Westport Museum invites you to a Jefferson party and launches a new award

1855 Harris-Kearney House Museum in Westport.

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s birth, check out the events at the 1855 Harris-Kearney House Museum. And the Westport Historical Society will launch a new historical preservation award that will be given annually around Jefferson’s birthday.

The birthday events happen on Saturday, April 13, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Museum, 4000 Baltimore Avenue. The overall theme is “Party Like It’s 1810!” Some of the activities include:

An exhibit about Lewis and Clark will be available for viewing.
Traders and trappers as well as other re-enactors of the time period. Will be on hand.
Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants at Monticello (Jefferson’s home in Charlottesville, Va.), will provide a workshop on plants at the museum at 11:00 a.m.
Cornett will also serve as a featured speaker for a “Jefferson tea,” which will be held at 10:00 a.m. More information and reservations for the Jefferson Tea can be made by contacting 816-561-1821 or emailing the society. There is no charge for the Jefferson Tea; however, all good will offerings and donations will go toward the restoration of “Hattie’s Room.”
“Hatie’s Garden,” a new herb garden at the museum, will be dedicated at 12:00 p.m.
Crosby Kemper, Executive Director of the Kansas City Public Library, will present “A Conversation with James Madison, Thomas Jefferson’s Best Friend,” at 1:00 p.m.
At 2:00 p.m. Kemper will serve as a featured speaker, and the Westport Historical Society will honor Kemper during the celebration. In addition, a special announcement is planned for 2:45 p.m., where the first recipient of the CROSBY Award will be announced. The CROSBY Historical Preservation Award, named for Mr. Kemper, will be an annual award given by the Westport Historical Society to a group, person, or persons who demonstrate exceptional work in the area of historic preservation in the Kansas City area.

Assistance for the project comes from the Mid-America Arts Alliance in partnership with the Institute for Museum and Library Services and its partner state arts agencies, which provides the Hands-on Experiential Learning Project program to more than 45 small and midsize organizations throughout its region. The Westport Historical Society is one of the participating organizations, and this is their capstone project.

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