Toledo Museum of Art Presents Glass Fest 2009

TOLEDO, OH.- Celebrate the Glass City’s heritage at Glass Fest 2009. This year’s event, to be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday (July 26) at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion, promises to be fun for the whole family. Admission is free.

Visitors of all ages can help the Museum create a Chihuly-style chandelier from recycled materials, or make a glass magnet for the fridge throughout the afternoon.

Children and adults who sketch and submit a design for a glass work of art no later than 2:45 p.m. will have a chance to see their sketch become an actual work of art. At 3 p.m., one child’s design will be picked and a Museum glassblower will create it. At 4 p.m., a design by one adult will be chosen, and then made by a glassblower. The winning designers will be able to pick up their works of art the following week.

Demonstrations of glassblowing are scheduled at noon, 1 and 2 p.m. There’s also a Cooking With Hot Glass demonstration at 5 p.m., when Museum glassblowers will pop corn in a freshly made blown glass cylinder. They also will make stir-fried vegetables in a wok resting on a “glass cookie” heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.

Want to learn how to make glass beads? You can do that at Glass Fest, too. You may register in advance to take part in one of the art hour studio sessions being offered, or sign-up on a space available basis on Sunday. The one-hour sessions are scheduled at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Tickets, on sale now, are $15 for Museum members and $25 for nonmembers. Payment is required at the time of registration. Adults and children 14 and over accompanied by an adult are welcome. For advance tickets, call 419-254-5771, ext. 7448.

Showings of the WGTE documentary The House That Glass Built will be presented throughout the afternoon. The film trace’s the Glass City’s progress from glass factories to the Glass Pavilion.