Pitt County Cultural Activities

Art
Theatre
Music
Performing Arts Facilities
Libraries
Museums & Galleries

KEY FACTOR SUMMARY

   Prior to the creation of the N.C. School of the Arts, ECU was considered the State School of the Arts, and is still nationally recognized for its curricula.
   The Pitt-Greenville and Farmville Arts Councils, along with East Carolina University, present literally hundreds of events throughout the year.
   Events at ECU are presented as part of two major series: Playhouse Production Series, and Performing Arts Series.
   An extensive schedule of summer stock theatre featuring nationally known performers is presented seasonally.
   Events include chamber groups, major symphonies, touring Broadway shows, opera, and ballet.
   Many programs are free. Ticketed events have a price range of $5.00 to $32.00.
   University academic departments offer a number of highly specialized visual and performing arts opportunities.
   Opportunities for personal involvement are available through community bands, orchestras, theatre, dance and vocal groups, and writers and artists guilds.
   Eight art galleries/museums are located in Pitt County.
   A number of nationally known poets and artists reside in the area.
   Pitt County and East Carolina University provide extensive library systems both in terms of number of volumes for specialized research and programs for children and adults.
   The library systems offer a Health Sciences Library, Music Library, Manuscripts Collection, Rare Books Collection, a special Children's Library, and a number of other specialized components.
   Both county and university libraries have media centers offering microfiche and microfilm collections and readers, computers and software, CD and DVD players, and a variety of commonly used audio-visual items.
   Pitt County's Sheppard Library offers story hours for toddlers and pre-schoolers, a school visitation program for kindergartners and elementary school children, and "Popcorn Theatre" for grades 4-7. Sheppard and its branches provide homework services for all grade levels, a summer reading program, and a number of adult literary programs.

The cultural climate of Pitt County is unsurpassed in Eastern North Carolina, providing the proper environment to nurture the artist as well as to satisfy the desires of the art lover. Everything from old fashioned cloggers to ballet, from jazz ensembles to symphony orchestras, and side walk art shows to fine art exhibits are available throughout the year. The abundance of cultural events is largely attributable to the activities and presence of the Schools of Art and Music at East Carolina University.

ART

The ECU School of Art is the largest in North Carolina and one of the largest in the southeast. The School has been an accredited, institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art & Design since 1962 and is the only accredited program in North Carolina and one of only 180 nationwide. Its undergraduate program is the largest in the state, and the Wellington B. Gray Gallery is the state's largest university art gallery.

Additionally the activities of the Pitt-Greenville Arts Council, the Farmville Arts Council, the Greenville Museum of Art, the Playwrights' Fund of North Carolina and many other cultural organizations in Pitt County serve to sponsor and coordinate artistic and cultural events and publications for the benefit of area residents.

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THEATRE

The East Carolina University/Loessin Playhouse Production Series

Each school year the East Carolina Playhouse puts on four to six productions of popular dramas and musicals for the faculty, students and the general public. The casts for these productions are primarily ECU Theatre Arts Majors, however auditions are open and often members of the community and non-Theatre Arts Majors get the opportunity to participate.

Past performances have included the musical fantasy Peter Pan, My Fair Lady, Little Shop of Horrors, Crimes of the Heart, and The Glass Menagerie. The 2007-2008 season begins with the musical Hello Dolly and Steve Martin's The Underpants in the fall and concludes with the musical Flora, The Red Menace and Euripides' Iphigenia In Aulis in the spring semester.

A special attraction during the East Carolina Playhouse's regular season is Dance Theatre. A favorite with area residents, the evening features a varied program of ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance works choreographed by faculty and guest artists and performed by the most-gifted students in the professional dance programs. Dance Theatre 2008 will be presented February 7-12.

Individual or season tickets for East Carolina Playhouse productions can be purchased at McGinnis Theatre, Mon-Fri, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 252-328-6829.

East Carolina University/Loessin Summer Theatre

ECU has been home to the Summer Theatre for over 30 years. Previous seasons of Summer Theatre have featured award winning musicals and dramas starring accomplished actors and actresses from New York's Broadway as well as local performers involved in community theatre.

