Texarkana Entertainment Blog

This Sunday provides a chance to see something new (and old): items locked away in the storage vaults over at the Texarkana Museums System. Their three “Behind the Scenes” tours at the Museum of Regional History and Discovery Place Children’s Museum starts on the hour between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Show up at the MORH (219 N. State Line Ave.) to participate; tickets are $10.

What do  you get? A look at stuff too delicate to display to the public and historic items (such as photos and maps) there’s not enough room to put on view all the time at the three TMS properties now open to the public. The archives and research library are included in the tour. More info: call 903-793-4831.

- Aaron Brand

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If you are looking to learn a bit about downtown history, the Texarkana Museums System created a section at its Website devoted to the Patrick J. Ahern House. The unique 403 Laurel Street home was donated earlier this year to the Texarkana Museums System, which will do a bit of restoration work at the Classical Revival home before it opens for public viewing. (See our earlier story: TMS has another home, thanks to donation.) The Aherns have an interesting history here, and, among other features, some of the woodwork in the home is gorgeous. Check it out here: Texarkana Museums System Ahern House.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Evan Lewis.

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Looks like the weather should be fantastic Friday and Saturday for the 2010 Quadrangle Festival right here in downtown Texarkana (at a new Front Street location on the Arkansas side). Here’s a rundown of what’s happening both days, including the two street dances, the centerpiece events of this year’s festival:

- Street Dance Friday night: The Gourds (8:30 p.m.) and Ray Wylie Hubbard (7 p.m.) – Tickets are $10; purchase at the gate or in advance at the Museum of Regional History.

- Street Dance Saturday night: Robert St. John Band (8 p.m.) and Quadrangle Battle of the Bands (5:30 p.m.) – Tickets are $10; purchase at the gate or in advance at the Museum of Regional History.

- STARZ Youth Talent Show: Saturday, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the main stage on East Front Street (between Walnut and Wood streets). This event, featuring talented local singers and performers, is free to see.

- Quadrangle History Scavenger Hunt: Saturday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., starting at the KTAL tent on East Front Street (between Wood and Olive streets). Entry fee: $35. (Register at TexarkanaMuseums.org or at scavenger hunt starting point.)

- Quadrangle Barbecue Cookoff: Barbecue lunches available starting at noon on Saturday ($10 per plate). Teams competing for a total of $2,000 in cash prizes.

- Discounted admission ($2.50) to the Texarkana Museums System three museums on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Discovery Place Children’s Museum, Ace of Clubs House, and the Museum of Regional History. Farmers market sellers and antique cars.

- STREET DANCE notes: Vendors will be selling beer and other beverages, as well as some food. People may bring their coolers and lawn chairs.

For more information, call the Texarkana Museums System at 903-793-4831.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Eric J. Shelton. The lead singer of the Robert St. John Band, Scott Morton, is photographed at his home in Texarkana, Ark. Morton and his band will headline the Quadrangle’s second-night street dance on Saturday, Oct. 2

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It’s not massive in size, but the new mini-exhibit at Texarkana’s Ace of Clubs House gives some Titanic insight. It’s a collection of memorabilia related to the RMS Titanic and its sinking in 1912. Scheduled to run until mid-May, the exhibit is largely composed of the collection of local Titanic enthusiast Charles Barnette. Fascinating things are included in here, including some props from the James Cameron movie, a piece of coal rescued from the ocean floor (at the Titanic resting site in the Atlantic Ocean), and the autographs of a few survivors. The curiosities offer an interesting history lesson. Here’s our feature from the Sunday Accent page this past weekend: Exhibit holds artifacts linked to Titanic disaster.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photos by Eric J. Shelton:

Among the items on display in the Titanic exhibit is a White Star Line sweater used in the filming of "Titanic."

Charles Barnette holds a model of the Titanic at the Ace of Clubs House in downtown Texarkana.

