Ava and Frank's Story Attracts Visitors to Festival in Smithfield, NC

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Things To Do

Published on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 13:49

Written by Filmfestivaltraveler Staff

The Ava Gardner Museum celebrated its seventh annual Ava Gardner Festival this month, Oct. 7-9, 2011. The event spotlighted Frank Sinatra, whom Ava considered the great love of her life.

An estimated 800 visitors from across the United States experienced an exciting weekend of Hollywood history and glamour in Smithfield, NC.

On Friday evening some 200 attended a gala that began with Sinatra music by Wilmington, NC, crooner Phil Bruschi in the historic Howell Theatre. The evening culminated with an exhibit opening and reception in the museum.

The two key centerpieces of the evening were a "Frank and Ava" cake from Carlo’s Bakery in Sinatra’s hometown, Hoboken, NJ, and an original, never-released recording of "You’re My Thrill" which Sinatra reportedly made in 1949 as a gift to Ava.

New exhibits unveiled during the Festival include:

• Frank and Ava: Their Lives, Love & Friendship
• Brogden - Johnston County, NC
• Rock Ridge - Wilson County, NC
• Ava’s Fashions
• Ava’s London Home
• Ava in Wartime - World War II

Among the biggest crowd-pleasers were dresses Gardner wore in:

• The Great Sinner (1949)
• East Side, West Side (1949)
• Show Boat (1951)

Also featured was the gold-plated pistol which director John Huston gave to Ava during the filming of The Night of the Iguana (1964). The story of the gun "reads like a scene from a film," the exhibit label reads. For the rest of the story, a visit the Ava Gardner Museum is required.

On Saturday museum founder Doris Cannon and board members Rick Lotz and Deidre Kraft led sold-out bus tours of Gardner’s birthplace, childhood home, and final resting place.

"This was the most well attended festival we’ve had so far," museum board member and Johnston County Visitors Bureau Director Donna Bailey-Taylor commented.

"We are so grateful to all those who gave of their time, sponsorships, and energy to make it all happen and to all the Ava and Frank fans who supported the event with their presence. It was a wonderful week-end and a time we will remember for many years to come."

Some 150 movie-lovers got to see Ava and Frank films on the big screen, thanks to the generosity of Smithfield Cinemas. Shown during the festival were:

• Show Boat
• Bhowani Junction
• From Here to Eternity
• Ocean’s Eleven

Gardner had struck a deal with MGM to get Sinatra his role in From Here to Eternity (1953). It won him an Oscar for best supporting actor and jump-started his faltering career, although it also occurred at the time of his break-up with Gardner.

The following major sponsors made new exhibits possible: Atkinson Milling Company, the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation, the Ella Ann L. and Frank B. Holding Foundation, Jean L. Jones/Carolina Packers, the M. W. "Mokie" Stancil Family, and the Winston-Salem Foundation.

In addition to exhibit sponsors, the museum toasted all of the Ava Gardner Festival Sponsors whose contributions were paramount to the success of this year’s festival:

• Smithfield Cinemas
• Hinnant Winery
• Johnston County Arts Council
• Johnston County Visitors Bureau
• McDonald’s of Smithfield/Selma
• Sleep Inn & Suites of Smithfield
• Our State Magazine
• Carroll Pharmacy
• David and Darlene Creech
• Donna Bailey-Taylor
• Benton Card Company
• Howell Theatre

The Ava Gardner Museum is open daily Monday-Saturday, 9-5pm and Sunday 2-5pm and is located at 325 E. Market Street in Downtown Smithfield.

For more information on museum activities and supporting the preservation efforts of the museum call 919-934-5830 or visit: www.avagardner.org

7th annual Ava Gardner Festival
Oct. 7-9, 2011

Smithfield Cinemas
Smithfield, NC

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