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.
   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 & Design 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 2009-2010 season begins with Arthur Miller's The Crucible and the rip-roaring musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in the fall and concludes with Play It Again, Sam by Woody Allen and Andrew Lippa's musical The Wild Party in the spring semester.

A special attraction during the East Carolina Playhouse's regular season is a Scholarship Fundraiser on April 24, 2010.  Faculty and students will prepare a variety show of Broadway tunes, children's theatre, and jazz, ballet and tap dance.  The event will raise scholarship funds for students in the Department of Theatre and Dance.

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 2009 season presents the musical "Big River - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from June 16-27.  The show is based on Mark Twain's story of Finn's efforts to help his friend Jim, a slave, escape to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River.  Roger Miller provides the Tony-award winning music and lyrics.

Shows run from Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with a matinee on Saturday at 2 p.m.  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

The S. Rudolph Alexander Performing Arts Series

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

The Family Fare Series is celebrating its nineteenth season in 2008-09 and will provide four fun-filled adventures for families performed by some of the nation's finest young-audience entertainers.  The events are:  ECU's Storybook Theatre production of The Jungle Book; Willa Brigham's Three Fat Frogs; comedy jugglers The Gizmo Guys; and Willy Wonka, also by the Storybook Theatre.   Season tickets and individual tickets are offered. All tickets are available at the Central Ticket Office at Mendenhall Student Center 252-328-4788, 1-800-ECU-ARTS., or at www.ecuarts.com

Community Theatre Groups

The Farmville Community Arts Council presents several theatre productions throughout the year.  The 2008-09 schedule features Plaza Suite, The Sound of Music, Cabaret, and To Kill A Mockingbird.  For more information call 252-753-3832 or visit www.farmvillearts.org

The Ayden Community Theatre presents two major productions each year in addition to making special appearances during the winter holiday season.  For more information call 252-746-7002 or visit www.aydencommunitytheatre.com

The Magnolia Arts Center shows foreign films, sponsors music and film festivals, produces plays, and hosts other events showcasing local artists and writers.  For more information, call 1-888-MAC-EVNT or visit www.magnoliaartscenter.com

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MUSIC

East Carolina University's approximately 60 music faculty members and more than 300 music students from across the nation provide over 200 free, high quality performances each year for the enjoyment of area residents.  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  online at www.events.ecu.edu/music/

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 2010 Festival dates are April 22-23.  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 2010 Festival will feature concerts, master classes, reading of student compositions, and seminars by visiting distinguished composers.  The Festival will be held February 24 - 28, 2010.  For more information, contact (252) 328-4280. 

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 2009-10 concerts are September 3-4, 2009; October 28-29, 2009; January 14-15, 2010; March 26-27, 2010; and April 29-30, 2010.  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 or online at www.ecuarts.com

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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. 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 230,142 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/academics/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 1,310,417 bound volumes, 2,012 print periodicals, and 45,120 e-journals (periodicals in electronic format). It also holds over 2.51 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 539,400 Government Documents. The Map Collection contains 112,222 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 72,000 sf, four story library is located in a new building in the West Campus Learning Village (600 Moye Blvd.) and houses 138,840 bound volumes, 766 print periodicals, 11,766 e-journals (held jointly with Joyner Library), and over 15,500 microforms. It also has a large collection of audio-visual materials on health sciences and human services topics as well as anatomical models.  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, journals, 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.  www.gmoa.org

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.  www.ecu.edu/graygallery

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.  www.farmvillearts.org

May Museum and Park - 3802 South Main Street, Farmville. (252) 753-6725. Features local Farmville history. Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekends by appointment.

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.
Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge - 404 S. Evans St., Greenville - (252) 551-6947.   www.emergegallery.com
InkStone Gallery - 180 Depot St., Winterville - (252) 231-7173.
Shenandoah Graphics and Framing - 1400 Charles Blvd., Greenville - (252) 353-6006.

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