gala, Saturday morning will begin with the 7th annual Scholars Symposium. Established to encourage rigorous scholarship on topics related to the Arts and Crafts movement, the symposium supports the work of both emerging graduate scholars and distinguished scholars. The 2017 Scholars Symposium’s theme will evolve around the museum’s current exhibition, Original: Gustav Stickley Furnishes His Log House. It will feature graduate student presentations along with the Amy Stahl Memorial Lecture by exhibition co-curator Dr. Jonathan Clancy and a lecture on The Craftsman editor Mary Fanton Roberts by Marilyn Fish, author of the New Craftsman Index.
On Sunday, The Stickley Weekend will come to a close back at the Log House at Craftsman Farms, with an open house spotlighting our ongoing exhibition. Tours will be suspended for the day, allowing visitors the opportunity to explore the Log House interior at their own pace.
“We invite you to participate in any portion of the weekend’s events or all of them,” Givens explained. “Watch our website for news and mark your calendar now for two days of strictly Stickley fun that adds up to years of securing the legacy of this important visionary.”
To get involved, visit http://stickleymuseum.org/support/the-craftsman-gala.html or contact their administrative office at 973.540.0311.
Top: The Log House at Craftsman Farms.
Second: The Saturday evening Craftsman Gala.
Third: Executive Director Vonda Givens, Timothy McGinn, board member Cynthia McGinn (great-granddaughter of Gustav Stickley), and board president Barbara Weiskittel at the Gala.
Lower: Advisory council member Ray Stubblebine, board member Ted Lytwyn, and board member Barbara Fuldner (great-granddaughter of Gustav Stickley) seen enjoying a moment at the Craftsman Gala.