All across Sonoma County people are cracking open “The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain and getting ready to
saddle up for Sonoma County’s The Big Read this April.
Started by The National Endowment of the Arts, The Big Read is
an initiative designed to “restore reading to the center of
American culture.” Communities across the United States partake
during various months of the year, choosing a book from a list of
authors suggested by the NEA.
Locally, KRCB is the lead agency coordinating events. According
to Melissa Kelly, the Big Read Coordinator for Sonoma County,
“Studies showed that fewer people were reading for pleasure,” so
the NEA responded by creating a project that “promotes reading and
getting people to use their local library.”
Reading is just the beginning of this shindig however. There’s a
mind-boggling list of events for everyone to partake in throughout
Sonoma County in the coming weeks, from learning to canoe,
attending the theater, taking part in book discussions and painting
murals. Many of the events and adventures are modeled after Tom
Sawyer’s experiences, such as a boating, fishing, star gazing and
picnicking.
According to Kelly, the book lends itself to an array of
activities and projects related to the adventurous life of the
story’s main character. “It was chosen because it’s appealing to a
large number of people, including those who are not regular
readers,” says Kelly.
During the planning stage of The Big Read, groups and
organizations were encouraged to come up with events related to
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” or Mark Twain in general. It’s
astounding to see the number of offerings that emerged from this
county-wide, creative effort.
The Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma is staging a recently
discovered play by Twain, called “Is He Dead Yet?” about an artist
who fakes his own death in order to make his paintings sell better.
Sonoma County Regional Parks is hosting a “Learn to Canoe” event at
Steelhead Beach in Forestville, and Glen Weaver, founder of the
Sonoma County Free Bookmobile, has set aside a special “Mark Twain
Exchange” section which encourages people to read and donate Twain
titles.
The Bookmobile, which stops in rural and low income communities
to share the joy of reading with youth, adults and seniors, was
started as a community service project by Weaver and his two sons,
ages eight and ten. So far, Weaver says they’ve had a nice response
to the Twain offerings. “A lot of people recognize it as a classic.
Sometimes they remember it from high school, sometimes they say,
‘Oh, I haven’t read that yet.’” At their first offering of the
novel in Kenwood, so many copies were snapped up that they had to
hold off on giving out more until they could replenish their
supply. “I think it’s going to be a smash hit,” says Weaver.
There were a number of mini-grants available of between $50 to
$250 dollars to help groups with event costs. Teachers could apply
for these funds as well, to help pay for curriculum they had
developed around the book.
At Windsor Middle School, English teacher Aimee Armstrong has
her eighth grade students reading “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,”
and collecting their favorite quotes from the story to use on a
T-shirt design project. “As we’re reading they’re looking for what
we call golden lines,” says Armstrong. She uses an iron-on transfer
paper that works with printers. Some of the kids are creating word
clouds, with their quotes using special software. “They’re really
looking forward to making the shirts,” says Armstrong, who
estimates that her students are about half way through the book
right now.
At Petaluma High School, bilingual poet Paul Flores was invited
to talk to students about language – the language of Mark Twain and
the richness of the dialect. According to the school’s librarian
Connie Williams, “He intertwined this discussion with his poetry,
which demonstrated how rich our own daily language is and how
culture is reflected within those words. It was an amazing
presentation.” Well received by the teens, Flores offers students a
literary figure “who they can relate to about being bilingual,”
according to Kelly.
One thousand free copies of the book have been made available to
Sonoma County schools and residents. Local libraries have been
stocked with about 400 extra copies of the novel. In an attempt to
reach all levels and tastes of readers, organizers also made sure
that Sonoma County libraries have other versions of the book
available too, including Easy Readers as well as Magma – an
animated style often popular with youth.
“We really wanted to appeal to a wide audience,” said Kelly, who
says she hopes that someone who is a reluctant reader might come to
an activity and their interest in a book will be sparked. She
remembers a few years back when “Zorro,” by Isabel Allende was the
featured book and two little boys who were watching a fencing
exhibition, came up and asked, “How do we get library cards?”
For a complete listing of the events, visit www.bigreadsonoma.com.
A sample of events and activities planned around Sonoma
County’s The Big Read.
For a complete list, visit: www.bigreadsonoma.com.
Is He Dead?
Originally written by Mark Twain, the play “Is He Dead?” has
been adapted by David Ives and will delight audiences at Petaluma’s
Cinnabar Theater. Rumors of this play were not exaggerated – it
received its world premiere on Broadway in 2006 – and it’s a live
one. Jean-Francois Millet, a brilliant but unrecognized painter,
can’t sell a landscape to save his life (literally). His wacky
bohemian friends convince him that faking his death is just the
ticket for raising his stock. So Jean-Francois disappears from life
and re-emerges as his imaginary twin sister, a widow both mad and
madcap. Here’s gold dust in your eyes, as extended horseplay
involving the stench of Limburger cheese and the deconstruction of
a woman of “artificial parts” will make you howl for more. Presale
tickets: $25 general, $20 senior & student, door $28/$22.
