THE BOSTON GLOBE – We were impressed years ago visiting the Peabody Essex Museum after it opened its Yin Yu Tang house exhibit, shipping the 200-plus-year-old abode of a one-time pawnbroker from China’s Anhui province for reassembly in Salem. What a feat that was: taking apart a wood-and-stone structure with 16 rooms and a courtyard with several bays and fishponds, all laid out according to feng shui, and putting its thousands of parts back together like a massive, multidimensional jigsaw puzzle.
The exhibit has been a hit with visitors since it opened in June 2003, offering everyone an up-close look at a Qing Dynasty home and specialists a rare education in Chinese architecture, art, and culture. Yin Yu Tang has pulled us back to Salem a number of times, and soon there will be even more at the museum to marvel at: a $125 million new wing, galleries, and garden slated to debut Saturday.
It will be interesting to see how curators will have filled the 40,000-square-foot expanse. The museum at 161 Essex St., whose origins date to the founding of the East India Marine Society around 1800, has a significant collection adding up to some 1.8 million works, according to its website.
The new wing will open with a ribbon-cutting, then a public celebration Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with free general admission all day. For more information, visit www.pem.org.
Thriving scene: It’s no wonder there’s a first-class museum on the North Shore (see above). In Beverly Friday, hundreds of people invested in elevating arts and culture are convening at the “2019 Essex County Arts & Culture Summit” to connect and share ideas for bolstering the local scene. The summit will include live performances, talks from leaders in the field, networking opportunities, breakout sessions, and the latest information about the Essex County Community Foundation’s “Creative County Initiative” and its $1.3 million investment. The gathering takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Cabot, 286 Cabot St. Visit www.eccf.org.
Opening night: The Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra holds its 104th opening night concert in Plymouth on Saturday, with performances of Paul Dukas’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (music featured in Disney’s animated film “Fantasia”), Elena Roussanova’s “Suite: Moments of Arrival,” and Saint-Saëns’s “Symphony No. 3, Organ Symphony.” The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall, 83 Court St. There is a preconcert party at 6 p.m. a few steps away at Pilgrim Hall Museum and a preconcert talk by conductor Steven Karidoyanes at 6:30 p.m. in the concert hall. Visit www.plymouthphil.org.
Dancing for a cause: On Friday, also in Plymouth, an advocacy nonprofit called To The Moon and Back is holding its second annual “Adult Prom” fund-raiser to benefit its mission, which is supporting the youngest victims of the opioids crisis — children born substance-exposed — and their caregivers. The prom, from 6:30 to 11 p.m., features dancing, of course, and live music by Soul City Band. It takes place at Alden Park Bar and Grill, 160 Colony Place. Visit www.adultpromnight.eventbrite.com.
Healing music: In Arlington, Mount Auburn Hospital is partnering with Terry Eagan/Patio Records and Last Chance Productions to present a “Healing Garden Music Concert” on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St. The concert will include country, bluegrass, folk, and pop performances, and proceeds will go toward a healing garden planned at the hospital. Visit www.patiorecords.com.
A shoutout: If you have an hour, or a few, go see “Balik Kampung — A Village Return,” a mixed-media installation at Merrimack College in North Andover by Emily Kearns that tells the story of her experience as a 16-year-old exchange student in Malaysia and her abiding relationship with the Muslim family who hosted her for a year beginning in February 1977. Heartfelt and brimming with love and hope, the installation in the Thagaste Gallery at the Rogers Center for the Arts is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and runs through Friday. Visit balikkampung.org.
By L. Kim Tan
