Originally Posted By Kira I got this information in an email from my mom. Tickets are expected to sell like hot cakes here locally and it's actually a really exciting event for my hometown (hemet), it's very rare that events like this pass through our area. Here's what the flyer says: Organized by Experience Museum Project, Seattle, Washington Presented at the Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology February 6 — May 10, 2009 Disney: The Music Behind the Magic explores Disney’s legacy and draws inspiration from Disney animation, television programming, theme parks, liveaction films and Broadway musicals in addition to the label's artist roster past and present, which includes music sensations ranging from Annette Funicello to Raven-Symoné and The Cheetah Girls. The exhibition contains more than 65 rare artifacts from the Disney Archives including the striped jacket worn by Dick Van Dyke in “Mary Poppins”, and the film shooting schedule for “High School Musical”. The exhibit features five interpretive videos, including excerpts of key Disney films and interviews with artists and experts such as Richard Sherman, Alan Menken, Phil Collins and Leonard Maltin. Visitors also engage in interactive activities where, for example, they can mix their own classic Disney tracks and even participate in a musical interactive challenge. <a href="http://vandura.websitewelcome.com/~western/Disney%20Flyer" target="_blank">http://vandura.websitewelcome....%20Flyer</a>(1).pdf The museum is a fairly new facility for our valley (really unique too) and due to the economy, it is becoming a fight to save the museum. Hopefully this exhibit will bring some much needed funds. Anyone thinking about going? Maybe we should set up an LP meet for those who plan to attend?
Originally Posted By Kira Just in case anyone is confused, the mueseum is located near Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet, Ca =)
Originally Posted By mawnck That sounds worth the drive. I just might have to check it out. Link doesn't work, BTW. Try <a href="http://tinyurl.com/DisneyInHemet" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/DisneyInHemet</a>
Originally Posted By Kira Thanks for fixing the link =) I didn't catch that that it cut its self off in my original post!
Originally Posted By schnebs Is there a website with directions or something? Antoher dumb question: Why is an exhibit on Disney music being held at a mueum of archaeology and paleontology? Just askin'...
Originally Posted By Kira Sorry it took so long to see your message schnebs! Yes! There is a website. www.westerncentermuseum.org I have heard that they are hosting this at the archeology and paleontology museum mainly because they are trying to draw in crowds. They built a whole new state of the art building for this museum a few years back and the museum has featured the SAME exhibits since it was in a smaller building about 8 years ago. It's a neat visit for out of towners, but considering that Hemet is not a vacation destination for many people, the museum is often overlooked and it's struggling to keep it's doors open. I'm also wanted to bump this topic since the exhibit opens soon! There is a VIP preview night on Feb. 5 for $60 per person. Someone big wig from Disney will be present to give a speech etc (his name escapes me at the moment). For more information about that you can call the center to see if space is still available. A second mini event will be on Be. 19 @ 7pm featuring music & the disney villain. "Join us for an evening of music and film as we experience the sights and sounds of Disney. Dr. Timothy Labor presents a multi-media presentation that explores the way Disney has used music to create some of the most memorable villains in film. FREE to members, $8 for non-members, $5 for students". Here is a link to a local article about the exhibit. <a href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/hemet/stories/PE_News_Local_E_disney18.2ba7c62.html" target="_blank">http://www.pe.com/localnews/he...c62.html</a> Disney Exhibit What: "Disney: The Music Behind the Magic," a traveling exhibit highlighting the role music has played in The Walt Disney Co.'s success When: Feb. 6 to May 10 Where: Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology, 2345 Searl Parkway, Hemet Admission: $8 for adults; $6.50 for seniors and students; $6 for ages 5-12; free for active-duty military and children under 4 Info: 951-791-0033; www.westerncentermuseum.org Will any LPers be attending? I'll be there opening day...and maybe a few more times after that =)
Originally Posted By Kira Bumping this topic again since the exhibit opens up in just a little over a week! I called today and they still have seats available for the VIP preview night =)
Originally Posted By Kira bump bump bump! The exhibit opens on friday! I purchased tickets for the VIP preview so I'll try and come back with some sort of trip report with pictures =) The entire exhibit sounds really exciting. I was talking to the receptionist at the museum and she said disney fans are going to be thrilled because there's alot to check out and that you could spend hours in the exhibit and not get bored =) So hopefully it lives up to the hype
