Greenery, ribbons and ornaments have turned the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown into a holiday happening.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas'' is the theme of displays prepared Monday by members of area garden clubs. About 50 volunteers from six area garden clubs turned up, divided into groups and worked from about 9:30 a.m. to noon for the holiday exhibit that opens today and runs through Dec. 31, organizers said.
"It shows the museum in a very beautiful setting,'' said Suzanne Kingsley, a member of the Lake and Valley Garden Club in Cooperstown. "It just brightens your spirits.''
The volunteers arrived with their scissors, gloves, artistic ideas and enthusiasm, said Nancy Karaman, volunteer administrator for the Fenimore Art Museum, the New York State Historical Association and affiliated institutions. To identify "The Twelve Days'' from "a partridge in a pear tree'' to "12 drummers drumming'' is like a scavenger hunt, she said.
Miles of greenery were decorated with ornaments and bows of many sizes. The club members accomplished a seemingly impossible task in a matter of hours, Karaman said, and the result is "just beautiful.''
Karaman said the theme originated with Suzanne Kingsley of the Lake and Valley Garden Club of Cooperstown.
Kingsley said the idea was an ambitious one when first mounted about five years ago.
The "Twelve Days'' displays were well-received, she said, and museum officials asked that it be re-created.
The decorations had been stored by verse topic, she said, and photographs provided guidelines for this year's teams.
About 25 volunteers were from the Cooperstown club, Kinglsey said, and the project also was an opportunity to meet members of clubs from other communities.
Rebecca Brannick, of Gilbertsville and a member of the Butternut Valley Garden Club, said she enjoyed meeting other greens and gardening enthusiasts.
A walk around the finished displays revealed that "they fit in very nicely with the museum exhibits,'' she said.
The other groups represented were the Town and Country, Valley, Greene, Norwich, North Norwich, and Oxford garden clubs.
"This wonderful collaboration among area garden clubs helps continue the traditions the Lake and Valley Garden Club began over 20 years ago," said Stephen Elliott, president of the New York State Historical Association, in a media release. "Thanks to the efforts of these dedicated clubs, Fenimore Art Museum takes on a different beautiful holiday look each year."
Fenimore Art Museum collections includes American folk art, decorative arts, photography and American Indian art. Its current special exhibits include ``America's Rome: Artists in the Eternal City, 1800-1900,'' ``Walker Evans: Carbon and Silver'' and ``American Landscapes from the Permanent Collection.''
The museum, part of NYSHA, is at 5798 State Highway 80, Lake Road, in Cooperstown. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays and Christmas Day. Admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for a guest 65 or older and $5 for a child between 7 and 12. Active duty and retired career military personnel are admitted free.
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