by Pamela West-Finkle
Happy Spring!
Our board president, Judy Garrison, recently reminded me that 2022 is the Andes Library 100th anniversary! We are busy planning lots of great programs over the next six months to celebrate. Be sure to check our Facebook page and website for updates on our schedule.
A featured program starting in April is a Holocaust series for teens and adults. We will have two speakers at two different Thursday early evening events: Seymour Kaplan, a decorated World War II War Hero from Brooklyn who was a liberator for the concentration camps. We will also have Dr.William Reszelbach join us digitally, a child of Holocaust survivors who has studied history for the last 50 years. His program focuses on raising public awareness about what happened between 1933 and 1945. For teens, we hope to create a reading group that explores holocaust books, including the recently “banned” Maus graphic novel.
Upcoming Programs:
Andes Book Group – The LitWits
Remember, our Lit Wits book group meets the first Thursday of every month at 4:30 pm. Let us know if you’d like to join.
W.I.D.E. (Women for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity) Family Program – Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month, Saturday, April 2nd at 11:00 am.
National Arab American Heritage Month is a time for celebrating the history, contributions, and culture of the diverse population of Arab Americans. Arab Americans have ancestry in one of the world’s 22 Arab nations, which are Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Yemen. The people of these nations are ethnically, politically, and religiously diverse but share a common cultural and linguistic heritage.
First, children will listen to a reading of “The Arabic Quilt” an Immigrant Story by Aya Khalil, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan, a book about a young girl from Egypt who moved with her family to America and her experience starting school in this country.
Next the families will watch a video to learn about Etel Adnan, a well-known Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist who championed women’s rights. The children will each get an 8×10 canvas, paints, and a palette knife to make their own landscapes of a place that is special to them, experimenting with Etel Adnan’s style of painting.
Afterwards, the children will have an opportunity to guess various spices from different Arab countries using their senses: sumac, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric, cinnamon, and caraway.
To get a taste of the culture, families will get to make their own Baharat spice mix to take home with them or eat with the snack provided. There will be hummus and pita for each family to try, and children can put their Baharat seasoning on it!
Finally, children can pick one book to take home to continue to learn about Arabic culture. For elementary ages, there are copies of Razia’s Ray of Hope – One Girl’s Dream of an Education by Elizabeth Suneby, illustrated by Suana Verelst and The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Lathan and Karim Shamsi-Basha, illustratrated by Yuko Shimizu. For older readers, there is a copy of Fear of Beauty by Susan Froetschel.
Holocaust Lecture with Dr. William Reszelbach
Thursday, April 21st – 6:00 pm
Dr. Reszelbach will join us digitally to talk with us about Kristallnacht, the different concentration camps, revenge, coming to America, the Nuremberg Trials, and what it’s like to be a child of Holocaust survivors. You can come to the library for the digital live lecture and question/answer period, or you can tune in via zoom. This program is not appropriate for young children, but teens and adults who want to learn more about the Holocaust are strongly encouraged to come.
Holocaust Lecture with Seymour Kaplan
Thursday, April 28th – 5:00 pm
Mr. Seymour Kaplan is a decorated World War II Veteran who was a liberator and translator at Dachau and other concentration camps at the end of the war. He has spent his life doing what the camp survivors asked: “To remember what you’ve seen here and talk about it so that it never happens again.”
“What It’s Worth” Antique Road Show
Save the date! Thursday, May 12th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
Start hunting through your collectibles, antiques, treasures and junk to find one or two items you would like to have appraised. Author, Auctioneer, Appraiser and Radio Show Host Mike Ivankovich will introduce you to “What Determines Value” and reveal what your Antiques, Collectibles, and Personal Treasures are really worth today.
Each attendee is invited to bring in 1-2 items for Mike to Appraise. You will bring the items to the library at least 15 minutes prior to the event so we can show Mike the items on the camera and he gets a feel for what he is going to appraise. If 15 or fewer people bring items for appraisal, please have one primary and one backup. If more than 15 people wish to have items appraised, we will have time for only one. Anyone is welcome to attend the in person or zoom meeting to watch. Please contact the library to reserve your space in advance.~