Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Armed Forces Weekend at Sotterley


Armed Forces Weekend at Sotterley
May 17th, 18th & 19th, 2019
 
As a special and sincere "Thank You" for your service, we invite all active duty, and retired military to experience a complimentary tour of our 1703 Manor House and free admission to enjoy our beautiful grounds. We honor those who have served this great Nation!
 
TOUR SCHEDULES:
Friday, May 17th & Saturday, May 18th
10:30 am, 11:30 am, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm
 
Sunday, May 19th
Noon, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm

Check in at our Visitor Center.

Please note our 1703 Manor House is not ADA compliant. Our Visitor Center (with video tour and museum shop), the Corn Crib (with our Land, Lives & Labor Exhibit - covers the over 300 years of all who worked this site), and Warehouse (with our exhibit on Preservation) are accessible. The terrain is rustic and natural at our site.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Preserving the Irreplaceable


From our Executive Director Nancy Easterling:
Yesterday, the world looked in horror as Notre Dame burned, and collectively our hearts grieved. We grieved not just for the loss of its beauty and its design, or even simply because of the age of the structure and the centuries it survived. We felt the loss to our core because of the lives that the structure represents - those who designed and built it in order to inspire the world, and the centuries of people who worshiped and visited there. Irreplaceable places have a real and lasting impact on us - they become part of our lives and help us establish a connection to our past while also creating a relevance to our lives today. We all hope that the up-welling of support for Notre Dame we are seeing across the globe can one day bring this place back to life, but for now we grieve.
While Sotterley is not as well as known as Notre Dame, for the past 14 years I have been honored to work at a site that is also both precious and irreplaceable. As with Notre Dame, the stories and lives it represents are the reason we strive to preserve it and share it with the world. It represents stories that are inspiring as well as those that are painful and difficult, but all aspects of these stories must be acknowledged and understood. At this moment, let each of us remember that losing the past is in fact losing part of ourselves, and that by collectively coming together to preserve the past, the irreplaceable, we will be in fact preserving ourselves.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Announcing our NEW Hours!


 
As the weather is warming up and our magnificent gardens are blooming, we are anticipating a wonderful 2019 season with many opportunities for engagement, learning, and fun! Find out about all of the activities taking place in our “Year of Building Bridges to Common Ground: Resilience, Remembrance, Honor & Equity” at www.sotterley.org.

Our 2019 Guided Tour Season begins in May and runs through October, and we have a NEW schedule. The Visitor Center will be open to welcome guests for Guided or Self Guided Tours Wednesdays through Sundays. The grounds, trails, and permanent exhibits will be open seven days a week during regular business hours.

Hours of Operation:
Mondays—Saturdays  10:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Sundays  Noon—4:00 p.m.
 
GUIDED TOUR SCHEDULES:
May - October 2019
 
Wednesdays - Saturdays:
10:30 am, 11:30 am, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm
 
Sundays:
Noon, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm


Check our website: www.sotterley.org
for pricing, discounts, and events.
Remember: We’re a Blue Star Museum now!

Enjoy your visit to Historic Sotterley!
 


Garden Guild Plant Sale & FREE Plant Swap!


April 27 & 28th, 2019
Saturday:  9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Free Plant Swap begins at 9:30 a.m.
&
Sunday:  Noon - 3:00 p.m.

The popularity of this event has grown significantly over the years and we invite you to revel in the wonders of springtime as you find your lovely new additions for your gardens!

The 21st Annual Sotterley Garden Guild Plant Sale will take place on Saturday, April 27th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Sunday, April 28th from Noon to 3:00 p.m. at Historic Sotterley. Because of the Garden Guild’s dedication to this National Historic Landmark, these nurturing volunteers have not only raised thousands of dollars in support of  Historic Sotterley, but they are also responsible for the maintenance of the exquisite Colonial Revival Garden. Their passion for beauty is evident in the smallest of details, so take the opportunity to appreciate their horticultural artistry. Please stop by, support, and shop at their 21st annual plant sale both days! FREE Plant Swap, bring one & take one!

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Sotterley Participates in UNESCO Global Launch


Historic Sotterley, as a UNESCO Slave Route Site of Memory, will participate in the global launch of the UNESCO publication entitled “Legacies of Slavery: A Resource Book for Managers of Sites and Itineraries of Memory” on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. The launch of this Resource book will be organized the same day and simultaneously in different countries of the world, in collaboration with our partners. On this occasion, the online version of “Legacies of Slavery” will be made available in three languages (English, French and Spanish) in free access on the UNESCO website.
 
This Resource book is the fruit of the intensive work that was achieved by UNESCO’s Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage, in order to develop a tool that can be used by professionals involved in the safeguarding and promotion of sites related to the slave trade and slavery. Designed in two parts, it contains conceptual and practical information for managers of sites of memory. It also provides a comparative analysis of best experiences and practices across regions, through 40 examples of sites, itineraries and museums implementing particular strategies for the preservation, promotion and interpretation of heritage related to slavery. Moreover, it offers advice and recommendations for the development of memory tourism, responding to the ethical exigencies of this sensitive subject.
 
This event also coincides with the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. It will be an opportunity to engage in a reflection on the stakes of the preservation of the memory of slavery, and mostly to question how this history can be integrated on memory policies.
 
Historic Sotterley will be participating with the following activities for this global launch:
 
10:00 a.m. - Organizational announcement of Sotterley’s UNESCO Slave Route Site of Memory designation and purpose for this event.
 
10:30 a.m. to noon - Exhibition: Re-discovering Historic Sotterley’s Land, Lives, and Labor exhibit and Slave Cabin exhibit.
 
1:00 p.m. - Our Stories: A presentation and training of the interpretation of Sotterley’s manor house through diverse perspectives.
 
2:30 p.m. 4:00 pm. - Public Roundtable: Front-line Sotterley, staff, volunteers, and leadership discuss the duty to remember and the right to history: issues and challenges. Public audience input and comment.