The Massillon Museum will collaborate with the Canton Ballet and the Canton Symphony Orchestra to present a free event, A Gilded Afternoon: Fairytales and Fashions, on Sunday, September 29, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. It will complement the Gilding Northeast Ohio: Fashion and Fortune 1870–1900 exhibition, which will continue through October 13.

Guests can enjoy Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Jewels Variations from Sleeping Beauty, Act III, performed by the Canton Ballet. Jewels Variations, choreographed by Marius Petipa, premiered during the Gilded Age in St. Petersburg, Russia, on January 15, 1890. Ballet costumes are courtesy of Elizabeth Ekey and the Tutu Theatre. Jennifer Catazaro Hayward is staging the performance. A Canton Symphony Orchestra string quartet will then perform an excerpt from Antonín Dvo?ák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, nicknamed the "American Quartet" and composed in 1893. The Canton Symphony Orchestra string quartet will also perform before and after the event in the Museum's lobby.

Following the performances in Gessner Hall, Gilding Northeast Ohio Guest Curator Brian Centrone and Western Reserve Historical Society Museum Advisory Council Curator of Costume and Textiles Patricia Edmonson will co-moderate a fashion history panel featuring Art Historian Dr. Elizabeth Block, Historian Dr. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, and Canton Ballet Wardrobe Mistress Elizabeth Ekey.

Guests should make advance reservations at www.MassMu.org/Tickets or 330-833-4061. The Massillon Museum appreciates operating support from the Ohio Arts Council and ArtsinStark, marketing support from Visit Canton, and the support of the citizens of Massillon. This event is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Gilding Northeast Ohio is funded by a Major Arts Enhancements & Exhibit Grant through ArtsinStark and Visit Canton.

Guests can view the Gilding Northeast Ohio exhibition before or after the program, along with Innovators of Massillon; the Immel Circus; the local history and fine and decorative arts galleries; 90 Years of Community: The Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club; Brown’s Town: Art Inspired by Ohio’s Football Heritage; the Paul Brown/Massillon Tiger Football History Timeline; and more.
 
MassMu is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots. For more information, call 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org. A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free.