Update February 9, 2012: My Horry News  teamed up with Dalton Pictures to produce this video about the celebration.

First Report: On February 4th, Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum is throwing a party starting at 11 a.m. with a whole list of events spotlighting highlights of the the first, and only, art museum in Horry and Georgetown Counties. The Free Family Day is open to everyone and free to attend.

All Day Events

• Birthday hats to decorate and wear with the Waccamaw Arts and Crafts Guild
• Past exhibits matching game
• Sand Mandala with Tibetan Buddhist Monks, The Mystical Art of Tibet
• Seeking Tree
• Literature display with Chapin Memorial Library
• Face painting
• Caricatures with Calvin Blassingame
• Ice Cream tastings with Ben & Jerry
• Scrapbooks chronicling the Art Museum’s history
• Myrtle Beach History videos
• African Market
• Instrument Playground with The Long Bay Symphony
• Tibetan Buddhist Monks Market
• Southern treats on the Tea Porch
• Workshops for Art Dog and Audubon mask decorating, Pete the Cat puppets, Butterfly project and Origami Cranes

Scheduled Events

• 11:45 a.m. – Moving the Art Museum talk with Gaye Fisher
• 12:15 p.m. - Storytelling with Joan Leotta
• 12:30 p.m. – Myrtle Beach Memories talk with Jack Thompson
• 1:00 p.m. – Drumming and Dancing with Egbe Killimanjaro
• 2:30 p.m. – Tibetan Buddhist Monks chanting to close the day

Artist Gaye Fisher, who had the vision early on to save the Springmaid Villa for an art museum, will be on hand to share her “moving the Museum” memories. Renowned photographer and Myrtle Beach icon Jack Thompson, whose work was featured in a 2009 exhibition, will give a talk about Myrtle Beach history and his own place within it. Recalling another memorable event at the Museum in 2007, four Tibetan Buddhist Monks from The Mystical Arts of Tibet, will return to Myrtle Beach to help create a special sand painting for the Art Museum.

Thousands of youngsters have participated in KidsArt workshops over the years, and the day’s events will include projects evoking Museum exhibits most popular with the young: From Goodnight Moon to Art Dog: The World of Clement, Edith and Thacher Hurd; John James Audubon: American Artist and Naturalist; and Pete the Cat: Acrylic Paintings by James Dean. Sue Ellen Wilson, children's librarian at Chapin Memorial Library, will also be attending with a display of children's books.

Popular local caricaturist Calvin Blassingame will be on hand to create kids’ portraits. And to help celebrate the Museum’s 15th birthday, kids (of all ages) will have an opportunity to decorate their own birthday hat or have their faces painted by artist Tina Fagin.

No Museum celebration would be complete without some music and dancing. Gullah Culture Family Day favorite Egbe Kilimanjaro, Georgetown-based African drummers and dancers, will be part of the Celebration along with storyteller Joan Leotta. And for the musically inclined, the Long Bay Symphony will host an Instrument Playground.

While visiting the Museum, guests will have the opportunity to view three ongoing exhibitions: William Jameson: Woodland Textures; From Tree to Treasure: An International Invitational Exhibition of Turned or Sculpted Wood; and Wish You Were Here, a photographic documentary of Myrtle Beach tourism by artists Cynthia Farnell and Dan Powell. Also on display are a selection of works from the Bishop Maps and Prints, part of the Museum’s permanent collection.

For further information, call 843-238-2510, or visit www.MyrtleBeachArtMuseum.org.