Thursday, April 19, 2007

El Dia de los Niños/Libros

Dia de los Niños/Libros (Day of the Child/Book) Festival and Celebration
This year is the tenth anniversary of El dia de los niños/El dia de los libros, Children's Day/ Book Day. "This is a day to celebrate our children, the importance of books in their lives, and our diversities of cultures," said Gail Schuler Santa Fe Public Library Youth Services Manager. Three days of events are planned. (Pardon the small print, there's a lot to squeeze in.)

Saturday, April 28th

   The Santa Fe Public Library will be holding a celebration at the new Southside Library, 5699 Jaguar Drive, for families on Saturday, April 28th,
the Fangura Kids Marimba Band will be performing from 10:15 to 11:15 am. They will assist Pat Mora in the reading of her new book Marimba!: Animals A to Z. Ms Mora will present her works from 11:15 to 12 noon.
   Pat Mora is a well known children’s author who specializes in bilingual English and Spanish Books. Her engaging book, Thomas and the Library Lady, won the Tomas Rivera Award in 1995. Ms. Mora is known nationwide as a leader in establishing “El Dia” as a celebration in this country. She presents workshops supporting bilingual education throughout the country.
   Mary Ellen Gonzales is a native New Mexican who is dedicated to bridging the Anglo and Hispanic cultures through storytelling. Her stories of Northern New Mexico give the gift of a broader understanding our state’s unique history and culture. Ms Gonzales will be telling her stories from 2:30 to 3:00 pm.
    Youth who have participated in this year’s ArtWorks poetry project will be reading their work at 1:30 to 2:30 pm. This year, ArtWork’s teaching artists collaborated with SFPS classroom teachers to provide students with poetry writing workshops given in conjunction with Santa Fe Poet Pat Mora. ArtWorks is a program developed by the city of Santa Fe Arts Commision in response to the community’s call for arts programming in the elementary schools.
   For more information about these programs call the Southside Library at 955-2828 or check or check our webpage at www.santafelibrary.org

Sunday, April 29th

At the La Farge Branch:
   Join the opening of the Reading/Literacy Space at La Farge Branch. The Grand Opening will be held 1:00-4:00 p.m. At 1:00 p.m. the ceremony will begin with a blessing of the site by a Native American Shaman. Speakers will include Dr. Sandara Rodriguez, College of Santa Fe; Adam Chavarria, White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans; and Norma Garza, U.S. Department of Education.
   From 2:00-4:00 p.m., three reading circles featuring Native American, Hispanic, and Western storytellers for children and adults. Storytellers will include Councilor Karen Heldmeyer, Tessie Naranjo, Juan Blea, Valerie Espinoza and Patricia Hodapp. During this time booths will be set up to distribute information, free books, provide face painting, and refreshments.

Monday, April 30th

At the La Farge Branch:
   3 to 5:30 p.m: Lots of activities for children, adults and families celebrating books and reading. Come play and read in the new fairytale reading playground. Participate in workshops for all ages. Listen to original stories and poems by DeVargas Middle School students. Join a reading circle. More!
   5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: Listen to prominent New Mexicans read with students from Salazar Elementary School in a round-robin read-a-thon of a children’s book (bilingual). Readers include Mayor Coss, Representative Tom Udall and others. Join in!
   7 to 8: pm: Storytelling by Joe Hayes, one of America’s premier storytellers--a nationally recognized teller of tales from Hispanic, Native American and Anglo cultures. His bilingual Spanish-English tellings have a distinctive place among America’s storytellers, and his books and tapes are popular nationwide.
These Dia de los Niños events and programs are co-sponsored by Santa Fe Public Library, Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library, the College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Public Schools, and New Mexico CultureNet.

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