Here’s a List of Exhibits and Events at the Clarke Museum in August

This is a press release from the Clarke Museum:

NEW HOURS: Starting July 12, we are open 7 days a week from 10 am to 5 pm, and until 9 on the first Saturday of the month for Arts Alive. Swing by and see what’s new, or check us out online! We will also be at the Friday Night Market each Friday starting on August 6. 

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Exhibits and Displays

COMING SOON: Victorian/Edwardian Era Lawn Dresses

Flowy and loose are not words that are usually used to describe Victorian and Edwardian era clothing- however, a specific type of clothing developed in the period called the lawn dress was just that. Learn more about how these long dresses kept the wearer cool and comfortable in the warmth of summer in this exhibit, which opens during Arts Alive on August 7. Museum Volunteer and exhibit curator Emily Price will be on site to answer questions at Arts Alive.

COMING SOON: Hover Case Re-install

The Hover collection is a core collection at the Museum featuring a variety of baskets from around Northwestern California. Items from the Hover Collection are rotated on and off display once a year to give the baskets and items time to rest from light exposure. The collection was begun by a Karuk weaver frequently referred to as Emma Pearch, and pieces were added to the collection by at least 2 subsequent generations of her family. It was donated to the Museum to be used for public education.

This reinstall, coordinated by Intern Sjell (pronounced “Shell”), explores how contemporary forces have changed and been incorporated into traditional weaving styles and formats using items in the Hover Collection. A full catalog of the Hover collection  (titled “The Hover Collection of Karuk Baskets”) is available for purchase at the Museum.

Pine Nuts 

Pine nuts are a vital food source for local tribal communities, and also frequently appear on local regalia including dresses and necklaces. Learn more about this essential seed and see examples of its use in regalia in this new exhibit.

Tools of the Trade

We’re celebrating the addition of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial and the renovation of Clarke Plaza with an exhibit exploring the multiple histories of fire fighting in Humboldt County through the tools of the trade.

 Did you know- the earliest fire fighting uniforms were wool, which provided a level of fire resistant protection for the wearer? Or that the first fire hose was made of leather? You’ll get to see examples of these (and much more) at this year’s summertime exhibit.

Thanks to a partnership with Humboldt Bay Fire’s retired historian Kevin Voorhees, we’ll be exhibiting remarkable examples of how firefighting uniforms, safety equipment, preventative measures, and firefighting tools evolved over time into the fire departments we know today. We’re planning an exciting opening evening for this exhibit on June 5th so be sure you are in the loop on our social media or email newsletter.

When you’re done checking out the exhibit, be sure to go across the street and see the outstanding new Fallen Firefighters Memorial in the newly renovated Clarke Plaza.

Upcoming Events:

Here’s what’s cooking behind the scenes at the Clarke. Be among the first to know when tickets go on sale by joining our newsletter or following us on social media. Tickets will likely sell out for ticketed events very quickly once they go up for sale.

FRIDAY NIGHT MARKET IS BACK- NEW LOCATION-NEW ACTIVITIES- NEW FOOD

Beginning August 6 (and Fridays following into October) 5:30-8:30 pm in Madaket Plaza/foot of C Street/The Waterfront

Come say hi to Clarke staff and our friends at Timber Heritage Association at Madaket Plaza each Friday this summer during the Friday Night Market. The Clarke will be tabling at the Market and selling delicious cinnamon rolls from Fat Cat Bakery (located at 415 7th Street in Eureka). We will be in a prime location- just next to the 1st Street train tracks where the Timber Heritage Association will be running their new Trolley Car. Tickets to ride the trolley are $5 cash per person. (Please note: federal guidelines require masks be worn on the trolley car. Timber Heritage Volunteers will have masks available for those who need them.)

Support local history! Get a snack and ride the rails at Friday Night Market this year!

Arts Alive: Grand Opening for The Visitor Center, now managed by the City of Eureka

August 7, 6-9 pm

Join the Clarke in welcoming the City of Eureka who has taken over managing the Visitor Center in the Museum. Snacks, and drinks will be available for purchase. There will also be live music in the Museum!

