FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (April 20, 2016) - The Museum is thrilled to announce two major gifts to the #SaveTheFrenchFries Campaign, the Museum’s fundraising project for this year’s Give Ozarks on May 3. The Friends of the Springfield Art Museum and Bob & Sally Scheid have both pledged $3,000 toward the Museum’s $17,500 goal.
These funds will provide for the restoration of John Henry’s Sun Target II, better known around Springfield by the moniker “The French Fries,” as well as several works by Ernest Trova on the Museum grounds. Sun Target II was acquired by the Museum in 1980 with assistance from the Missouri Arts Council and the Ola E. McAdoo bequest. It has since become a defining piece of Springfield’s cultural landscape and its local identity.
The Museum has joined with the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri, the Lighthouse Child and Family Development Center, the Discovery Garden Montessori School, and the Ozarks SySTEAMic Coalition (O-STEAM) to host an afternoon of art-making, science activities, face painting, music, animals, snacks, and lemonade on May 3 from 3 to 5 PM at the Sun Target II, located at the corner of National and Bennett. This event is free and fun for all ages.
Museum Director Nick Nelson notes, “The Museum has recently felt the impact of an outpouring of community support. We felt it was important to reach out to other groups participating in Give Ozarks to really embrace the community-building aspects of this particular day.”
Donations to Give Ozarks will be accepted at the event for each of the participating organizations. Online donations to these organizations on May 3 automatically enter them into hourly drawings for prizes totaling $100,000. These prizes were secured from generous sponsors all over southwest Missouri by The Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
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The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, we are dedicated to enhancing the education and documenting the cultural heritage of the people of southwest Missouri through the collection, preservation, and exhibition of art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org Learn more about #SaveTheFrenchFries at www.giveozarks.org/2016/frenchfries
For more information, please contact Joshua Best, Development and Marketing Coordinator, 417-837-5700 ext. 224 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov.
