RALEIGH, N.C.-
The hottest ticket this week in Raleigh is to the “Monet in Normandy” exhibit that closes Sunday at the N.C. Museum of Art.
People seeking the tickets have offered lower level seats at a Carolina Hurricanes game, North Carolina basketball seats and paid a small premium online so they can see the 50 paintings by impressionist Claude Monet.
Hockey fan Robin Parrish, 30, of Raleigh, traded two $75 tickets for the Hurricanes-Capitals game for two $15 Monet tickets.
“I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these paintings,” Parrish said.
Bob Ross, 58, of Carrboro, posted an online ad and paid $20 each for a pair of tickets.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Ross said. “I thought it was just a lost cause.”
To help out, the museum printed “I need tickets” signs for people to hold outside the entrance. Museum spokeswoman Jennifer Bahus said most of those people obtained tickets from people who had extras.
Larry Wheeler, the museum’s director, said he considered extending the exhibit by a day. He decided against it because the staff was exhausted from the 14-week run.
Wheeler predicted about 225,000 people will see the exhibit before it moves to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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Information from: The News & Observer,
