A festival celebrating the 100th birthday of movie star Ava Gardner is set to start on Oct. 7 and will run through Oct. 9.
The three days of festivities are being hosted by the Ava Gardner Museum, located at 325 E. Market St. in Smithfield, North Carolina, Gardner’s home state.
Over the course of the festival, new exhibits will be unveiled, some of Gardner’s films will be screened, and a dedication ceremony will take place for the Ava Gardner Mural and Rose Garden.
“The festivities will continue throughout 2023 as we celebrate Ava’s centennial year with special programming and virtual offerings designed to honor Ava’s many contributions to film, fashion, and philanthropy,” according to information on Johnston County’s official visitors bureau website.
For nearly half a century, Ava Gardner wowed audiences in over 60 film and television productions. While her natural beauty helped launch her career at the tender age of 18, it was her innate talent and earthy, magnetic screen presence in classic films like The Killers 1946), Show Boat (1951), Mogambo (1953), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), and The Night of the Iguana (1964) that ultimately made her an international star. During her career, she received recognition and accolades from critics, fans, and film festivals the world over earning Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA acting nominations along the way. At the peak of her studio career, Ava left her hand and footprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and, in 1960, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ava has been celebrated with historical markers in the U.S. and England, a bronze statue of her overlooks the coast of Spain, and she’s been featured on stamps in at least eight countries. The American Film Institute named Ava one of the 50 greatest screen legends of the 20th Century.