Edison & Ford Winter Estates Southwest Florida Residents Half Price Day

Just in time for the end of summer vacation, on Saturday, August 21 from 9 AM – 5:30 PM, the Edison & Ford Winter Estates is offering half price admissions for all Southwest Florida Residents to tour the Estates Museum, Laboratory, Homes and Gardens.  Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5.50 for children (ages 6 -12, 5 and under are free).  Groups of 20 or more will also receive a special ticket price but must reserve in advance by calling the Estates.  Residents must present a driver’s license or voter registration card with photo ID to show their address in Lee, Hendry, Collier, Charlotte or Glades County.

In addition to an Estates tour, visitors will enjoy new Museum tours and invention demonstrations throughout the day. Demonstrations include the Edison phonograph every half hour, presentations on antique cars and tours of the Edison Research Laboratory. 
 
The Estates recently completed more than $12 million in improvements and restoration to the homes, gardens, swimming pool and other areas on both the Edison and Ford Estate.  They have been successfully managed by a new non-profit organization since 2006, the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Inc. and have recently won both National Trust and National Garden Council top awards.
 
The Estates is open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. The Estates is the winner of the 2009 National Stewardship Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is an official project of “Save America’s Treasures” at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Florida Historic Landmark and a National Register Historic Site. For additional information call 239-334-7419 or visit the web site at www.efwefla.org.

Print a Fish T-Shirt for Dad and Visit on Father’s Day

What:   Fish Printing Workshop & FREE admission for Fathers
When: Workshop on Saturday, June 19, Noon until 3 PM
            FREE admission for Dad’s on Sunday, June 20, all day 
Where:   Edison & Ford Winter Estates, 2350 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers
Who:  Fathers, Grandfathers, children – bring the entire family

Join guest artists and architects for a Fish Printing Workshop (also known as gyotaku, the Japanese art of fish printing) at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in the Edison Caretaker’s House on June 19 from Noon – 3 PM.    Participating artists include Karen Flanders, City of Fort Myers Councilman and architect Mike Flanders and Parker Mudgett Smith architect Sean Gilmore.   Local real fish will be provided by the Edison Fish Market.

For a one of a kind gift for Dad, participants will create fish print t-shirts or fish prints on other clothing.  The Estates will furnish the fish, paint, and skill for participants to make a lasting keepsake of the day and a great Father’s Day gift 

Both the Edison and Ford families were well known for their love of fishing and fish.  It is not known if they tried gyotaku although the art form has been around for centuries as it was the first method for recording information about fish by printing the fish impression on rice paper. 

The workshop is FREE (a $5 donation is suggested which goes toward Estates Summer Camp scholarships) and participants are encouraged to bring their own shirts or printable fabric.  The Estates will have some t-shirts in limited sizes available for purchase.

On Father’s Day, June 20th,  Dads will be admitted FREE to tour the Estates accompanied with their paid child.    FREE admission for dad’s includes a tour of the newly restored homes, the historical botanical gardens, the Estates Museum and the Edison Research Laboratory.

The Estates is open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. The Estates is the winner of the 2009 National Stewardship Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is an official project of “Save America’s Treasures” at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Florida Historic Landmark and a National Register Historic Site. For additional information call 239-334-7419 or visit the web site at www.efwefla.org.

Clothesline Quilt Show and Airing of the Quilts at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates

The Edison & Ford Winter Estates and the Southwest Florida Quilter’s Guild will be “airing quilts” on clotheslines on Saturday, October 31. There will be more than 40 quilts on display on clotheslines throughout the palm alleé at the Edison Estate as well as ‘airing’ on the friendship gate between the Edison and Ford homes.  Antique quilts belonging to Guild members will be on display on the Edison porches.  The special show will be from 10 AM until 2 PM.  A separate ticket price is available for $5 and is free to Estates Members and members of the Southwest Florida Quilters’ Guild.

To add to the nostalgia of the Estates outdoor quilt show, there will be antique cars on display and live period music performed.

An airing or display of the quilts was an ordinary part of life a century ago when blankets and textiles were moved out of doors to air and freshen up before the cold winter months ensued.  The Estates has been fortunate to not only assemble a small collection of historic quilts but also to engage the members of the Southwest Florida Quilter’s Guild who will join in by airing and exhibiting their collection of handmade contemporary, traditional and historical quilts.  Members of the Guild as well as curatorial staff will be on hand to discuss techniques and care.  The book, Quilts From The Henry Ford by Fons and Porter, will be available for sale.

The basis for the quilt exhibit at the Estates follows the interest of the Ford family in the early 1900’s as they collected quilts and other historical objects.  In fact, their interest grew so large that they created Greenfield Village in Dearborn Michigan, a museum complex established in 1929.    The collection extended from household objects and crafts to many important American buildings, among them the original Edison Research Laboratory from the grounds of the Edison Estate in Fort Myers.

Henry Ford and his wife, Clara, collected, celebrated and displayed what industry created but also what ordinary folks had designed, produced and used during the previous two centuries.  In their efforts they created a museum complex on a massive scale.  Along with the wagons, buildings, machines and other examples of American life, they included quilts.  There was little question that quilts, often assembled from modest fabric scraps epitomized the resourcefulness of American women that the Fords so admired. 

In the event of rain, the one day exhibit will be postponed to a later date. 

The Estates is open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.  The Estates was awarded the National Trust for Historic Preservation Award in 2008 and is an official project of “Save America’s Treasures” at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Florida Historic Landmark and a National Register Historic Site.  For additional information call 239-334-7419 or visit the web site at www.efwefla.org.