CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Forty years ago, the doors to the Culture Center first opened at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston.
Envisioned as the “premier welcome center” for West Virginia, the Culture Center is home to the West Virginia State Museum, the West Virginia Archives and the West Virginia Library Commission.
“There are so many things you can do here,” said Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner for the Division of Culture and History, of the Culture Center.
For visitors, “They really get a great impression of West Virginia because one of the things that we try to do here at the Culture Center, and I think for 40 years we’ve done a good job of, is to recognize not just the famous people or the well-known events, but to do things like the quilt exhibit and art exhibits that bring in the everyday people.”
The 40th anniversary was being marked with a day of special events on Saturday.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR JULY 16, 2016
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Museum Education Center will be open for families to explore new educational opportunities and programs available in the State Museum.
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Archives and History Director Joe Geiger and Education Coordinator Matt McGrew will lead guided tours of the Archives and History Library.
10:45 a.m. West Virginia Division of Culture and History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith and Kay Goodwin, secretary of the Department of Education and Arts, talk about the history of the Culture Center in the West Virginia State Theater.
11:30 a.m. U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) serves as the keynote speaker. Her father, former Gov. Arch Moore, was instrumental in the development and construction of the Culture Center. The Culture opened in 1976 during Moore’s Administration.
12 p.m. Anniversary cupcakes are served in the Great Hall.
12: 30 p.m. A new photography exhibit will open in the North Wing of the Great Hall titled “West Virginia Photographers: Capturing the Mountain State.” The exhibit will feature 40 of the best photographers in the Mountain State.
1 p.m. Three local photographers will lead a photography panel. They are Bruce Burgin, a Raleigh County native, Josh Hanna, a Putnam County native, and Charleston Gazette-Mail photographer Tom Hindman.
All of Saturday’s anniversary events are free to the public.
For those who cannot get to Charleston Saturday, Gresham encouraged residents and others to make the Culture Center a stop on future trips to Charleston.
“Our building is free. The museum is free. The archives library is free and there are so many things you can do here,” she said. “Our exhibits are always rotating. We have different exhibits all the time.”