FECM

These Independence residents dressed up for a stylish picnic outing around 1900. Photo courtesy Eastern California Museum.

Annual Museum Barbeque Features Friends, Food, Music and Fun

The Friends of the Eastern California Museum will host its annual deep-pit barbeque and party on Saturday, May 12, starting at 4 p.m., at the museum in Independence. The public is cordially invited to enjoy the afternoon of good food, good music and historic family fun.

The event will feature live music, a deep-pit barbeque beef dinner with all the trimmings, beverages, and Kathy White’s famous home made cookies. With any luck, there will be an ample supply of cookies so cookie fans can buy a dozen (or two) to take home and enjoy. A vegetarian meal option will also be available.

Local musical favorite Sandy and the High Country will be on hand to provide casual county music for the event.

The cost for the feast and fun is $12 for adults and $8 for youngsters and seniors. Besides the deep pit beef entrée, the meal includes coleslaw, garlic bread, homemade hot sauce, beans, and lemonade or water (beer and wine is extra).

The annual barbeque is a fundraiser for the non-profit Friends of the Eastern California Museum, so additional donations are welcome and appreciated. The Friends group supports the Eastern California Museum through generous donations of time, money, ideas, and energy.

The impact the Friends have had on the Museum over the years is quite visible. The Friends have paid for the creation and installation of the Museum’s last three major exhibits, portions of which have now become part of the Museum’s permanent exhibits. After successful runs in the museum’s rotating exhibit space, the Norman Clyde exhibit, the Pioneering Women of Inyo County exhibit and the Edward S. Curtis Photogravures, have become part of the Museum’s permanent exhibits. The current exhibit partially funded by the Friends, Personal Responsibility: The Camp Photographs of Toyo Miyatake, is on display in the recently refurbished rotating exhibit space, an improvement also funded by the Friends.

“The support of the Friends has allowed the Museum to create popular and attractive exhibits, host guest speakers and events, and undertake other projects that enhance all aspects of the Museum’s operation,” said Museum Director Jon Klusmire. “Especially in these lean economic times, the support of the Friends is particularly important, and greatly appreciated.”

In 2012, the Friends will be working on some major projects, including completion of the Jane Bright Memorial Rock Garden, providing some much-needed maintenance and upkeep at the historic Commander’s House in Independence, and working with Museum staff to complete work on several photo digitization and archiving projects.

The Friends annual barbeque is open to the public and will be held on the grounds of the Eastern California Museum, 155 N. Grant St., three blocks west of the historic Inyo County Courthouse in Independence. For more information, call 760-878-0258 or 760-873-8583, or visit www.fecm33.org.

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