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The Collom and Read families here in Texarkana helped establish medical care in the city’s infancy. Intertwined through marriage, the two families are now featured in an exhibit at the Museum of Regional History in downtown Texarkana. The exhibit chronicles not just their developments here, but it’s also a fascinating exploration of some of the medical history here in town. Among the items collected here is an amputation set. Macabre but interesting to see. See past Friday’s Accent page in the Gazette for our story on the exhibit, which runs until June 1: Texarkana Pioneers.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Eric J. Shelton:

“Texarkana Pioneers: The Collom and Read Families” exhibit is on display at the Museum of Regional History in downtown Texarkana.

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The Texarkana Museums System is celebrating Black History Month through Feb. 28 with an online exhibit at its Website. The exhibit, titled “Texarkana: People, Places, Progress,” takes a look — through articles and media presentations — at the important contributions made by African-Americans in Texarkana’s history. So far there are segments describing the accomplishments of Lt. Col. Woodrow Crockett, a Tuskegee airman, and Lois Towles, a noted concert pianist who grew up in Texarkana, Texas, and studied under Arthur Rubenstein. Further sections are planned on such people as Scott Joplin. You can see it at Texarkanamuseums.org.

- Aaron Brand

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Ever find art through a microscopic view of the world or music in the blips and bleeps of electronics? Ever wonder how tall you are in nanometers? “Science & Art,” a new exhibit at the Discovery Place Children’s Museum in Texarkana, shows some of the ways the disciplines of science and art converge. Geared toward kids but with installations adults can enjoy, the exhibit showcases the work of five creative people for whom science and art can merge. Scientist and assistant professor of genetics Ahna Skop, for example, has researched the tiny C. elegans worm and photographs of her microscopic research capture some of the creature’s artful design. Tristan Perich composes 1-Bit music from basic electronics machinery. And Robert Lang, a former physicist and engineer, went from the sciences to origami, an art form that utilizes scientific techniques in his approach; that portion of the exhibit is over in the first floor and basement of the Regional Arts Center. It’s a fun, playful, and interactive exhibit to experience if you have an interest in either the arts or the sciences. More info: 903-793-4831.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photos by Tanner Spendley:

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Got my hands on a full lineup for Saturday’s entertainment and music happenings at the Quadrangle Festival in downtown Texarkana. Here’s what’s on tap for the day …

8:00 5K Road Race
9:30 Children’s Pet show
10:00 Colt Baker
11:00  Voodoo Cowboys
12:00   Bluebirds
1:00 – 3:00 Youth Talent show
3:30 Texarkana All Stars
4:00 Michael Rhodes – Jazz Band
5:30 Battle of the Bands
8:30 Jawbone

- Aaron Brand

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While Web surfing and searching today I found the Texarkana Museums System has come of age in the online world and is revamping its Website: Texarkanamuseums.org. It looks good—better organized and actually user-friendly to access info about what’s up at TMS and its three downtown establishments: the Museum of Regional History, Discovery Place Children’s Museum, and Ace of Clubs House. For one thing, there’s a calendar to keep us up to date on exhibits and activities. Vendors should note there’s now a TMS Quadrangle Festival Application online to download for this year’s festival. One interesting section that’s not quite up and running yet is a section devoted to online exhibits and resources. It looks like some of Texarkana’s history will land online through the TMS Website. Subsections appear to explore the people of Texarkana, historic buildings, and even a curator’s page. It should be interesting to see how TMS fills out this area for Texarkana history buffs. Cool stuff to see. 

- Aaron Brand

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The Texarkana Museums System will soon add some space-themed exhibitions to its second-level space at Discovery Place Children’s Museum. One of the exhibits is the Smithsonian’s “Earth from Space” poster show. It features a 20-poster set of satellite images of Earth taken from far away and showing various spots on the planet with some fascinating details—from Kansas farmland to the Great Pyramids. The poster exhibition was sent to more than 700 schools, libraries, and other places for children and the general public to see, including Texarkana. Down below is an example of one of these images—a view of the Lena Delta as the Lena River flows into the Arctic Ocean after traveling through Russian Siberia. The submitted photo from the Smithsonian was taken by the Landsat 7 satellite in July of 2000. 

- Aaron Brand

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