Following two years of planning and executing the Ava Centennial Celebration, the Ava Gardner Museum board will again host the Ava Gardner Festival. This year’s event will include fan favorite events and add in some new experiences. The Museum has hosted the festival since 2007 on the anniversary weekend of the Museum’s opening in Downtown Smithfield, NC.
Each year new exhibits, heritage tours, and special guest speakers honor the legendary actress, fashion icon, and humanitarian Ava Gardner; a North Carolina native who grew up just 7-miles east of Smithfield in the farming community known as Grabtown. This year’s Ava Gardner Festival, scheduled for October 4-6, continues that tradition.
“The opening night film screening of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, down by the Neuse River at the Amphitheater, will include food trucks, plus popcorn and ice cream vendors”, stated Angelica Henry, Museum Manager, “we are excited to offer this special event FREE for all that want to come to Downtown Smithfield.”
New exhibits will open featuring additional movie costumes in the main Museum Gallery and a new exhibit in the Library titled, Archiving Ava, will display for visitors some of Ava’s personal belongings and keepsakes she kept from her 44 year career in Hollywood.
The following is the schedule of events for the weekend to assist visitors with planning their visit to the Festival. Several events have limited seating and advance tickets are encouraged, and they are available online via the Museum’s Shopify account. Tickets for the film Mogambo at the Howell Theatre are only available via the theater’s website.
Friday, October 4
9:30 am-4:30 pm: Museum opens with regular hours. General Admission.
6:30 pm-10 pm: Food Trucks and Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Neuse River Amphitheater – FREE.
Saturday, October 5
9:00 am-5:00 pm: Museum opens with regular hours. General Admission.
9:30am: Pre-screening talk with Rob Davis, The Howell Theatre.
10:00 am-12 Noon: Movie at the Howell Theater – Mogambo. Seats limited to 150.
1:00 pm & 3:00 pm: Heritage Tours. Seats limited to 38 people per tour. Tickets cost $20.00 per person.
5:00 pm: Evening discussion with Film Historian Rob Davis, 100 Years of Film – Celebrating MGM’s Centennial. Ava Gardner Museum Theater, General Admission.
Sunday, October 6
10:00 am-12:00 Noon: Breakfast @ Ava’s, continental breakfast and film screening of One Touch of Venus. Seats limited to 50. Tickets cost $15.00 per person.
12:00 N-5:00 pm: Museum opens with regular hours. General Admission.
1:00 pm-2:00 pm: Museum presentation and premiere of the Ava Gardner Centennial Documentary Short.
The Ava Gardner Museum is located in Downtown Smithfield, at 325 E. Market Street, convenient to hotels offering special rates for the weekend.
For more information, visit www.avagardnerfestival.com.
