By Brittany Cohill, Mandarin Museum Executive Director
mail@floridanewsline.com
A favorite quote of mine adorns a wall in Mandarin Museum. Maybe you’ve noticed it; maybe you will on your next visit. It reads, “The past, the present, and the future are really one: they are today.” Authored by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it is a lovely sentiment to sit with and ponder. To me, Stowe is conveying the importance of “today.” That whatever action or inaction you choose today can have an immeasurable impact. Whatever action or inaction you choose today cannot be separated from the past that informs it or the future that inherits it.
This year marks Mandarin Museum & Historical Society’s 35th anniversary. In 1989, a group of individuals with an eye to the future and a love for the past decided to act. They formed what would become the Mandarin Museum you know and love today. They began collecting, preserving, and sharing the stories of Mandarin’s history, culture, and natural resources with the community. Over decades, their decision to act has grown from boxes of documents and objects stored in the nooks and crannies of living rooms and spare bedrooms to a museum that has become a cornerstone of our neighborhood — a place where quite literally the past, present, and future have converged.
To celebrate that “today” 35 years in the past, and ensure a future of many more “todays,” Mandarin Museum invites you to join us for our second annual fundraising dinner on Sept. 12 at Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro. It will be a special evening highlighting our organization’s impact, the friendships forged, and a community forever changed by that one decision to act.
The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with Mandarin Museum’s board of directors welcoming guests for cocktail hour and the opening of the silent auction. The fun continues as Chef Dennis Chan presents his custom curated four-course menu based on Mandarin’s food scene as it was in 1989. Throughout, guests will enjoy a fun-filled program of speakers and entertainment chronicling the museum’s 35 years, including a very special “Music Under the Oaks” performance.
Proceeds from the dinner will enable Mandarin Museum to continue its mission to share the stories of the community’s history, culture, and natural resources by supporting operations and an array of programs that educate, entertain, and inspire.
Tickets may be purchased online or in-person at Museum Guest Services. Visit www.mandarinmuseum.org or email director@mandarinmuseum.org for more information.
Photo courtesy Olis Garber
Brittany Cohill (right) with Karen Jones Roumillat, Mandarin Museum board member, at the museum’s grand reopening in 2023.
