Black Meetings and Tourism

May/June 2012

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BY PATRICIA ANN JORDAN POETRY ALIVE AND FIJI MUSEUM KEEPING HISTORY ALIVE HILL-STEAD MUSEUM KEEPING Hello Readers. Spring is in the air. It feels good as I breathe it in. As usual, some unique happenings are going in the MuseumWorld. HILL-STEAD MUSEUM Hill-Stead Museum, in Farmington, Connecticut will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival with a special opening weekend June 1,whichwill include poet- ry readings, livemusic,workshops and talks, house tours and Poetry on theTrails nature walks. The 2012 season includes five Wednesday evenings throughout the summer, June 13, 27, July 11, 25, andAugust 1. Opening day features award- winning poet Suji Kwock Kim and includes a reading of Freedom Journeys in FourVoices by poet BessyReyna, as well as a showing of the film Poetry of Resilience,a finalist for the presti- gious Cinema and Peace Award for theMostValuableDocumen- tary of theYear. Saturday, June 1, Connecticut Young Poets Day, will feature select high school and college winners of eight state writing programs at the FreshVoices reading, aswell as 21- year-old slam poet, B. Yung who is a young famous hip-hop star and known spoken word artist. Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, RichardWilbur,will also read. Sunday, June 3,Ten forTen, a reading by ten Connecticut poets from the Festival's first decade: Doug Anderson, Bob Cording, Margaret Gibson, Gray Jacobik, Rennie McQuilkin, Marilyn 10 FIJI MUSEUM Located in the heart of Suva's botani- cal gardens, the Fiji Museum holds a remarkable collection which includes archaeological material dating back 3,700 years and cultural objects repre- senting both Fiji's indigenous inhabitants and other communities that have settled in the island group over the past 100 years. TheMuseum is a statutory body gov- erned by the Fiji Museum Act and the Nelson,Pit Pinegar,Vivian Shipley,Steve Straight, and Sue Ellen Thompson. FollowingTen forTen will be poet/story- tellerMinton Sparks and award-winning African-American poet, Toi Derricotte, co-founder of the Cave Canem Foundation. Pulitzer Prize winner NatashaTretheway, fines tunes it all. Formore information, go towww.hill- stead.org or call, (860) 677-4787. Preservation of Objects of Archaeological & Palaeontological Interest Act. The idea for a museum to display and preserve traditional Fijian culture was first discussed in 1904. Later that year SirWilliamAllardyce present- ed his collection to the SuvaTownBoard, and it was displayed in theTownHall. In 1908 the Fijian Society was formed with the specific aim of researching and preserving the country's history and cul- ture.The formation of a muse- um was included in this aim. In 1910 the government approved an annual grant of £25 to appoint a collection caretaker. With the passing of the Fiji Museum Ordinance in 1929, themuseumwas formally inau- gurated as a Government StatutoryBodywith aBoard of Trustees. Local residents pre- sented pieces and collections to the Town Board and artifacts were purchased by theTrustees. These contributed towards a growing collection, which filled theTownHall. The current museum space which opened in 1955 has two adjoining sections. Together, these buildings provide a history gallery, Masi gallery, art gallery, Indo-Fijian gallery, temporary exhibition space, storerooms and gift shop. For more information and to learn more about the Fijian culture, email: fijimuseum@kidanet.net.fj or call (679) 331-5944. Also, you may contact Fiji Tourism The Americas, 5777 West Century Boulevard, Suite 220, Los Angeles,California 90045,United States, (310) 568-1616 or visit www.fijime.com. Black Meetings & Tourism May/June 2012: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com

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