Florida Center for the Book Invites Broward County to Read and Celebrate "To Kill a Mockingbird" During Big Read Project
  
  

DATE: December 23, 2014
MEDIA CONTACT: Tara Zimmerman
Libraries Division
EMAIL:tzimmerm@broward.org    
PHONE: 954-357-7386

BROWARD COUNTY, FL – Florida Center for the Book at Broward County Library will launch its Big Read program in celebration of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee at the City of Coral Springs BizArt Festival on Saturday, January 10 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2855 Coral Springs Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33065.

The free Big Read kick-off event will feature Chalk It Up for Art, a free event where a professional chalk artist creates a large drawing related to the classic novel. Families can  create their own drawings and a short discussion on bullying will be  be held while the kids create their own chalk designs. Free copies of To Kill a Mockingbird will be available at the event while supplies last.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. In Broward County, The Big Read is presented in partnership with Florida Center for the Book at Broward County Library, Broward Public Library Foundation, The Playgroup, LLC and the Coral Springs Museum of Art.

From January 10 through February 28 our community will celebrate To Kill a Mockingbird with a full calendar of thought-provoking events for children, teens and adults. A sampling of January's special events is listed below:

The Big Read Special Events

  • January 10 - BizArt Family Funday Festival! Join us as we kick off The Big Read at the City of Coral Springs BizArt Festival, 10AM to 4PM, Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2855 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs, FL 33065
  • January 12 - Setting the Scene with Music: Sounds from the 1930s and 40s, 11:30AM to 12:30PM, Main Library, 100 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, 954-357-7444
  • January 12 - To Kill a Mockingbird from a Historical, Cultural and Legal Perspective: Lecture/Discussion,1 to 2PM, Main Library, 100 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, 954-357-7444
  • January 17 - What If...Poems and Stories Inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird, 3:30 to 5PM, Lauderdale Lakes Library, 3580 W Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33311, 954-357-8650
  • January 21 - Race Relations & the Law: Now and Then in Broward County, Lunch and Learn with Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, 12:30 to 1:30PM, West Regional Library, 8601 W Broward Blvd., Plantation, FL 33324, 954-765-1560
  • January 24 - Read-a-thon, Noon to 4PM, Margate Catharine Young Library, 5810 Park Drive, Margate, FL 33063, 954-357-7500 
  • January 31 - Writing Workshop: The Key to a Powerful Novel with Joyce Sweeney, 11AM to 1PM, Main Library, 100 S Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, Fee: $40 in advance, $45 at the door, Call: 954-357-7386
  • January 31 - Comic Book Workshop, Artist Cory Laub, middle school to adults, 1 to 4PM, Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2855 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs, FL 33065

Book Discussions: To Kill a Mockingbird

Screenings: Film based on the book To Kill a Mockingbird

Documentary Screenings: “Hey, Boo" - The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird

Children and Teens

  • January 10 - Teen Writing Workshop, 2 to 4PM, Main Library, 100 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, 954-357-7444  
  • January 17 - My Boo is Unique: Tolerance for Kids, ages 6-10, 1 to 2PM, Young At Art Museum/Broward County Library, 751 SW 121 Ave., Davie, FL 33325, 954-357-5437
  • January 20 - Book Discussion, ages 13 and up, 2 to 3:30PM, North Regional/Broward College Library, 1100 Coconut Creek Blvd., Coconut Creek, FL 33066, 954-201-2600
  • January 24 - Mock Trial, teens, 11AM to Noon, Davie/Cooper City Library,  4600 SW 82 Avenue, Davie, FL 33328, 954-357-6399
  • January 24 - Film Screening/Discussion, 2 to 4:30PM, ages 12-18, West Regional Library, 8601 W Broward Blvd., Plantation, FL 33324, 954-765-1560
  • January 26, 28 and February 2, 4 - Comic Art Workshop, grades 9-12, 4 to 6PM, Pembroke Pines Library, 955 NW 129 Ave., Pembroke Pines, FL 33028, 954-357-6750
  • January 31 - Teens Talk About Social Justice, 2 to 3:30PM, Alvin Sherman Library - Nova Southeastern University, 3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, 954-262-5477

For more information and a list of Big Read events for February 2015, please visit Broward.org/Library/Read

The award-winning Broward County Libraries Division, founded in 1974, is the largest library system in Florida by square footage and one of the busiest, with more than 9 million walk-in customers visiting its 39 locations annually. Broward County Libraries Division provides convenient access to a full range of innovative and cost-effective services that satisfy the changing needs of the people of Broward County for information, education and recreation. Visit our Web site, Broward.org/Library or follow Libraries on Facebook and Twitter.

Florida Center for the Book at Broward County Library, an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, brings readers and writers together, promotes books, reading and libraries, and celebrates the literary heritage of Florida.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.