“The Sun Set Twice on the People That Day” Brian Tripp and Alme Allen Mural to be Restored and Re-Installed this Summer during the Eureka Street Art Festival August 7-14

After hanging on the side of the Eureka Theater since it was created in 2000, “The Sun Set Twice on the People That Day” will be restored and rehung on the side of the Museum’s Nealis Hall during this year’s Street Art Festival. The title of the piece is a line from a Brian Tripp poem, which, along with the mural, remembers the 1860 Tuluwat Island Massacre. This Mural was the first Native-made mural to hang in Eureka when it went up in the early 2000s .It will be rejoining the local mural scene this summer, which now features at least 4 other Native made murals and many other Native made art pieces including otters, waterfront benches, and electrical boxes.

The mural restoration is being led by Alme Allen and a team of Native artists including Julian Lang, Lynn Risling, Ahtyirahm Allen, Karamachay Tripp, and Eli Hensher-Aubrey. Come by during the week to see the restoration in progress. Thank you to Cornerstone Construction for your work on building the scaffolding to hang the mural, and thank you to Alme Allen for all your work on this project.

Clarke Bookworms: If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth 

August 14 at 3 pm

Lewis “Shoe” Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he’s not used to is white people being nice to him – people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family’s poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan’s side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis’s home, will he still be his friend?

Acclaimed adult author Eric Gansworth makes his YA debut with this wry and powerful novel about friendship, memory, and the joy of rock ‘n’ roll.

Email Emily at [email protected] to get on the email list for updates regarding the book club.

Eureka Chinatown Project Walking Tour: August 21, 4-5:30 pm 

The Clarke Museum has partnered with the Humboldt Asian & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity (HAPI) and a variety of community members to expand the public’s knowledge of the role that Asian communities have played in Humboldt County through the past and into the present and future. The tour date is  August 21 from 4-5:30 pm. Meet at the Clarke Historical Museum (bathrooms available). The tour will be a pleasant walk about 0.8 miles long on flat ground. All stops will be along the city streets and no seating is available. Please wear layers because it may be cold and windy. The maximum group size of 20 people per tour. Tickets are first come first served and must be pre-ordered. These tours sell out quickly so get your tickets today! Tickets are $10-$20 sliding scale, with proceeds benefiting both the Clarke and the Eureka Chinatown Project. Purchase tickets here: http://www.clarkemuseum.org/chinatown-walking-tours.html

Tours are usually once per month and more dates will be announced.

Next Tour (and probably our last one for the season) will be September 25 from 4-5:30 pm. Tickets are available at the link above. 

Join our newsletter for updates.

Down the Road

Mark your calendars for Clarke events coming up later this year!

Humboldt County Historical Geography Speaker Series #3

Jerry Rohde Presents: Let’s Look at Lentell (Again)

September 11, 1 pm at the Clarke Museum

Join local historian Jerry Rohde for another look at the Clarke Museum’s wonderful wall map of Humboldt County, designed by local surveyor Jesse Lentell for exhibition at San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. The 14-foot-tall papier mache map has recently been refurbished by restoration expert Lisa Jarrow and looks the best it has in decades.

Rohde will use Lentell’s map to illustrate a presentation about early day transportation in Humboldt County. He will show the routes of trails, roads, and highways, along with the locations of bridges and ferries, sharing stories both bold and humorous about the construction and use of such salient county features.

You’ll learn about the 11-mile county road from Pratt Mountain to Garberville that required motorists to open (and close) 11 ranch gates, trusting, while doing so, that their cars would not roll down the steep grade when left unattended.

You’ll see how pack train trails to Trinity County were impeded by the vast bulk of Showers Rock, which sat astride the ridgeline the trails attempted to traverse.

You’ll grasp the power of the great 1861-1862 flood that washed out the new bridge at Martin’s Ferry as the Klamath River rose nearly a hundred feet from its bed.

All this and more awaits you as we learn, with the help of Lentell’s mammoth map, about the power of topography to influence history. You’ll discover that not only does nature bat last, it has also designed the playing field.

Format is TBA depending on local COVID stats. We anticipate that tickets will be up for sale here near the end of August: http://www.clarkemuseum.org/events.html Join our newsletter to be notified when tickets are available!

History and Tea Program #4

After another year to remember (luckily for reasons better than 2020), the Clarke is wrapping up it’s 2021 History and Tea Program with a fun cocktail mixer featuring tea as a main ingredient in specialty cocktails. Details are being worked on and, like our last three tea events, we expect this one to sell out quickly. Join our newsletter list for updates on details and to be notified when tickets are available.

Want to sponsor the event? We are looking for business and individual sponsors for the event and your name/business logo will appear on advertising and other promotional materials for the event. Email [email protected] for more information.