The 2008 season features three spectacular productions.  First will be the light, romantic spoof of the roaring '20s, "The Boy Friend," running from June 26 - July 5, followed by the farcical "Arsenic & Old Lace" from July 10 - 19.  Rounding out the season is "The All Night Strut," an evening filled with jazz, blues, bebop, and classic song standards from July 24 - August 2.

Shows run from Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.  Season packages and single tickets are available. Senior citizen, youth, and group prices are also offered.  Contact: McGinnis Theatre Box Office on campus at 252-328-6829, M-F 10-4.  www.ecuarts.com

NOTE:  Due to renovations at McGinnis Theatre, the 2008 season performances will be take place in the Turnage Theater in Washington, NC.  Call (252) 975-1191 or visit www.turnagetheater.com for tickets.

The Alexander Performing Arts Series celebrates its 47th anniversary during the 2008-2009 season and is unique because it features touring artists from around the world performing a wide variety of concerts, plays, ballets and special dance productions.  All productions are held in historic Wright Auditorium.

The 2008-2009 Performing Arts Series offers seven events:  The North Carolina Symphony Orchestra; Philadanco (the Philadelphia Dance Company); composer Marvin Hamlisch; The King's Singers - a cappella choral ensemble from England; Chinese pianist Chu-Fang Huang; baritone Nathan Gunn and pianist John Wustman; and the Russian National Ballet's performance of "Giselle."

Season and single tickets are available. For more ticket information call the Central Ticket Office at Mendenhall Student Center at 252-328-4788, 1-800-ECU-ARTS, or at www.ecuarts.com

Family Fare Series

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MUSIC

East Carolina University's approximately 60 music faculty members and more than 400 music students from across the nation provide over 200 free, high quality performances each year for the enjoyment of area residents. The School of Music's symphony orchestra and Concert Choir are highly sought for national tour performances. Additionally, a wide variety of free or low-cost concerts are given throughout the year by different musical groups. A favorite is the Greenville Parks and Recreation Department's "Sunday in the Park" series which features everything from classical to country to rock to bluegrass in an outdoor amphitheater setting.

East Carolina University Student/Faculty Recitals

Each semester the faculty and students of the School of Music at East Carolina University perform a variety of concerts that are absolutely free of charge. These concerts are usually performed by students as a requirement for a particular musical degree so they, therefore, present a great variety. There are recitals in voice, cello, violin, percussion, and many other instruments. The music played at these concerts has been rehearsed and sometimes composed by the student. These talented students have mastered their pieces and/or instruments and give excellent performances.

The concerts go on throughout each semester. There are usually 3-5 per week but the schedules vary. A list of the concerts and their dates and times can be obtained in the Fletcher Music Building on campus at the beginning of each semester, by phone at (252) 328-4370, or online at www.music.ecu.edu/calendar/concert.html .

Billy Taylor Jazz Festival

The ECU Jazz Ensemble helps organize and serves as the host and clinic group for the annual Billy Taylor Jazz Festival held each spring.  The Festival is a two- or three-day series of jazz workshops, clinics, and discussions culminating with a gala jazz concert featuring the ensemble with visiting guest artists.  Past performers have included Greenville native Billy Taylor, for whom the series is named, Vanessa Rubin, and Melton Mustafa.  The 2007 Festival dates are April 19-21.  For more information, call (252) 328-4370.

The NewMusic@ECU Festival

The NewMusic@ECU Festival, a showcase of contemporary works, is sponsored by the Theory, Composition and Musicology Department in the School of Music.  The 2008 Festival will feature concerts, master classes, reading of student compositions, and seminars by visiting distinguished composers.  The Festival will be held February 27 - March 1, 2008.  For more information, contact (252) 328-4280.  To purchase tickets, call the School of Music at 328-5386.

Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival of Eastern North Carolina

The Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, founded in 2000, brings the world’s most dynamic chamber musicians to eastern North Carolina to perform and interact with the community.  The Four Seasons is unique as a festival in that it occurs at five different times during the year.  During each residency, the guest artists and Artistic Director Ara Gregorian, conduct master classes for ECU and community students, present open rehearsals, and perform interactive concerts for young children in the region in addition to the concert that concludes each residency.

