Summer Reading Begins!

We’re so excited! Summer Reading starts today! This summer is going to be packed with wonderful books, crafts, and programs for all ages, not to mention the super prizes. Pick up a reading log at your local branch. Check our newsletter The Source or our events calendar to see all the fabulous events coming up.

Dig Into Reading is this year’s theme for the Children’s Summer Reading Program. Ages Birth-11. For more information, call 231-3760.

The theme for the Teen Summer Reading Program is Beneath The Surface. Ages 12-18. For more information, call 231-3770.

The Adult Program is called Sweet Reads. Ages 18+. For more information, call 231-3740.

Authors’ Row

Authors of poetry and prose will assemble to discuss their works and have book signings at the Jones Creek Regional Branch on Saturday, April 27, from 2:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet local authors and the event is free!

Authors include Simone Higginbotham, Desiree Cart Dugas, Damaris, L.A. Lewis, A.C. Mason, Ronlyn Domingue, Yvette Brunswick, Joseph G.Dorsey, Tonia Askins, Deborah Lynne, Phillip A. Elwood, Shirley McCoy, Van R. Mayhall Jr., David Hollier, Josephine Templeton, Kathy Coon, and HeartLa Representatives.

For more information, call (225) 756-1150.

You can find more Book/Writer events on our Writers InfoGuide.

2013 Relic Reading and Discussion Program: Creole Identity & Experience

Dr. Olivia McNeely Pass will introduce and lead discussions on “The Creole Identity and Experience” at the Fairwood Branch at 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays, April 18-May 23, as a part of this year’s RELIC (Readings in Literature and Culture) program.

The six sessions are entitled:
1) What Is a Creole?
2) Gens de Couleur Libre: Neither White Nor Black;
3) Gens de Couleur Libre: Between Privilege and Oppression;
4) Cane River: Complexity of Slavery and Race in a Simple Setting;
5) Cane River: The Persistence of Creole Family;
6) Creole Identity at Mid-Twentieth Century: Assimilation and Survival.

Readings will be taken from: The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice, Creole New Orleans: Race and Americanization by Arnold Hirsch and Joseph Logsdon, Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana’s Free People of Color edited by Sybil Kein, Catherine Carmier by Ernest Gaines, and Cane River by Lalita Tademy.

Book sets are limited, so participants should pre-register by e-mailing ltomlin@ebrpl.com or by calling (225) 924-9380.
This program is funded by the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

“All the King’s Men” at Swine Palace

Swine Palace’s latest production in its current season dedicated to the Louisiana bicentennial is ”All the King’s Men.” Based on Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1946 novel All the King’s Men, inspired by the life of Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long, the story portrays the dramatic political ascent of Willie Stark, a driven, self-proclaimed savior of the working man in the 1930s American South. Filled with unsettling insights underlined by the inspired music of Randy Newman, Stark’s story of charismatic idealism challenged by growing corruption and lust for power remains all too relevant in today’s political culture, and begs the question, “How far have we come?”

Written By: ADRIAN HALL, ADAPTED FROM THE NOVEL BY ROBERT PENN WARREN WITH ORIGINAL MUSIC BY RANDY NEWMAN

Directed By: GEORGE JUDY

Performances at the REILLY THEATRE

SINGLE TICKET PRICES

• Adult$28.00
• Senior/Faculty/Staff$19.00
• Student$15.00

Click here to purchase tickets.

The show opens April 17 with a special pay-what-you-can performance at 7:30 and runs through May 5. Evening performances start at 7:30 and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Don’t miss this classic Louisiana story!

The Fairwood Branch Library Opening

The opening of the Fairwood Branch Library on March 20, 2013 was a fantastic occasion. We hope you get the chance to visit our latest branch. For more pictures visit our Fairwood Branch Library Construction Project InfoGuide.

Library board members, Patrons of the Public Library (POPL) board members and city officials cut the ribbon Library Director Spencer Watts presides over the ceremony Mayor-President Kip Holden speaksLibrary Board of Control: President Travis Woodard, Library Director Spencer Watts, Board Vice-President Tanya Freeman, Kizzy Payton, Board Treasurer Jason Jacob and Stan Bardwell Councilman Buddy Amoroso, District 8 speaks