Do you struggle with finding unique gift items for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduations, weddings and birthdays?  Well, if you are an active museum member, hopefully you found time to take advantage of this by-annual benefit to find that perfect present. Heritage Square members were able to visit 20 museums in Southern California for free and/or received 20% off in their museum stores during one weekend in May.

On May 11, 12 and/or 13 the following museums, including Heritage Square Museum, will participate in this bi-annual member shopping days: California Science Center, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Chinese American Museum, FIDM Museum & Galleries (Saturday only), Fowler Museum at UCLA, Hammer Museum, J. Paul Getty Museum (both locations), Japanese American National Museum, Library Store at Central Library (Friday and Saturday only), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Latin American Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA): MOCA Grand Avenue & The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, MOCA Pacific Design Center, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Orange County Museum of Art, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena Museum of History, San Diego Museum of Art, Skirball Cultural Center (Saturday and Sunday only).

If you become an active member of one of these museums, you will be able to participate in this great member benefit every year.  Don’t miss out on this bi-annual shopping event for museum members.

If you have not heard by now, Discover the Arts in Los Angeles has been going strong since January 16.  The longest running arts campaign, the 3 month program has approximately 50 cultural institutions, as well as media and community partners participating this year.  The program runs through April 30, 2012.  Created in partnership with LA INC. and Wells Fargo, Discover the Arts is a great way for the local community to venture out, explore the city and visit many of their cultural institutions, all the while also receiving 50% off admissions, gift items and more.

The goal for Discover the Arts is to create greater awareness and appreciation for the arts and culture around the City of Los Angeles.  Heritage Square Museum has proudly participated in the last four Discover the Arts campaigns.  Other institutions participating include: Annenberg Space for Photography, the Aquarium of the Pacific, California African American Museum,  California Science Center,  Chinese American Museum, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, The GRAMMY Museum at LA Live, Japanese American National Museum, LACMA, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Museum of Latin American Art, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, and the Zimmer Childrens Museum. 

 For more information about all of the participating museums and cultural institutions and the offers given during Discover the Arts, visit www.discoverlosangeles.com/thearts.

Do you struggle with finding unique gift items for the holidays?  Well, if you are an active museum member, this by-annual benefit may be the lead you need to finding that perfect present.  This November, Heritage Square members may visit 20 museums in Southern California for free and/or receive 20% off in their museum stores. 

During the Thanksgiving weekend (November 25, 26, & 27), our museum members may visit these other institutions  with a valid membership card: the California Science Center, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the Chinese American Museum, Craft and Folk Art Museum (Saturday and Sunday only), the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Heritage Square Museum (Saturday & Sunday) only, J. Paul Getty Museum, Japanese American National Museum, Kidspace Children’s Museum, the Library Store at Central Library, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) at Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary, and Pacific Design Center;  the Museum of Latin American Art, Orange County Museum of Art, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena Museum of History, the San Diego Museum of Art (Friday and Saturday), and the Skirball Cultural Center.

Please note: Admission to special ticketed events not included; store discounts on applicable merchandise only. Please make sure to check each participating organization’s hours over the holiday weekend. Join one of these museums now to participate in this great member benefit. 

We look forward to seeing many of you during Holiday MADness.

Since April, the museum’s newest educational program, Preservation through Practice has been training individuals the art of restoration.  With our partners, the program has given several military veterans the opportunity to learn and fine-tune highly sought after skills in the preservation and construction fields.  Initially funded by the Department of Labor, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Weingart Foundation,  Preservation through Practice has garnered a good deal of respect and press coverage.  This awareness has lead to a donation to the program in which needs to be matched dollar for dollar.

In order for the students to continue to work on the Ford House, the latest project, the museum and its partners need to raise $10,000.00 to match an anonymous donation of the same amount.   There have had some commitments to aid in meeting this match, and we are thankful for this generosity.  But we have more to raise.  Heritage Square is making an appeal to everyone out there to give toward this important and innovative program.

 We understand with our current economic climate that everyone is being cautious on where they spend their money.   But every dollar given to Heritage Square for Preservation through Practice goes directly back into the program.  The more funding we have the more training these veterans, and those in the future, will have.  Furthermore, these real life job experiences and skills will aid these veterans to better employment opportunities,  build their confidence, and even lead them to work on other historic properties around Los Angeles with the Veteran Preservation Corps.

If you would like to make a donation to meet this $10,000 goal, please contact the museum offices at 323-225-2700 ext 221.

Veterans working on the Ford House

In remembrance of the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11, Heritage Square Museum will mark this important day of reflection by offering visitors an opportunity to donate $25 that will go towards the museum’s Preservation Through Practice (PTP).  All visitors who donate will receive an American flag that they can place around the museum’s box car to honor the veterans, as well as those lives that were touched on that day.  Flags may be purchased in the Museum Store every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from now until Sunday, September 11.

Preservation through Practice, launched in 2011, has made a significant impact on the lives of military veterans as they have received hands-on training in the techniques of historic preservation and restoration.