As you ease back into your regular schedule after a busy holiday season, give yourself a gift - take some time to visit your hometown treasures.
The Jamestown Chamber of Commerce will once again present Doors Open Jamestown, a free day at your local museums and attractions, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Fenton History Center, Jamestown Audubon Society and Nature Center, Jamestown Savings Bank Arena, the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Robert H. Jackson Center, Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Reg Lenna Civic Center, and the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame will be open for free tours and other offers. Drawings will be held at the venues and the museums are also offering discounts in their gift shops. Each of the museums and attractions is contributing to a grand-prize basket that will be given away at the end of the event.
Doors Open is an international event that focuses on encouraging local residents to take advantage of their area attractions. Whether your interest is in nature, art, history, sports or our famous hometown personalities, Doors Open Jamestown offers something of interest for everyone.
Article Photos
Visitors look at the rat snake exhibit at the Audubon Center and Sanctuary in?Jamestown. The Audubon is one of several attractions that will be participating in Doors Open Jamestown on Saturday.
Submitted photos
Downtown restaurants and retail shops are offering many discount coupons that will be available at the museums and attractions. Approximately 2,000 residents and visitors took part in the event last January.
''If even half of them buy breakfast, lunch or dinner, it will be a great day for the local economy,'' said Joni Blackman, director of the Fenton History Center. ''We are very thankful to the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation for contacting and collecting the downtown business information so we can promote all of our businesses.''
AUDUBON CENTER AND SANCTUARY
The Nature Center building of the Audubon Center and Sanctuary, located at 1600 Riverside Road off Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren, houses fun, hands-on displays for all ages including a variety of live reptiles, amphibians, fish and turtles. Audubon educators are planning some special activities during the day, including a chance to meet animals up-close and personal, a small craft table, and other surprises.
Summer day camp information will also be available. Anyone signing up for Summer day camp during Doors Open gets a $5 early bird discount. It's never too early to sign up because camps fill up quickly.
Liberty, Audubon's non-releasable bald eagle, can be seen in her own outdoor enclosure behind the Nature Center building. Audubon's winter hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays and Saturdays, and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays. Bald eagle viewing and trails for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are open dawn to dusk every day. For more in-depth programming, visit www.jamestownaudubon.org for other workshops and events being offered on Saturday.
REG LENNA CIVIC CENTER
When you enter the recently renovated Reg Lenna Civic Center lobby and inner lobby you will see the fully restored 1878 Buffalo Bill Cody billboard in the wonderfully restored 1923 theater. The billboard is the oldest known extant billboard in the country. The center is located on East Third Street. The Reg Lenna Civic Center is open from noon to 5 p.m.
ROBERT H. JACKSON CENTER
The Robert H. Jackson Center welcomes visitors to the beautifully decorated Italianate-style mansion. The 1858 mansion is dressed for the holidays, featuring rooms styled by local florists including C-Rosiez and Francesca's. Refreshments will be served, and visitors are welcome to enjoy free, guided tours of the gorgeously restored mansion. Attached to the mansion are exhibit spaces, archives, a 200-seat theater, bookstore and banquet facilities.
Visitors will be able to view the newest original exhibit, ''Jackson & Jamestown: 1909-1934.'' Featuring photographs and artifacts from a bustling era in Jamestown's history, this temporary exhibit tells the story of a remarkable man who went on to have an indelible effect on today's world, as well as explore the dynamic town and people that helped form his character. Other, permanent exhibits include ''Perpetrators,'' a collection of starkly rendered portraits and biographical text depicting the defendants from the Nuremberg trial; a Jackson ''timeline;'' and an exhibit of photographs by Ray D'Addario, one of the official photographers at Nuremberg. The Jackson Center is located at 305 E. Fourth St. in Jamestown, at the corner of Fourth and Prendergast streets. There is free parking and access from entrances on either street. Tours are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Email info@roberthjackson.org or visit www.roberthjackson.org for more information, or call 483-6646. The center can also be found on Facebook at the ''Robert H. Jackson Center'' fan page and on Twitter by following ''RHJCenter.''
ROGER TORY PETERSON INSTITUTE
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History will feature the spectacular astronomy exhibit "Here Comes the Sun: Astro Images of Alan Friedman and Ted Wolfe." In addition, a drawing for a set of nine art prints from the Birds of Labrador and Newfoundland by Roger Tory Peterson will be held. For more information contact Jim Berry at jberry@rtpi.org or by calling 665-2473, or visit www.rtpi.org.
JAMESTOWN SAVINGS BANK AREA
The Jamestown Savings Bank Arena, at the corner of Lafayette and Third streets in downtown Jamestown, will be offering a free public skate pass to be used in the future. If you have your flyer from visiting at least one of the attractions, you can skate for free.
FENTON HISTORY CENTER
The Fenton History Center's 32nd annual holiday exhibit is about the music of Christmas. The sounds of familiar carols bring back many memories of holiday celebrations. Exhibits about familiar carols, little-known facts about popular tunes and holiday music trivia will be placed throughout the mansion among the traditional festive exhibits. The exhibit is sponsored in part by Stormer Mechanical Services and Fessenden Laumer and DeAngelo Attorneys.
The four floors of the mansion are filled with decorated trees and nostalgic settings that show the traditions and celebrations that make Jamestown the way it is today. Some of the songs highlighted are well-known classics such ''Silver Bells,'' ''White Christmas,'' and ''Here Comes Santa Claus.'' Traditional pieces such as ''Jingle Bells'' and ''The Twelve Days of Christmas'' will be part of the exhibit too. A drawing will be held for a huck-woven afghan done in an earth-tone pattern.
The Fenton History Center is located on Washington Street just south of the Washington Street Bridge past the Forest Avenue traffic light. The museum is open year-round, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit fentonhistorycenter.org, call 664-6256 or follow the center on Twitter at FentonHistory.
LUCY-DESI CENTER
The Lucy-Desi Center for Comedy offers visitors two different venues for enjoying the legacy of both Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz - the Desilu Playhouse at 2 W. Third St. and the Lucy-Desi Museum at 10 W. Third St. The Playhouse features replicas of the ''I Love Lucy'' television sets, original costumes and props from the show, and a chance to recreate the ''Vitameatavegamin'' commercial. The museum contains eight rooms of memorabilia from the lives of both Lucy and Desi, including a room dedicated to Lucy's 1972 Mercedes. Both the museum and the Playhouse will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CHAUTAUQUA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
The Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame is filled with stories about our families, friends and neighbors and their athletic accomplishments. If you are interested in sports and have not visited the Hall, located at 15 W. Third St. in downtown Jamestown, you are missing a fascinating walk down memory lane. Baseball, football, motor sports, marksmanship and boxing - the list goes on and on. The Hall of Fame members will be selling tickets to the upcoming banquet on Feb. 20. Two tickets will be given away in a drawing at the end of the day.
Take a few minutes out of your weekend and stop into one of the many museums and attractions you have always been curious about. Take in a meal at one of the participating restaurants or shop in one of the downtown stores.
For more information, call any of the participating locations or visit www.fentonhistorycenter.org.