The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

Events Scheduled for
The Big Read
in Cherokee County
February-March 2009

Kick-Off Week featuring Mark Twain,
Free “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” books,
Reader’s Guides, Bookmarks and more!

February 17
R. T. Jones Library 10AM 
Hickory Flat Library 3PM 
Family Night at R. T. Jones Library 7PM 

February18
Rose Creek Library 10AM 
Lunch with Mark Twain  Noon
at The Corner Bistro Woodstock 

February 19
Ball Ground Library 10AM 
Woodstock Library 3PM 
English as Second Language
Woodstock Library 7pm 

February 20
Becky Thatcher Tea Party  10AM
Tea Leaves & Thyme Woodstock
(reservations required)

February 21
Mark Twain Day/Festival 
Canton City Park
 
February 23-27
Free Assemblies in the Schools
Featuring Mark Twain

February 28
Mark Twain Day/Festival
Woodstock City Park

March 6-29
The Play – “Tom Sawyer”
At the Towne Lake Arts Center
Free to all who have read the book!

March 29
Closing Ceremony
At The Towne Lake Arts Center  

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Press Releases
Towne Lake Arts Center Receives NEA Grant

By Barbara P. Jacoby
Cherokee Tribune Managing Editor 

 Cherokee County next February will be transformed into the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Mo.   The Towne Lake Arts Center has won a $14,000 The Big Read grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to present a series of programs celebrating the classic book, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

The 1876 novel by Mark Twain tells the tale of a boy growing up in a small town along the Mississippi River in the years following the Civil War.

On Monday, 200 communities were selected to participate in this year's program to promote reading and literacy and receive grants totaling $2.8 million. The arts center is one of only eight applicants in Georgia to be selected.

Participating communities, between September and next June, are to present a month of special activities to bring the community together to read, discuss and celebrate a specific novel.

Arts Center Artistic Director Gay Grooms said she decided to apply after seeing "Tom Sawyer" had been added to the NEA's list of choices for the project.

"Part of the focus of The Big Read is to encourage reluctant or lapsed readers, many of whom, statistically speaking, are adolescent boys, to pick up a great novel and read again. What better book than 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' to give to a young fellow to get excited about reading?" she said, noting the arts center also has produced a play based on the book, most recently in 2006.

Through a partnership with the Sequoyah Regional Library System, the arts center will present six weeks of activities kicking off in February.

Plans include local performances by Canton native Kurt "Mr. Twain" Sutton, who brings the famed author to life in a one-man show. Sutton was in character to entertain guests during the arts center's recent "Tom Sawyer" shows.

As part of The Big Read, Sutton will visit local libraries and middle and high schools, where as Twain he will distribute free copies of "his book," as well as tell stories and sing songs.

Community events in the works include mini-raft building contests, treasure hunts and a Becky Thatcher Tea Party at Tea Leaves and Thyme in Woodstock, Mrs. Grooms said.

The culminating event will be performances of the "Tom Sawyer" play at the arts center. Admission will be free to everyone who reads one of the copies of the book distributed through the program and turns in a special bookmark.

Participating communities also receive free educational materials from the NEA including guides for readers and teachers as well as audio guides that feature readings from the novel along with commentary from renowned figures.

"We will be distributing hundreds of books, reader's guides, teacher guides and audio guides throughout Cherokee," Mrs. Grooms said. "It is our goal to have as many citizens and students as possible join in the fun and get back into reading through The Big Read in Cherokee County."

For Carson Ray, regional supervisor of youth services for the library system, the partnership was as perfect a match as fictional pals Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

"It seemed so natural that the library be a part of this literacy initiative. I imagine us bringing Cherokee County alive with literacy," she said, noting "Tom Sawyer" is among her favorite novels. "We'll be dragging literacy out of the mud, cleaning it up and putting a shine on it."

 
For more information about The Big Read,
please call 678-494-4251
or email director@tlaclive.org
Thank you!