Leaders plan free days at new Scruggs Center

 While no specific date has been announced, the Earl Scruggs Center plans to open later this year. And Cleveland County residents will have the chance to experience it for free.
Scruggs Center organizers plan to admit county residents free one day each week once the museum opens.
“It’s their objective to be open by late fall,” Cleveland County Manager Eddie Bailes said. “Once the facility is open, it will bring visitors in from all over the country and world to Cleveland County. They will visit our restaurants, hotels and give our county name recognition.”
Plans for the free day were part of the original Scruggs Center lease, said Brownie Plaster, chairwoman of Destination Cleveland County, the group behind both the Scruggs Center and the Don Gibson Theatre.
“Because the county was allowing us to lease the building, we wanted to offer a courtesy to the citizens of one day at no charge,” said Emily Epley, executive director of the Scruggs Center. “Some people may not know what it’s all about, and it will give them the opportunity to come without spending money.”
The free day will only apply to Cleveland County residents, and the day of the week has not been determined.
“The local interest in the center is a huge component in the success of the center,” said Epley. “We need those out-of-town visitors, but we can’t have a successful center without all of these pieces. The local is important, because it’s a great way for the community to be proud of the history of this region.”
On Tuesday night, Cleveland County commissioners approved amendments to DCC’s lease on the Scruggs Center. Those amendments included an extension of DCC’s lease on the courthouse to Dec. 31, 2013, and a change of the name of the museum from “Earl Scruggs Center: Songs and Stories of the Carolina Foothills” to “Earl Scruggs Center: Music and Stories from the American South.”
“We were waiting on the Economic Development Administration Grant to approve the opening date change from April to December,” said Bailes. “Now we are going into the lease agreement and making amendments.”
The change in the lease mandates the center must be open by the end of 2013, officials said.
The name was changed from “Carolina Foothills” to “American South” to increase tourism potential, Plaster said. Once the center opens, it will be open five days a week for at least 30 hours, she said.