Somehow it is already November. Not sure how that happened. The past few months have gone by very quickly for me, especially October which was filled with preparations for the museum's Grand Opening celebration. We all put in a lot of late hours to make sure everything was in place for the public's viewing pleasure. When all was said and done, I'd worked 7 days straight finalizing last-minute details and somehow I lived to tell the tale.
media preview event, courtesy facebook.com/TheBriscoe
Last Saturday, the morning of our Grand Opening to the public, I was running around trying to find a table and chairs that were supposed to be delivered and staged to sell memberships. Mind you I was doing this while wearing cowboy boots and a faux-suede fringed vest (because when have I been known to not deliver on a theme?) The competent staff members I had trained to sell memberships somehow were given other tasks and I had to find some semi-capable volunteers to man my tables. Meanwhile I missed the ribbon cutting ceremony because I was stationed at the front desk to receive our very first visitors. I like to think my boss' decision to put me there was strategic since I am one of the more knowledgeable non-education department staff members (I've been training with our docents to learn more about the building and our collection). Though as the day wore on an elderly gentleman pointed out that the best looking people were at the front desk. Either way, it's a compliment, and I'll take it.
The Development Team. And yes, our desk is covered in cow hide.
We must have had thousands of visitors over the weekend. Likewise, I must've told as many people where our bathrooms are located. 95% of the comments I received were positive -- everyone loved the space, the artwork, the project. Native San Antonians were proud to see another cultural institution open up in the downtown area. Tourists were pleased to have stumbled upon the event. And of course 5% of the comments were just plain rude -- people were pissed that photography wasn't allowed and angrily exclaimed "I was at the Louvre and they let you take pictures of everything there!" or they asked "How am I supposed to remember what I've seen today?!" to which I wondered, (haughtily) Does this look like Paris, buddy? and (pensively) What does this say about technology's effect on memory? [As a sidenote, I'd love to allow people to take photos in the museum and share them - but since there are lots of objects on display which are on loan from collectors, we can't allow people to photograph them since they don't belong to the museum.]
media preview event, courtesy facebook.com/TheBriscoe
Luckily the madness of Opening week was interspersed with a few enjoyable events, such as The Witte Game Dinner - a big fundraiser for the local science/history museum featuring a smorgsabord of wild meats. My boss was given 2 tickets and she invited me to tag along and rub elbows with the big name donors that have also donated to our museum. My favorite sampling of the night: the venison enchiladas. Also noteworthy: the Kahlua milkshake; a game-changer as far as dessert libations are concerned. Though I was technically working that evening, I had a fun night and it was a brief respite from the museum mayhem.
requisite picture with the pony at The Witte Game Dinner
Thankfully I had loved ones who stopped by during Opening weekend to show their support -- Jon, my mom, Nicole -- I felt very glad to have them see the project I've been working on and the goal my team has been working towards. In the end all the hard work was worth it, the weekend was successful, there was a great turn out, and our debut was well received. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to work at a museum that is brand new-- it's essentially a start-up business and working here has already given me so much experience that I wouldn't have otherwise. I'm looking forward to figuring out how my tasks will shift and adapt now that we are officially open!
No comments:
Post a Comment