PIGGOTT – “Gems in Nature” is the theme for the May 10 grand opening of the Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center. The opening will feature Luncheon on the Lawn at Arkansas State University’s Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, located adjacent to the new museum.

Karl and Matilda Pfeiffer, c. 1930s

The event is in conjunction with the third annual celebration of the May 10, 1927, Paris wedding of Ernest Hemingway and Pauline Pfeiffer. Karl and Matilda Pfeiffer were the brother and sister-in-law of Pauline Pfeiffer Hemingway and served as hosts to the Hemingways during visits to Piggott in the 1930s.

In addition to the noon luncheon at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, celebration events include an opening reception for the Second Annual Juried Student Art Exhibit, Hemingway Barn Studio, and Mother’s Day Open House, Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center. The Art Exhibit, “Gems in Nature,” will include student art, grades 7-12, from schools within a 30-mile radius of Piggott and will be on exhibit April 29 – May 20 in the Hemingway Barn Studio. The Delta String Quartet will perform at the opening reception, April 29, 5-7 p.m., as part of the Discover the Delta chamber series. Musicians are members of the Delta Symphony Orchestra and the ASU Orchestra.

Rebecca Markowski is instructor of violin at ASU and director of Jonesboro Suzuki Institute. Marcia Burns is “English as a Second Language” instructor for the Jonesboro Public Schools. Elaine Bartee is elementary music specialist at the Sixth Grade Academic Center in Jonesboro. Paul Markowski is a composition major at ASU. The performance is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center will host a Mother’s Day Open House with free tours, Sunday, May 9, 12:30-4:30 p.m. The Matilda Pfeiffer Collections showcase a spectacular array of minerals and geodes, a Native American artifact collection and an extensive personal library. The Center will feature the surrounding 11 acres, preserved as a nature sanctuary, in educational and cultural programs for the public. Maps for self-guided tours will be available. Free tours of the Center will continue Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

The annual Luncheon on the Lawn at noon May 10, will feature Dr. Les Wyatt, ASU President, and Mr. Don Roeder, board chairman of the Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center. Ribbon cutting for the Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum grand opening is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., followed by tours of the new Center, the art exhibit in the Hemingway Barn Studio, and the Pfeiffer-Janes House, and Andee Book, formerly of Piggott, will present 1930s keyboard music on the lawn.

Tickets for the luncheon are $20 ($15 for Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center Members) and are available by calling 870-598-3487. Reservations should be made by May 3, 2004. There is no alternate rain site; the luncheon will be held under a lawn tent.

Delta String Quartet: Elaine Bartee (cello), Paul Markowski (viola),
Marcia Burns (violin), Rebecca Markowski (violin).

Contact:
Diana Sanders, Assistant Director
Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, Piggott, Ark.
Email: drsanders@centurytel.net
Phone: 870-598-3487