OTM’s Grand Opening of Journey Stories at La Posada
Join the Old Trails Museum for the Grand Opening of the Smithsonian’s Journey Stories exhibition at La Posada Hotel on June 22 from 3 to 5 pm. Winslow is the first stop on the Arizona Humanities Council’s statewide tour of this traveling exhibition, which will continue on to five other rural communities before leaving Arizona in April 2014.
The Winslow Harvey Girls will be on hand as greeters, and a performance by the Northland Pioneer College Folklore Dancers will follow a ribbon-cutting for Journey Stories and Journeys to Winslow. The Old Trails Museum developed the local companion exhibit to explore Winslow’s many connections to the historical themes in the Journey Stories exhibition.
Journey Stories examines the roles that migration, travel, and modes of transportation have played in American society. With images, audio clips, music, maps, and artifacts, visitors will experience the joys and hardships of personal journeys taken through four centuries of American history.
The Winslow area has long been the center of a migration and transportation crossroads. Journeys to Winslow explores area trails, roads, railways, highways, and airways that have provided people with opportunities for trade, religious freedom, economic opportunity, and adventure. The city’s rich migration and transportation history connects it with the Southwest and the nation as a whole in diverse and unexpected ways.
Journey Stories Volunteer Hosts will be available to guide visitors through the two exhibits on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm, and on Thursdays from 11 am to 7 pm. The Old Trails Museum is also presenting a speaker series on Thursday evenings at 7 pm in La Posada’s Ballroom, with details to come in the following weeks.
Many community organizations are also hosting programs for Winslow’s tour stop. Developed by the Winslow Chamber of Commerce and Hubbell Trading Post at Ganado, the Southwest Native American Journeys exhibit also makes its debut on June 22. The exhibit features images and text exploring the Navajo “Long Walk,” Native America relationships with trading posts, and Arizona’s most famous trader, Juan Lorenzo Hubbell, among other topics. Along with the exhibit, vintage and modern Native American artwork will be on display Mondays through Fridays from 9 am to 5 pm, and Saturdays from 9 am to 3 pm, at the Winslow Visitors Center through August 10.
Also beginning on June 22 are two programs that run for the duration of the Journeys Stories tour stop: Brigham City Restoration’s Guided Walking Tours of the partially-restored fort, available from 10 am to 4 pm every Saturday; and Homolovi State Park’s Guided Walking Tours of Homolovi II, available at 1:15 pm every Saturday for $3. Visitors can drive directly to Homolovi or take a 1 pm shuttle from the Winslow Visitors Center. The Winslow Public Library will also show Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) at 8 pm on June 22 as part of their ongoing Outdoor Family Film Series.
Watch for upcoming stories about additional Journeys to Winslow events, and go to www.oldtrailsmuseum.org or “like” the Old Trails Museum on Facebook for details on all the local exhibits and programs. Journey Stories has been made possible in Winslow by the Arizona Humanities Council. Journey Stories is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and State Humanities Councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
