A crowd gathered outside the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History yesterday to see the ribbon cutting for the new Donna Fargo exhibit.

The ribbon cutting took place after the dedication of the Donna Fargo Highway. Donna Fargo, Mayor Jack Loftis, Ann Vaughn, executive director of the Gilmer-Smith Foundation, and Matt Edwards, director of the museum, held the scissors in unison to cut the ribbon.

Visitors then rushed into the museum to see the new exhibit that was finally completed in the wee hours of the morning.

“It’s just amazing,” said Fargo after seeing the completed exhibit. “(Edwards) did a great job.”

The exhibit is on the second floor of the museum. A glass enclosure contains several of Fargo’s original awards dresses and costumes, gold albums, Grammy and Academy of Country Music awards, and other memorabilia.

“It’s a great collection,” Edwards remarked.

The Donna Fargo exhibit, which used to be housed in the Robert Smith House, will be a permanent exhibit in the museum. Edwards said this exhibit is part of the museum’s effort to transition the second floor of the museum into a “hometown heroes” floor.

“We’re rebranding this space to focus on the people who’ve made a significant impact in the community,” said Edwards.

The director said the Fargo exhibit will be the anchorpiece of the gallery. In the future, the museum will expand the exhibits of other hometown heroes. These include Andy Griffith, Eng and Chang Bunker, Tommy Jarrell and heritage musicians, WPAQ radio station, local war heroes, and others.

According to Edwards, the Fargo exhibit only displays a portion of what Fargo has donated to the museum. The museum plans to periodically change out the dresses in the museum. Edwards also spoke of plans for a traveling exhibit of Fargo that would go to other museums across the country.

The Fargo exhibit has been in the works for six months. Edwards, who is new to the museum and to Fargo’s music, said he quickly grew to appreciate Fargo.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for the groundbreaking role she played in country music ... And I think the crowd we had here today was indicative of that success,” said Edwards.

Visitors formed a line toward the stairwell to see the exhibit and get Fargo’s autograph.

Julia Sharpe of Mount Airy came to see the exhibit after watching the Donna Fargo Highway dedication. She said, “I think it’s lovely. I knew she would have sparkly clothes here, because she was in concert so much.”

The museum allowed everyone to enter free for the day. Normal admission for the museum ranges is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for students, and no price for children younger than age 5.

“Hopefully people will come back,” Edwards said.

Candace Simmons, chairman of the museum’s board of directors, added, “We hope they’ll all become members.”

Edwards pointed out that the free admission was done to honor Fargo. He said, “This is really a goodwill gesture for us. This is a community that has a lot of things to offer.”

In November, the museum plans to open an additional upstairs floor with more than 1,000 square feet and three designed gallery spaces. The floor will contain a children’s hands-on gallery, an exhibit showing the town’s transition from agriculture to industry, and an exhibit on the social fabric of the community.

The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information about the museum, call 786-4478.