The 2007-08 concerts are September 13-14, 2007; October 25-26, 2007; January 10-11, 2008; March 27-28, 2008; and April 24-25, 2008.  Performances are held in the A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall at the ECU School of Music.  Season and single concert tickets are available.  Tickets can be purchased at the Central Ticket Office at (252) 328-4788 or 1-800-ECU-Arts.

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While Pitt County does not manage its own performing arts facility, its citizens have access to the programs and facilities at East Carolina University. ECU has three "state of the art" facilities: Wright Auditorium (1500 seats), Hendrix Theatre (760 seats), and McGinnis Auditorium (600 seats). These halls are equipped to handle major events such as symphony orchestras and touring Broadway shows, as well as less complex programs such as lecturers and solo musicians. A fourth hall, Fletcher Recital Hall (400 seats), is primarily a musical performance hall. Approximately 50 major cultural events are scheduled on campus each year, and countless smaller events are available on a daily basis. All campus cultural events are open to the public.

In addition to the facilities at ECU, the Farmville Community Arts Council, Inc. is housed in the Paramount Theatre located at 3723 North Main Street.  The theatre seats 211-250 people.  Over the past thirty years Farmville Community Arts Council, Inc. has produced over fifty shows. All of the musicals are accompanied by professional musicians and actors are chosen through a professional audition process.  On an average, two musicals and two non-musicals are produced each season.   Previous shows include Ragtime, Chicago, Footloose, Oklahoma, Hello Dolly, Music Man, The Fantasticks, South Pacific, The Foreigner, The Odd Couple, Arsenic & Old Lace, Barefoot in the Park, Steel Magnolias, and Moon Over Buffalo.  For more information, call (252) 753-3832 or visit www.farmvillearts.org

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LIBRARIES

Sheppard Memorial Library

Sheppard Memorial Library serves all of Pitt County. A 34,000 square foot addition opened in September of 2000 and expanded the main library located in downtown Greenville to 60,500 s.f.  Sheppard is now the largest public library building east of I-95 in North Carolina.  The library also has four branches - Carver, East, Winterville, and Blount (Bethel) - and a bookmobile. The bookmobile serves local libraries, neighborhoods, and other locations on a three-week cycle. There are also independent libraries located in Farmville, Ayden, Grifton, and Fountain. All are cooperative, sharing many programs.

Sheppard is the regional collection center for census information for northeastern North Carolina. The library also has extensive business reference materials including Moody's and Dun and Bradstreet. The library contains 222,060 volumes and subscribes to 30 newspapers and nearly 360 magazines. Database searches are conducted at cost. A complete list of the holdings of the university and community college libraries is also on file.

Sheppard has one of the largest children's rooms on the east coast and conducts an extensive variety of special children's programs. All branches have regular story hours for children. Librarians visit daycare centers, schools, and retirement homes with books to share and read aloud. Holiday specials are scheduled for children in kindergarten through third grade, as well as puppet shows, storytelling on the Town Commons, and summer reading programs.  All programs are designed to lead to reading.

The library offers a number of community services. It is the main tutoring site for the Pitt County Literacy Volunteers. It houses conference and meeting rooms which are available to the public. Public bulletin boards and display areas are also available as well as computer workstations with internet access, data processing workstations, and internet ports for patron-owned laptops.

For more information call: (252) 329-4580 or visit www.sheppardlibrary.org

Pitt Community College Learning Resources Center

The Pitt Community College Learning Resources Center (LRC) is open to all adult residents of Pitt County. Housed in a 35,000 square foot facility, the LRC specializes in non-fiction volumes, particularly in the technical and vocational areas. Reference materials are available in a wide-range of subject areas. Audiovisual materials or equipment may be borrowed by community agencies or institutions for use within Pitt County for a 24-hour period.

