BOGO, bugs, Broadway: Get ready for busy September at Washington Pavilion
This paid piece is sponsored by Washington Pavilion Management Co.
From interactive fun with bugs to scavenger hunts and amazing savings, it’s all ahead this September at the Washington Pavilion.
“September is so packed, and that’s on purpose,” director of museums Brandon Hanson said.
“We’re coming off a record summer – more museum visitors than since the Pavilion opened in 1999 in July and a very strong August – so we’re out to show people the Pavilion is the place to be in September too.”
He’s not kidding. Check out everything that awaits at the Pavilion this month.
BOGO admission
This rarely happens, so take advantage of it. For the entire month of September, you’ll receive a buy-one, get-one offer on admission.
Use that to check out all these new additions at the Washington Pavilion as well as everything else that’s ahead this month.
“We offered this two years ago and then had to hold off because of the pandemic, but in 2019 the offer made September look more like a typical visitor month for us instead of the dip we typically experience at back-to-school time,” Hanson said.
“If you’ve not been here lately, or maybe you’re new to the area or visiting, this is definitely the time to stop in and check us out.”
Free First Friday
This month’s Free First Friday – Sept. 3 – is an especially great time to stop in and see the Pavilion for free, especially if you have a superhero fan in the family.
From 5 to 8 p.m. the team from the upcoming SiouxperCon event will be at the Pavilion, doing a free comic book giveaway plus a demonstration on illustration.
‘Escape to Margaritaville’
Didn’t quite escape to paradise this year? The party comes here Sept. 7-9 with “Escape to Margaritaville,” the first in the All-Broadway Pavilion Performance Series.
The musical comedy features both original songs and your most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, including “Fins,” “Volcano” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”
Click here for more on the show and to buy tickets.
Sidewalk Arts Festival: Sept. 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The popular free annual festival has added a considerable number of vendors compared with last year, Hanson said.
“And we’re still mixing fine art with arts and crafts and food trucks, so we’re expecting a ton of people,” he said.
You’ll find more than 240 vendors, plus activities for kids, live entertainment, food vendors and more on the streets surrounding the Washington Pavilion. This event is a fundraiser for the Visual Arts Center and is the region’s largest one-day arts festival.
National Museum Day
OK, this is where you’ll want to circle a date on the calendar: Sept. 18. It’s National Museum Day, hosted nationally by Smithsonian magazine, and thanks to generous sponsor, Sammons Financial Group, your admission to the Washington Pavilion is free.
And that’s especially timely, because … Introducing: Bug Squad exhibit
Bugs. Not real bugs. But a bug-inspired exhibit is on the way to the Pavilion, and your family is going to love this. It opens Sept. 18 – so you can be the first to experience it for free – and is a traveling exhibit from Omaha inspired by the Disney movie “Bugs.”
“It’s all about the study of bugs and how they’re actually superheroes,” Hanson said. “We need them, and they do a lot of great things for us.”
You’ll see familiar characters and several large, interactive elements to the exhibit.
“There’s a bounce house trampoline where you’ll learn about how bugs can jump, a climbing structure that’s very hands-on and other immersive areas where you’ll learn about how bugs eat, how their bodies work and how they live and move,” Hanson said.
“And there are a couple animatronic bugs, so hopefully it really has a lot of mass appeal.”
The exhibit will be here for five months, making it the perfect stop for the colder months too.
Oh, and there are no real bugs involved.
“We’re just excited to have it here, and we enjoy mixing education and fun to sort of trick kids into learning,” Hanson said. “Plus, it flows right into Halloween and Spooky Science in October, where we’ll talk about some of the scarier bugs.”
Going Metro
You have until Oct. 31 to catch “Going Metro” at the Visual Arts Center, an exhibition born from a multilayered collaborative effort among artists, researchers, city officials and transit users and workers.
This free event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. features artists sharing their thoughts on sustainable, functional and creative transit concepts.
“There are several artists who will pitch design concepts back and forth, so it will be an interactive and fast-paced event,” Hanson said. “You’ll find music playing and a bar available, so it should be a great time.”
Pavilion Adventures Scavenger Hunts
Surprised by how much the Pavilion offers? Wait until you try one of these. The new Pavilion Adventures Scavenger Hunts take you on an adventure in the Kirby Science Discovery Center and Visual Arts Center. You and your family will learn interesting facts, interact with our exhibits and explore new areas of the Washington Pavilion.
“The Pavilion has really grown into one museum instead of being separate spaces for different areas,” Hanson said. “So we made a Pavilion-wide scavenger hunt to help people figure out how much there is going on in the building.”
You can win prizes, which will change with the hunt itself, so there’s a good reason to return often. Check them out:
- Ruko U11 GPS Drone.
- Ruko Smart Robot.
- GEERTOP Telescope for Beginners.
- Little Partners Tri-Side Art Easel.
“They’re great prizes, and the hunt will change with the exhibits,” Hanson said. “So when ‘Bugs’ opens, that will become part of the hunt.”
Become a member
There always are new reasons to keep coming back to the Pavilion, and a membership likely offers even more value than you realize, starting at just $5.99 per month for a couple and $9.99 for a family of five.
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