STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The BIG READ is on.
More than a hundred men, women and children turned out for the kick-off of the National Endowment for the Arts’ event at Ketchum’s Community Library Tuesday night.
They nibbled on ceviche, tacos and Mexican pastries donated by Atkinsons’ Marikket, KB’s and others. And they collected free copies of the book “Into the Beautiful North,” which will be the focus of several community-wide reading events over the next month.
Tonight the action shifts to the Hailey Public Library where the library will stage its kick-off party from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Hailey guitarist and singer Monica Carillo will provide live music. There’ll be artwork by Boise muralist Bobby Gayton and others. There’ll be refreshments and giveaways of Luis Alberto Urrea’s book in English and Spanish.
And kids will get to bang around a piñata, have their faces painted and engage in other activities.
Can’t make tonight’s event? The Hailey Public Library will follow tonight’s party up with Taco Tuesday and an Art Exhibit from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5.
Tacos will be provided. Carillo will sing again. There will be a chance to peruse art work by muralist Bobby Gayton, seamstress Alma Gomez and bilingual kindergarten students from Hemingway STEAM School.
And there will be another piñata, face painting and other kid’s activities.
The BIG READ is a month-long event being co-hosted by the Hailey Public Library and Community Library in Ketchum.
The idea is for everyone to read the same book and talk about it through book discussions and other events. Over the past 12 years, more than 4.9 million Americans nationwide have attended a NEA BIG READ event. Urrea’s book was chosen by more than 50 different cities and colleges as a community read this year.
The author himself will conclude the BIG READ by speaking at Ketchum’s Community Library on March 6. That event will be Livestreamed to the Hailey library.
Urrea is an award-winning bestselling author who has penned 17 books. He is a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and a member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame.
This particular book revolves around an idealistic 19-year-old woman who is inspired by the film “The Magnificent Seven” to travel from her home in Mexico to the United States to enlist seven men who left her town to return and help protect it from drug-dealing bandidos.
“We’re working closely with and would like to recognize Herbert Romero with PROJECT O.O.L.S. & PARTNERS and the Flourish Foundation who reached out to the Hispanic community across the state and invited some very talented folks to celebrate with us,” said Kristin Fletcher , programs and outreach specialist for the Hailey Public Library.
Here’s the schedule of events, in case you missed it in Tuesday’s Eye:
Feb. 5, 5 p.m.—Hailey Public Library Taco Tuesday and Art Exhibit
Feb. 6 and 8, 10:30 a.m. Hailey Public Library multi-cultural storytime
Feb. 6, 5:30 p.m. Community Library English book discussion
Feb. 10, 6 p.m. Divine Wine Bar in Hailey, screening of “The Magnificent Seven”
Feb. 12, 6 p.m. Community Library lecture on “Mexican Women in History: From La Malinche to La Llorona to Frida Kahlo”by Professor Raquel Arenz of College of Southern Idaho
Feb. 13, 5 p.m. Wood River High School English book discussion hosted by WRHS English teachers and students
Feb. 13, 5:30 p.m. Community Library Spanish book discussion
Feb. 20, 6 p.m. Community Library screening of “The Other Side of Immigration”
Feb. 25, 3 p.m. Community Library Tea Time Talk: “Contemporary Mexican and Chicano Artists” by Kathryn Zupsic, a docent from the de young and Legion of Honor museums in San Francisco
Feb. 26, 4 p.m. Hailey Public Library Young Adult book discussion “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanhha Lai (copies available at the library)
Feb. 27, 6 p.m. Hailey Public Library English/Spanish book discussion and potluck dinner
Feb. 28, 6 p.m. Community Library lecture on “Modernity and Mexican Fiction” by Dr. Adrian Kane of Boise State University
March 2, 2 p.m.—Hailey Public Library lecture on “Understanding Migration” with Dr. John Bieter of Boise State University
March 5, 6 p.m. Wood River Sustainability Center Lines Between Wines book discussion with refreshments and wine tasting. $30. Register at 208-721-3114.
March 6 p.m. Community Library Closing Celebration and Keynote Talk with “Into the Beautiful North” author Luis Alberto Urrea. The talk will be Livestreamed at the Hailey Public Library.