Date: Sunday, April 4, 2:00 p.m. – see website for additional
dates and info: www.cinnabartheater.org.
Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma.
707-763-8920.
Fabulous Fibs, Lousy Lies and Tall Tales with Ranger
Trunick
Mark Twain loved to tell tales, and Ranger Trunick will enthrall
you, as well. Hear about two Native American brothers, listen to
the tale of a very smart bear and a hunting incident, and be amazed
by a gold miner from Tennessee. After the tales, roast marshmallows
and spin some tales of your own. Bring a comfortable seat and meet
in the Redwood Grove.
Date: Thursday, April 8, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Riverfront Regional Park, 7821 Eastside Rd., Windsor.
707-433-1625.
Tom Sawyer Outdoor Fun
Come to Bayer Farm for an afternoon of Tom Sawyer-themed games,
crafts and adventures. Brush up on your Tom Sawyer trivia, and you
might win your very own copy of this classic novel. This
family-friendly, bilingual outing is sponsored by Landpaths.
Date: Friday, April 16, 4:00 p.m.
Location: Bayer Farm, 1550 West Ave. (across from Sheppard
School), Santa Rosa. (707) 544-7284. www.landpaths.org.
Star Trekking
Presenter: County of Sonoma, Regional Parks Dept., Riverfront
Regional Park
As part of its Annual Parks Celebration, Sonoma County Regional
Parks has organized a variety of family-friendly adventures in the
spirit of Tom Sawyer. In the course of “The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer,” Tom and his friends take a boat across the river, catch
and eat some fish, start a campfire and fix their own dinner, stay
outside under the stars, enjoy a picnic with Becky Thatcher’s
family, and pursue an enormous variety of outdoor adventures.
Sonoma County Regional Parks rangers and staff invite you to come
out to the parks and enjoy adventures modeled after Tom’s
experiences.
Date: Friday, April 16, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Riverfront Regional Park, 7821 Eastside Rd., Windsor.
707-565-2041. www.sonoma-county.org.
Learn to Canoe
Presenter: County of Sonoma, Regional Parks Dept., Steelhead
Beach
As part of its Annual Parks Celebration, Sonoma County Regional
Parks has organized a variety of family-friendly adventures in the
spirit of Tom Sawyer.
Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010, 10:00 a.m.
Location: Steelhead Beach, 9000 River Road, Forestville.
707-433-1625. www.sonoma-county.org.
Tom Sawyer Mural Event
The City of Santa Rosa will host a public mural-painting with a
picture inspired by “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” No mural
painting experience is necessary. A lead artist will direct
volunteers to paint the mural, which will deter graffiti and
promote community pride.
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010, 8:00 a.m.
Location: Southwest Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa. Visit http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us.
Mark Twain Exchange & Free Bookmobile
The Sonoma County Free Bookmobile visits rural and low-income
communities and distributes free books to youth, adults and
seniors. Throughout the weekends in April at various accessible
locations, the Bookmobile will host a special department called The
Mark Twain Exchange. Donate any Mark Twain book for Sonoma County
residents to read and/or come pick up a copy of “The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer” or another Mark Twain classic. Locations will be
announced on Radio 91.1 and 90.9 FM and also posted at www.BigReadSonoma.com.
Date: Saturday, April 24, 10:00 a.m. – check website or call for
additional dates: www.sonomacountybookmobile.org.
Location: Graton. 707-520-4536.
Mark Twain: A Film Directed by Ken Burns
Nearly three years in the making and drawing from 63 hours of
material, thousands of archival photographs and nearly 20
interviews with top writers and scholars, “Mark Twain” is the story
of Twain’s extraordinary life – full of rollicking adventure,
stupendous success and crushing defeat, hilarious comedy and almost
unbearable tragedy. Told primarily through the words of Twain
himself, viewers of all ages will be personally introduced to this
compelling yet contradictory genius, who said with some
justification, “I am not an American, I am the American.”
Date: Tuesday, May 4, 9:00 p.m. on KRCB Television, Channel
22.
Read to a Dog
The Sonoma Humane Society will bring trained dogs to the Central
Library for a special “Read to a Dog” experience, with copies of
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” including an easy reader version
for younger children to read to the dogs. Five dog teams (Canine
Good Citizen therapy dogs) will be spaced apart in the Forum Room
to provide an intimate reading environment for each reader. Tom
Sawyer-themed craft activities will also be included. Event is from
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Central Library in downtown Santa
Rosa.
Date: Saturday, April 3, 11:00 a.m.
Location: Central Library in Santa Rosa.
