THE GREAT EXPERIMENT: GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC

On Display in the Museum Gallery of the White Plains Public Library

“The Great Experiment: George Washington and the American Republic,” a traveling exhibition chronicling the life of our nation’s first President, will be on display in the Museum Gallery of the White Plains Public Library from December 8, 2002 through January 23, 2003.

Organized by The Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, in association with the American Library Association, the exhibition is arranged chronologically into six sections: Introduction, Early Life, The Revolution, The Constitution, The Presidency and Farewell. It is based on a major exhibition of original documents mounted by the Huntington Library in 1998-1999 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of Washington’s death.

An opening reception, with guest performer William Sommerfield of the American Historical Theatre in Philadelphia, will be held on Sunday, December 8, 2002 at 2:30 pm. Mr. Sommerfield is recognized as one of the foremost interpreters of George Washington and has appeared frequently in the T.V. and print media, including Good Morning America, The Today Show, Time Magazine and The New York Times.

Other activities planned at the Library around the exhibition are: “Dancing with George Washington,” a program for ages 5+, presented by the Debra Weiss Dance Company who will teach and perform colonial dances and games (December 29 at 2:00 pm); a read-aloud of George Washington’s Breakfast by Jean Fritz for ages 5+ (December 30 at 11:00 am); a George Washington film presentation for ages 5+ (January 3 at 11:00 am); a concert of colonial music, “George Washington: Music for the First President,” with David and Ginger Hildebrand, specialists in the research and performance of early American music (January 11 at 2:00 pm); and a viewing of the documentary The Battle of White Plains, a Film Workshop of Westchester Production from 1978 (January 18 at 2:00 pm).

“The Great Experiment: George Washington and the American Republic,” has been made possible in part through a major grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C., with additional support from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Munger. Funding for Library activities has been provided by the White Plains Library Foundation.