Sacramento, CA -- Admission to the Crocker Art Museum will be free to the public during the Museum's remaining Holiday Mondays in 2011, sponsored by Target.

The Museum will open its doors on three additional Monday holidays this year: Memorial Day, Labor Day, and The Monday after Christmas, which is the first day of Kwanzaa. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Museum will celebrate these holidays with hands-on art activities, performances, tours, readings, film screenings, and more.

On Monday, May 30, in honor of Memorial Day, visitors will enjoy a day of special programs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the annual Jazz Festival and Jubilee, the Crocker will present "Jazz in Animation." Using clips from classics like Betty Boop to modern-era favorites such as "Fantasia," animation expert Jerry Beck and jazz authority Joe Gilman will take a melodic journey through cinematic history.

Museum docents will give spotlight talks on works of art connected to the holiday. Families will enjoy a studio art workshop inspired by the American flag, and tots can enjoy story and play time in the Museum's Early Childhood Resource Depot.

The Crocker has also partnered with two local arts organizations to help celebrate the day. The Sacramento Suzuki Violin Studio will be on hand with a display of violins. Children and adults are invited to try their hand at playing a violin, to listen to performances by the Studio's students, and learn more about violin making from the Studio's in-house luthier. The Crane Culture Theater will present a unique story integrating masks, puppets, dance, and music. "Sadako and the Thousand Cranes" is a compelling story of hope about a young girl in post-war Japan who seeks the symbolic strength of cranes in her determination to overcome leukemia.

For more information, visit www.crockerartmuseum.org or call (916) 808-7000.

The Crocker Art Museum was one of the first art museums in the U.S. and is now one of the leading art institutions in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country's finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Tuesday-Wednesday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Thursdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday-Sunday. Every Third Sunday of the month is "Pay What You Wish Sunday" sponsored by Bank of America. For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.