An overflow audience this week for the inductions of zydeco musician C.J. Chenier and blues music promoter and nightclub operator Clifford Antone into the Museum of the Gulf Coast spilled over from the ceremony in the exhibit room to the adjoining gallery.

Some 230 people signed in to the admission-free event; another 70 or so entered from the Procter Street side of the building; their attendance was not formally recorded, director Tom Neal said.

That was all in a night’s work for the museum, which set an attendance record in 2018, shattering its old benchmark, 14,600 in 2002, by 1,320.

The downtown landmark, now in its 25^th year, has drawn between a high of 15,920 in 2018 to a low of 9,817 in 2016. Look for bigger things, Neal predicted.

Local attraction

“Of course, the museum is one of our major attractions,” said Tammy Kotzur, executive director of the Port Arthur Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Sea Rim State Park has more attendance, but the Museum of the Gulf Coast has really good numbers.”

The museum, with an annual budget of just south of a half-million dollars, is funded in part by the local hotel-motel tax and the city. The C&VB funds Interstate 10 billboards for the museum, which sport the image of Port Arthur’s biggest tourism draw, Janis Joplin.

Kotzur said the museum, especially in the last 12-18 months, has done more public events than ever, not limiting events to just members, and has made the museum more community centered. There’s a reason for that, Neal says.

Part of the museum’s value is to instill a message to Southeast Texas people to take pride in their community, to draw inspiration from people born here, reared here, or who worked here and became success stories.

“We tell student visitors there are 200 people in this museum who ate where you ate, slept where you slept and succeeded in their lives,” Neal said. That message can resonate for some young people.

For example, a young Elandon Roberts moved to Port Arthur, visited the museum and became determined to do something special to become remembered locally like those people who were enshrined there when he visited. On Sunday, Roberts, a member of the New England Patriots, will play in his third consecutive Super Bowl.

He entered the museum three years ago and Patriots Super Bowl jersey is on display alongside other memorabilia.

“If you’re from the area, you don’t have to dream alone,” Neal said. “You’ve got a lot of people who paved the way before you.”

Inductees now include C.J. Chenier, the Crown Prince of Zydeco, who grew up in Port Arthur and joined his father, Clifton Chenier, in the museum’s Music Hall of Fame on Thursday. Also inducted that night was Port Arthur native Clifford Antone, who operated a globally known blues venue in Austin for three decades that still bears his name. Both men were Port Arthur natives who made their mark on the world.

Memberships sought

Neal said 2019 will be the year of museum memberships. In 2017, the museum had 217 members. In 2018, the number rose to 277 membership units representing 1,122 people.

“Memberships give us money to operate on,” he said. They give some sure stability to pay insurance and turn on the utilities. He said he’d like to see at least 500 members.

He said the museum also needs donations and participation.

“We’re very frugal with resources,” he said. The staff is small but spirited, and their work has increased the quality of what is happening at the museum. That, he said, has been a special quest in the last two years — to enhance the quality of a visit to the museum.

To that end, they’ve turned the gift shop into a shopper’s delight, improved customer service, increased public events and promoted their new efforts on social media and in mass media.

‘Bucket list’

For example, the museum had five special, temporary exhibits last year, inducted five new members, hosted educational events and five book signings. It was featured in two state travel magazines and was included on the Travel TV program, “Texas Bucket List.”

The museum hosted “family fun days,” which provide special attractions and lure families into the museum to appreciate what it has to offer. December’s family fun day attracted more than 900 people into the museum.

Kotzur said Janis Joplin remains one of Port Arthur’s big draws for tourists, who visit from around the world. At the museum, they find a wealth of information and shopping options related to the rock and blues singer.

She said that the museum also offers tourists a reason to stay in town longer.

“If people are bird watching or something else, the museum is a great place to go also. It extends their stay here, provides them an additional place to spend time,” she said.

“Tom has taken it to the next level. The museum has a really good staff and they are elevating the museum more in the community.”