Marilyn Horne Museum plans surprises for Museum Store Sunday

The Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center is giving away nearly $1000 in prizes to shoppers on Nov. 25 -- Museum Store Sunday. Prizes will include everything from plane tickets and opera tickets to shopping and restaurant certificates. In addition to the prizes, the first 25 shoppers will receive a 25 percent discount off of their total museum store purchase.

Museum Store Sunday is an international shopping day on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. The event celebrates the uniqueness of museum stores and the roles they play in the cultural life of communities. This year's theme is “25 on the 25th.” Museum stores around the world will be offering discounts and shopper incentives that play off of the theme of 25.

The museum shop at Marilyn Horne Hall has been busy ordering hundreds of new items for the holiday shopping season. New items include the 2018 Signature Bradford Ornament Collection, toys, puzzles, and novelties designed by the French toy company Djeco, an assortment of play swords, crowns and shields created by Danish toy company Liontouch, a full range of dazzling costume jewelry made by 1928, children's books, and more.

The Marilyn Horne Museum Gift shop will be offering a variety of promotions this Museum Store Sunday. The centerpiece is being called “25 Sur-prizes.” There will be 25 “secret” items available for purchase in the store, each with a mystery prize attached. Shoppers will not know if they've won until after they've checked out. Prizes include: two $25 gift cards to Beefeaters Restaurant at the Historic Carnegie Library, a $25 shopping certificate from the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce valid at a number of downtown merchants, two tickets to the Pittsburgh Opera production of La Bohème at the Benedum Center, two tickets to the sold-out production of the Nutcracker at the Bromeley Family Theater at Pitt-Bradford, two round-trip plane tickets from Bradford to Pittsburgh courtesy of Southern Airways Express and the Bradford Regional Airport.

“This is the most exciting day of the year for museum stores around the world,” said Matthew Hileman, museum manager. “We wanted this year to be as fun as possible and offer a really magical shopping experience for our guests.”

Other prizes include gift certificates for classes offered by Pitt-Bradford's Continuing Education, tickets to “Art of Circus” presented by BCPAC, tickets to “Cherish the Ladies” presented by Pitt-Bradford Arts Programming, which include a wine and cheese pairing, and gift cards for Starbucks at the Marilyn Horne Museum Café.

Shoppers could possibly win more than one prize, Hileman added. The 25 prizes will be awarded after checkout. Only Hileman knows which items in the shop will include a prize and the list will not be revealed until after a purchase is made.

Museum Store Sunday was created as an alternative to the hectic mayhem that often accompanies Black Friday. Patrons can visit their favorite museums and shop in a fun and relaxed environment where unusual, quality and educational gifts are sold. The Marilyn Horne Museum joins more than 700 museum stores representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, ten countries and three continents for this year's event. Prizes have been generously donating by participating businesses and organizations.

The museum shop at Marilyn Horne Hall will be open Sunday, November 25, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shoppers are encouraged to arrive early to take part in the fun. More information can be found at www.marilynhorne.org/mss.