LAST CHANCE TO SEE SMITHSONIAN EXHIBIT IN BRENHAM, PLUS TEXAS FILM ROUND-UP THIS WEEKEND

  

This is the final weekend to check out a national traveling exhibit in Brenham and is also an opportunity to get old films or videotapes digitized.

The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street exhibit is open in Morriss Hall at The Barnhill Center through Sunday.  The exhibit, titled “Crossroads: Change in Rural America”, focuses on how rural communities have evolved since the 1900s.

City of Brenham Tourism and Marketing Director Jennifer Eckermann says it has been a “truly amazing experience” to host the program and give local residents the chance to learn more and contribute their own thoughts and stories about living in rural America.

Another exhibit at The Barnhill Center, “A Century of Simon”, also closes on Sunday.  It showcases the history of the Simon Theatre, going back to its vaudeville days and continuing to its modern-day revival.

Two other local exhibits are permanent additions in Belle’s Alley in downtown Brenham and at Jerry Wilson Park.  One tells the story of the numerous Freedom Colonies established in Washington County after the Civil War, while the other concentrates on the Camptown community, the earliest Freedom Colony in the county.  In addition, soundwalk experiences have been developed for locations in Burton, Chappell Hill, Independence and Washington-on-the-Brazos. 

Eckermann thanks all of the organizations and individuals who contributed to making the Smithsonian exhibition in Brenham possible, saying this partnership and collaboration will open up doors in the future with its long-term impact.

More details on each of the exhibits can be found at https://visitbrenhamtexas.com/smithsonian.

Meanwhile, the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and the Texas Film Commission will be in Brenham today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) to provide free digitization for Texas-related films and videotapes.  Old films and tapes can be dropped off at The Barnhill Center from 6 to 8 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow. 

Tonight at 7 p.m., the public is invited to a special screening of “Starring Brenham” at The Barnhill Center, featuring archival footage of the area and highlighting historical events and businesses. 

Films and videotapes submitted to the Round-Up will be digitized at the Texas Archive of the Moving Image’s office in Austin and returned by mail to the owners, along with a digital copy.  To qualify for the free digitization, the films and videotapes must be Texas-related, and participants must be willing to donate a digital copy of their materials to the program.

A selection of materials from the Round-Up will be incorporated into https://texasarchive.org, a crowd-sourced library of Texas-related moving images.