Originally Posted By Kira I just returned from the Preview event tonight and all I can say is "Wow" & I'm very impressed. The exhibit is a must see for any person that is a fan of disney music history. Although the exhibit IS quite a bit smaller than I imagined it would be, it is still large enough to occupy you for a 2-3 hour visit. If that is not enough there is still the other side of the museum that involves artifacts in palentology and archeology. My report might get a bit lengthy so bare with me here. The entire night rushed by in a blur and I didn't get to check out some of the things I wanted to, so a second trip will be in the works for me. Who: Myself, My nana (grandma), My dad and my mom. The night started out with a gathering of around 40-50 people in the "classroom" location on the premises. Everyone enjoyed wine, soft drinks and finger foods while chatting and listening to a lovely lady singing some of Disney's most memorable songs ("Bella Note", "Beauty & the Beast" & "Feed the Birds" to name a few). The food was decent (grilled veggies were the best!), Nana reported that the Zin wine was the worst she's tasted and I commented that I had no problem with my Dr. Pepper Around 6:30pm The managers gave the usual Thank-You to our sponsors speech and introduced the special guests of the Night. The Special Guests were Randy Thornton (Producer @ Walt Disney Records), Stacia Martin (Disney Artist & Historian), Les Perkins (Disney Historian) & another gentleman whose name I can't recall and was not listed on the event program, he was also a historian. We got to hear a little introduction from Randy about the exhibit and his career with the mouse and then wrapped up and everyone moved from the food into the museum. My family and I briefly got to check out the exhibit as it was already nearing 7:30 and the Q & A session began at 8:15. There were AMAZING costumes from The Lion King on Broadway as well as Belle's costume from Beauty & The Beast on Broadway. Jacket's that were worn in the Jolly Holiday sequence from Mary Poppins were on display as well as original mouseketeer memorbilia and a dress worn by Vanessa Hudgens in HSM. There were 4 (IIRC) different sitting stations where you could view interviews with important disney music figures like Alan Menken. Original sheet music hung on the walls from Steamboat Willie, Mary Poppins & even Bedknobs & Broomsticks. There were several original disney artifacts located all throughout the exhibit ranging from ticket stubs to original storyboards. The big one for me was seeing the Original (or so it says) BARKER BIRD who sat outside the Tiki Room until he was removed. For the little ones (or the whole family) there are several interactive displays to take part in. There is a sound booth where up to 4 people can record different sound effects and then listen to them being played back in time with a scene from the Mickey Mouse & Friends "The Band Concert" cartoon. The Press-Enterprise was in the booth with my family filming us so a video of that will probably be posted here soon. There is a set up where you can answer trivia questions and compete against others around you as well as several listening stations to listen to music from the films and other productions. I'm sure there is more that I missed, but this is what I got to see briefly. Seeing all of these things up close and personal brought a few tears to my eyes, mainly because I grew up on Disney music and it played such a big role in my childhood and it still does to this day. Everyone was rushed into the theatre where we had an hour long Q & A session with the special guests of the night. My mom and I chose to sit front and center while my nana and dad chose to sit a bit further back. There was only one spotlight on the stage and the bottom of that light fell right over where my mom and I sat. The rest of the room was practically pitch black and the whole hour I just felt like it was just my mom & I alone with these disney big wigs. It was very personal and intimate. During that hour we got to hear just the tip of the iceburg of their stories about walt, the company and their own personal stories of getting to meet and interview the likes of the sherman brothers and alan menken. They discussed what it was like to discover unused footage and how fun it was to be able to bring the footage and music to all of the "extras" on the DVD's. One story in particular that stood out to me was when I asked each of them what is their favorite childhood memory or favorite memory from their career that has always stuck with them. Stacia was very gracious and excited to share her memory of personally discovering footage from one of Walt's favorite songs that was ultimately cut from "The Happiest Millionaire". She discussed how personally moving it was to just bring this piece back to it's original glory and give it the honor of being placed on the DVD release of the film. The evening drew to a close and it was announced that Randy will be back for a presentation on March 17th and that the museum was working to bring the others back for a BIG presentation during the exhibit's stay at the museum. I highly recommend checking out the exhbit. It is high on the must see list for ANY Disney fan. The Exhibit runs Feb. 6th-May 10th and is open everyday except Mondays. Admission is $8 and parking is free.
