North Central Washington Arts Alliance

Film & Speaker Series: Wonderful, Weird, & Worrisome Objects in WA State Museums w/ Harriet Baskas
2025-09-24 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center, 127 S Mission St, Wenatchee, WA, United States
The Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center is excited to collaborate with Humanities Washington for a night of Wonderful, Weird, and Worrisome Objects from our archives!
Join journalist Harriet Baskas as she unveils her life’s mission to find the oddest collection items tucked away in Washington State museums on Wednesday, Sep. 24, at 5:30 PM.
Most museums display no more than 10 percent of their holdings, often citing “not enough space” as the reason. But there are also a wide range of cultural, philosophical, political, environmental, historic, and even superstitious reasons why museums keep some objects from public view.
In this talk, explore a wide range of hidden objects found in the back rooms of museums in our state and around the country. Examples include a Spokane institution that holds Bing Crosby’s toupées and a museum in Lynden that’s home to a 150-year-old pickle. When possible, we will have local museum curators on hand to answer questions, participate in our discussions, and unbox a few hidden treasures.
This event is free for everyone, but registration is recommended. Doors open at 5 PM.
Funds from this event support the Museum’s mission-serving programs, including featured exhibits, MakerSpace, robotics clubs, field trips, student scholarships, community cultural events, film and speaker series, and collection restorations.
The 2025-26 Film & Speaker Series is supported by the City of Wenatchee and the City of East Wenatchee. This event is brought to you by Humanities Washington.