For more information call: (252) 493-7357 or visit www.pitt.cc.nc.us/library/

East Carolina University Libraries

The largest of the ECU libraries is Joyner Library, a full service media center supporting all levels of study and research. The university also maintains two specialized libraries, the Health Services Library and the Music Library. The libraries are open to the public for a small yearly fee. For more information call: (252) 328-6514 or visit www.lib.ecu.edu

Joyner Library

Joyner Library holds 1,280,217 bound volumes, 6,842 periodicals, and 35,850 e-journals (periodicals in electronic format). It also holds over 2.43 million items in its microforms Collection. Computers located in the main lobby provide access to Joyner, Health Services, and Music Library Collections. Joyner itself houses a number of special collections, including a Media Resources Center, Oral History memoirs, and more than 535,200 Government Documents. The Map Collection contains 111,732 maps and charts.

Some library materials are general, geared to undergraduate students, but much is highly specialized for experts and researchers.  Access to much of the library's resources is available on-line including the Joyner Library catalog, full-text article database, indexes and abstracts, subject guides, and a journal list.  Personal computers and software are available for use during regular library hours.

Joyner recently completed a $29 million renovation/expansion that nearly doubled the usable floor space to 280,575 s.f.  The library now has a capacity of 1.5 million book volumes, seats 1900 patrons, and provides 33 group study rooms, and 74 private faculty studies.

William E. Laupus Health Services Library

The Laupus Health Services Library is the primary resource facility for the Colleges of Allied Health Sciences and Nursing and the School of Medicine. The new 71,000 sf, three story library is located in a new building in the West Campus Learning Village (600 Moye Blvd.) and houses 135,271 bound volumes, 735 periodicals,6,337 e-journals (held jointly with Joyner Library), and over 16,300 microforms. It also has a large collection of audio-visual materials on health sciences and human services topics.  The Library's catalog is on-line and many of the HSL resources can be accessed remotely through the internet.

Music Library

A branch of Joyner Library housed in the A.J. Fletcher Music Center, the Music Library seats 40 patrons and contains a collection of nearly 80,000 books, scores, periodicals and media materials. Its listening facility contains equipment for playback of LP's, CD's, audio and video cassettes, DVD's, laser discs, interactive multimedia discs, computer software, and CD writing. Information is available concerning composers of centuries past or the latest popular performer. The library can track manuscripts in foreign libraries and maintains extensive holdings on current music therapy and music education.

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MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES

Greenville Museum of Art - 802 S. Evans Street, Greenville. (252) 758-1946. Features collection of late 19th and 20th Century American art and one of the largest collections of North Carolina Jugtown pottery. Open Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Wellington B. Gray Gallery - Jenkins Fine Arts Center, East Carolina University, Greenville. (252) 328-6336. Features exhibits of nationally and internationally known contemporary artists. Open (Sept. - May) MTWF, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Summer hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

East Carolina Village of Yesteryear - Pitt County Fairgrounds, US 264 Bypass North, Greenville.  Has 19 buildings that feature more than 1000 antique artifacts from 1840-1940 and depicts life in Pitt County and Eastern North Carolina during that period. Open by appointment.  Call the Pitt-Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau at 329-4200.

Farmville Community Arts Council - 3723 N. Main Street, Farmville. (252) 753-3832. Works by various artists on view. Open noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

May Museum and Park - 213 S. Main Street, Farmville. (252) 753-5814. Features local Farmville history. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Grifton Historical Museum of Area Culture - Grifton Civic Center, 202 Creekshore Drive, Grifton. (252) 524-4708. Tobacco and farming exhibits, displays of life during the early 1900's. Open by appointment and during the Grifton Shad Festival.

Winterville Historical and Arts Museum - 2543 N. Church Street, Winterville. (252) 321-2660. Houses over 1500 artifacts, donated by more than 100 people. Open by appointment.

Mendenhall Student Center Gallery - East Carolina University, Greenville. (252) 328-4700. Works by ECU students, faculty, and other NC artists. Open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday, noon to 2 a.m.; Sunday, noon to 11 p.m. Summer hours vary.

Private Art Galleries -

City Art Gallery - 511 Red Banks Rd., Greenville - (252) 353-7000.
Emerge Gallery - 404 S. Evans St., Greenville - (252) 551-6947.
Shenandoah Graphics and Framing - 1400 Charles Blvd., Greenville - (252) 353-6006.
University Frame Shop and Art Gallery - 516 S. Cotanche St., Greenville - (252) 752-4620

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