Marilyn Horne Museum gift shop to hold grand opening

The Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center will take part in Museum Store Sunday on Nov. 26, hosting the grand opening of the museum's gift shop that features more than 150 new museum and culture-related products, including jewelry, toys and games, greeting cards, and unusual gift items.

“Museum gift stores are some of the most unique shopping experiences on the planet,” said Matthew Hileman, the museum's manager. “I want our shop to be a local go-to source for unusual and educational gifts for all occasions.”

Museum Store Sunday, which is being celebrated by 550 non-profit museum stores across 50 states and 10 countries, was created to be part of the busiest shopping weekend of the year while encouraging shoppers to support local museum stores.

At the Marilyn Horne Museum, shoppers will find miniature hand-crank music boxes from Germany, pewter jewelry from England, glass art ornaments made in the United States, and an assortment of stone tile Christmas ornaments branded exclusively for Bradford, Pennsylvania.

Other items include desk clocks, pop-up greeting cards, handmade toys, scarves, and lavishly illustrated children's books.

The grand opening will include a grand prize drawing for a trip for two to Pittsburgh to see a Pittsburgh Opera production. Southern Airways Express and the Pittsburgh Opera will provide airfare and opera tickets. Also included in the drawing will be a deluxe handmade Mozart string art doll made exclusively for the museum and provided by Kamibashi.

Profits from the museum's gift shop support education and outreach programs, such as the museum's free concert series, the upcoming Christmas Market, and school visits from around the Northern Pennsylvania and Western New York region.

“There is nothing like this in our community,” Hileman added. “The new shop will be a destination for locals and anyone traveling through our area who is looking for something truly unique. And, shopping at museum stores just makes you feel good because you know you're supporting something worthwhile.”

On Museum Store Sunday the museum's gift shop will be open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Patrons wishing to enter the grand prize drawing must be present to win. Special cookies will be served in the café to mark the event.