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
9:30am-4:30pm: Museum opens with regular hours
6:30pm-10pm: Food trucks, concessions and Pandora and the Flying Dutchman @ Neuse River Amphitheater
Down by the Neuse River at the newly renovated amphitheater is the perfect location for the film, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951). There will be food trucks to enjoy before the movie starts at nightfall, which should be around 7:30pm. We suggest for a more comfortable experience, that you bring a lawn chair (wall seating and grass seating is available).
Saturday, October 5
9:00am-5:00pm: Museum opens with regular hours
9:30am: Pre-screening talk with Rob Davis
Arrive early for the film screening for a presentation by Rob Davis, Executive Director of River Run International Film Festival. Howell Theatre.
10:00am-Noon: Mogambo @ Howell Theatre (Tickets required)
The Howell Theatre will host the film Mogambo (1953). Ava's love for silver screen is attributed to her precious childhood moments at this historic theatre, originally built in 1935. Seats are limited and tickets are ONLY available through the theater's website or at the theater.
1:00pm and 3:00pm: Heritage Tours
Festival goers will have two opportunities on Saturday to step aboard a tour bus with one of the Museum’s experts for a one-hour, guided trip through Ava’s hometown. Participants travel to the Grabtown and Brogden communities, just seven miles east of Smithfield, where Ava was born and raised. The tour concludes with a group visit to Ava’s final resting place in Sunset Memorial Park. Seats are limited and tickets are available via the museum's Gift Shop.
5:00pm: Evening Discussion with Rob Davis
Rob Davis is a film historian and will present a talk about MGM Studios, 100 Years of Film - Celebrating MGM's Centennial. Ava Gardner Museum Theater, General Admission.
Sunday, October 6
10:00am-12N: Breakfast with Ava
Join us Sunday morning at the museum for a tasty continental breakfast provided and served with The Goddess Blend coffee. Enjoy a film screening of the delightful movie, One Touch of Venus in the museum's theater. Seats are limited to 50 visitors, we encourage purchasing tickets in advance here on the Gift Shop link.
1:00pm-2:00pm: Presentations on the Ava Gardner Centennial Celebration
Enjoy two short documentaries on the work of the Ava Gardner Museum planning committee and the premiere of "Preserving a Legacy: The Ava Gardner Museum" documentary short. Free with general admission.
5:00pm: Museum closes
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 about the museum, the festival, hotel rates, and to purchase advance tickets, visit www.avagardnerfestival.com.