Originally Posted By Kira Also, for Song of The South fans, Randy mentioned that he DOES have a soundtrack project set and ready to go the minute that Disney gives the OK to release the film again. He mentioned that Bob Iger personally viewed the film last year and while he didn't completely reject the release, he just said in essence that right now is still not quite the right time to release it. So there is still hope for it's release, but exactly WHEN it will be released no one knows. Here are SOME of my photos from the night, I left many pictures out so that SOME things are a surprise to those who want to see it for themselves <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v288/BeautiflMystry/Disney/" target="_blank">http://smg.photobucket.com/alb.../Disney/</a> hopefully that link works for you guys =)
Originally Posted By Kira Here's a link to some video footage from last night. <a href="http://www.pe.com/video/index.html?nvid=329638&shu=1" target="_blank">http://www.pe.com/video/index....38&shu=1</a> My family did not make it into the cut of the video but I do know that they filmed us all playing around in the sound booth for a good solid minutes...Maybe it will appear on a future video?
Originally Posted By Kira and one last article =) <a href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/hemet/stories/PE_News_Local_S_disney07.3cb5e8e.html" target="_blank">http://www.pe.com/localnews/he...e8e.html</a>
Originally Posted By makeminemusic Thanks for posting about this event Kira! And the link to the video too! A few records from my collection are in the exhibit, which will go to Florida later this year after it finishes in Hemet. Wish I could go down there and see the differences from the Seattle showing. Randy cut his beard off!!
Originally Posted By Kira how cool! Which records are yours? I'm going to be back in the museum next week for another presentation. I'll see if I can snag some pictures of your albums for you! =) ***Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009 At 07:00:00 PM Duration: 2 Hours Randy Thornton, Producer, and Jeff Sheridan, Sound Engineer, Walt Disney Records, will speak on the history of the music in the theme parks and how those elements are built into the audio of the official albums. The presentation will feature very rare recordings and stories as only Randy and Jeff can tell them. Don't miss this very special event. FREE to members, $8 for non-members, $5 for students. ***
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove In case I don't get to make it to Hemet to see this, I want to thank you, Kira, for taking the time to post all of this. Wow. What a neat experience for you! And Hemet?!?!? It's like putting it in Ramona, or something. Or Valley Center....or Perris. xoxo
Originally Posted By makeminemusic "how cool! Which records are yours? I'm going to be back in the museum next week for another presentation. I'll see if I can snag some pictures of your albums for you! =)" Thanks Kira, If the exhibit is set up the same as it was in Seattle, then look for the Mary Poppins album in the case with the Sherman brothers original music score. Also find the first album released on Disneyland records - a 10'LP "Garden on Verses", in the same case with the LP of "Musical Tour of Disneyland" (Turned over to show back cover). There is also a Mouskateer's 78rpm in the "bubble" cases. If you can get some pictures that would be wonderful! Hope you have a great time at the presentation! Say hi to Randy for me! Ken Stigen www.mountainears.org
Originally Posted By Kira I think I already have pictures of the mary poppins set up from the VIP night (can I mention that the Mary Poppins memorbilia was one of my fave parts of the exhibit?! =) ) I've uploaded the picture I have for you! I apologize for it not being the best of quality though. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/BeautiflMystry/Disney/100_2961.jpg" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/alb...2961.jpg</a> I'll scope out the other records tomorrow night for ya and snap a few shots!
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Oh, my. I still have my Mary Poppins LP. *sigh* Sweet, sweet memories of my childhood. Have fun, Kira! I can't make it, so we're depending on you and your intrepid reporting skills! xoxo
Originally Posted By DlandDug So sorry I didn't see all this before I went in for my visit. I don't often read the Disney Music section. I went to the exhibit with a group from my NFFC Chapter. They didn't let us take any photos inside the exhibit. So it was nice to see the ones you took. I hope everyone will get out to the upcoming special events.
Originally Posted By Kira <<They didn't let us take any photos inside the exhibit>> Wow, that is odd...I can see their reasoning for it though (copywrite issues maybe?) There were all kinds of people taking pictures inside the exhibit during the preview night, but I haven't been back there since that night so maybe I won't be able to get pictures tomorrow =/
