The Johnston County Heritage Center’s principal new exhibit for the fall season shines a spotlight on film star Ava Gardner, highlighting her Johnston County roots and enduring family ties.
The exhibit – subtitled “growing up in ‘Grabtown,’ coming home to Smithfield” – includes several items loaned to the Heritage Center by Ava’s relatives and friends, complemented with appropriate items of local interest borrowed from the Ava Gardner Museum. Among the loaned items are a designer party dress worn by Ava and later given to her niece, Mary Edna Grimes Grantham of Smithfield.
The exhibit includes photographs of Ava in Johnston County settings – some from the Heritage Center’s archives, others from the Ava Gardner Museum’s collection.
