Customs House Museum & Cultural Center events in October

CLARKSVILLE, TN – Here are the events upcoming at the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center in October.

Exhibits

Interactions: Paintings by Judy Lavoie, Oct 5 – Jan 2 | Jostens Gallery: A wide variety of themes inspire Judy Lavoie to paint. Interesting textures inspire her, as do delicate colorful flowers and brightly lit landscapes. “By exaggerating colors, or sometimes altering them from reality, I aim to preserve a moment in time, recreating the subject in my own way.”

Still: Ceramics by Anne Beyer, Through Nov 28 | Harvill Gallery: Anne Beyer’s work is inspired by the relationship between the natural world and the human psyche. In this exhibit, she explores the relationship between handcrafted wood-fired ceramic forms and digitally designed 3D-printed objects.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Through Nov 7 | Lobby: Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15 and pays tribute to the history and culture of the Hispanic and Latin American communities. This year’s national theme is “Be Proud of Your Past, Embrace the Future.” This exhibit features a variety of Hispanic and Latin American cultural objects, clothing and traditions.

Familiars: The Art of Beverly Parker, Through Oct 27 | Crouch Gallery: Beverly Parker’s background in darkroom developing and printing provided a bridge to experimenting with other photography processes. Parker taught advanced darkroom and alternative processes at APSU through the Community School of the Arts. She is a co-founder of the Downtown Artists Co-op.

Start Your Engines! A Celebration of Racing in Montgomery County, Through Oct 31 | Bruner, Orgain, Hand & Kimbrough Galleries, Sponsored by Tri-Star Beverage and MPG Transport: The Museum expands its Challenge & Champions exhibit with this multi-gallery exhibition showcasing Montgomery County’s auto racing history and the local legends that formed the sport. Start Your Engines! highlights race cars, art, historical memorabilia and video footage of personal stories from locals who established auto racing in the area.

Events

Artsville Fest, Sep 30 – Oct 2: The Museum is proud to be a hub at the inaugural Artsville Fest put on by ArtLink and LOCAL Clarksville! Stop by the Museum’s Courtyard on Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 to enjoy live music, art, entertainment, live performances, great food and more! Seasons: The Museum Store will be open during the festival. On Saturday, visitors can show their Artsville Passport to receive 25% off Museum admission. No other discounts apply.

First Thursday Art Walk, Oct 7, 5 – 8 pm: The Museum will have free admission during First Thursday Art Walk Clarksville from 5 – 8 pm. Cousins Maine Lobster Food Truck will be set up in the Museum courtyard serving decadent snacks.

Historic Greenwood Cemetery Walking Tour with Artifact Stories, Every Saturday in Oct, 10 am – 12 pm: The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center is once again hosting our popular historic walking tour of Greenwood Cemetery, one of Clarksville’s oldest active cemeteries. Take a spooky stroll through the winding paths of Greenwood to hear tales full of local history and intrigue. New addition: expand your tour with a close-up showing of eerie Museum artifacts. This optional addition will be hosted at the Museum immediately following the cemetery tour. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will be available very soon! Artifact Stories portion is not available on Oct 23.

Fifth Saturday Donation Day, Oct 30, 10 am – 5 pm: Fifth Saturday is Donation Day! Visit the Museum before heading down to Fright on Franklin – costumes are welcome! Any month with five Saturdays, on the fifth Saturday any monetary donation to the Museum is your admission. All donations directly support the Museum’s mission.

Programs

Little Explorers: Dino Delight, Oct 8, 15, 22, 29, drop by between 10:30 am – 12:30 pm | Ages 2 – 5, with adult, Free with membership or paid admission | Hudson Room: Preschoolers pretend to be paleontologists by using trowels and paintbrushes to excavate dinosaur skeletons buried in a sandpit. Toddlers enjoy playing in a sensory bin that contains mini-dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs and more. Walk realistic dinosaur models around on top of “mud” to make trace fossils, then create an imprint of a dinosaur skeleton in “mud” to take home! Examine and compare the models to illustrations in a full-color book and discover lots of cool things about dinosaurs! All parents are expected to participate with and supervise their children. Activities may include items that are a choking hazard.

Discovery Saturday: Halloween Science, Oct 9 & 23, drop by between 1:30 – 3:30 pm | 1st grade and above, with adult, Free with membership or paid admission | Family Art Studio: Get in the Halloween spirit with fun hands-on science! Create a “magic potion” to make a chemical reaction happen. Explore the properties of a non-Newtonian liquid by immersing your hands in thick green “ooze.” Have a pumpkin-themed sensory experience and try your noggin at pumpkin math. All parents are expected to participate with and supervise their children.

Family Art Saturday: Block and Ink Printing, Oct 30, drop by between 10 am – 12 pm & 2 – 4 pm | Ages 5 and above, with adult, Free with membership or paid admission | Family Art Studio: Special guest Hortensia Rodriguez will assist in creating unique illustrations with block printers she has designed in this month’s Family Art Saturday. Children’s books created by Hispanic illustrators will also be on display. Please dress in clothing okay to get splatters on. All parents are expected to participate with and supervise their children.

Museum Discovery Quest, Free with membership or paid admission | Developed for school-age children, Free Take It N’ Make It Activity: Explore Museum exhibits with your family in a creative way with Museum Discovery Quests – entertaining, self-guided “scavenger hunts” that pique kids’ curiosities and captivate their attention. Several different themes are offered, and all of them include a free Take It N’ Make It activity packet for kids to make a fun project at home. Sign up for a Perks Pass to win a free prize from Seasons: The Museum Store after finishing three Quests. Available Quest themes: Start Your Engines!, Tools & Simple Machines, Structures.

Huff & Puff Express Model Trains, Exhibit open daily | Volunteer Train Crew members run trains Sundays, 1 – 4 pm and Wednesdays, 10 am – 12 pm: Enjoy one of the largest model railroad layouts in the region boasting a miniature castle, UFO and scenic landscape. Interact with the miniature world by making automobiles move and helicopters fly. The model train exhibit is open daily and themes change every season.