Vent Haven Museum, the world’s only museum dedicated to ventriloquism, has received a Drees Homes Foundation pledge of $200,000 towards the museum’s Capital Campaign to build a new facility.
The Drees Homes Foundation team toured the museum and recognized the need for accessibility and additional space. They also found Vent Haven to be a “truly one-of-a-kind experience” and decided to lead the way in supporting this unique campaign.
The Museum’s Capital Campaign is now more than halfway toward its goal of $1million.
One of the reasons that Drees Homes Foundation chose to support Vent Haven is its alignment with the foundation’s focus on “Northern Kentucky community-based endeavors that enrich the local landscape.”
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the Drees Homes Foundation,” says Lisa Sweasy, Vent Haven’s director/curator. “This is the largest single gift the museum has received, and we are very grateful for this show of support for us and our mission.”
Vent Haven Museum is located in Fort Mitchell on West Maple Avenue at the home of the founder and original collector W.S. Berger, a Cincinnati businessman. The collection of nearly 1000 ventriloquists’ dummies plus photos, playbills, books, and ephemera are housed in four small buildings on the property, one of which was originally Berger’s garage.
It officially opened as a museum in 1973 with a building dedication attended by ventriloquism legend Edgar Bergen and Nestlé Quik spokesman Jimmy Nelson who performed for the crowd. In the 40+ years the museum has been open to the public, the collection has doubled in size but the square footage of space has remained the same, thus the need for a new building.
The new facility will eliminate several current barriers for both tourists and collection management. It will be fully accessible, provide space for onsite educational programming and research, have restroom facilities, and more.
Every ventriloquist you can imagine is represented in the collection – from Edgar Bergen to Jeff Dunham, Shari Lewis to Willie Tyler, Terry Fator to Paul Winchell, and thousands of others. The museum is also a great representative of 20th century American history with figures related to WWI, WWII, and the Civil Rights era, plus Jim Teter’s president’s figures Richard Nixon through George W. Bush.
Every guided tour is tailored to the visitor, and it’s never the same tour twice.
Vent Haven Museum is a place that needs to be seen to be believed.
Vent Haven Museum is so grateful to the Drees Homes Foundation for leading the way to help many more people in Northern Kentucky and from around the world experience this amazing collection and local treasure, said Sweasy.
For information about the museum, visit the website or contact the curator at 859-341-0461 or curator@venthaven.org.