Newark Public Library celebrates September with a host of free programs
September 4, 2007
Media only, please contact:
Dennis Papp at (973) 733-7798

The Newark Public Library, 5 Washington Street, will offer a number of free programs during the month of September, including the opening of its Hispanic Heritage Celebration. For more information, call the number listed with the program description, or visit the library’s home page at www.npl.org for adult programs and kidsplace.npl.org/calendar.html for children’s programs.

Free computer classes—in English and Spanish—are being held in the Technology Training Center, which is located on the third floor of the Main Library. Class size is limited to ten participants. Some classes are designed for first-time computer users (Mouse Clinic, Typing), while others are for those with more computer literacy (Word Processing, Email, Internet, Creating a Résumé). For more information on the calendar of classes for September, please call 973-733-3603, or visit www.npl.org/Pages/Computers/.

The Art of Matching Picture to Text: An Exhibition to Celebrate the Art of Illustration is on view on the Main Library’s third-floor gallery through October 19. It comprises a number of memorable images from scores of great illustrators from the 19th century to today. For more information call William J. Dane at 973-733-7745.

The Springfield branch library, 50 Hayes Street, 973-733-7736, invites high school juniors, seniors and their parents to its Annual College Fair on Saturday, September 22, from 10am to 1pm. At the fair, students will have the opportunity to register for the SAT/ACT, receive scholarship applications, register for free SAT Prep Classes (to be held on Wednesdays from 5pm to 7pm and on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm, through May 8, 2008; funding for these classes was provided by the Charles E. Thenen Foundation), and meet recruiters from more than 20 colleges situated along the East Coast and elsewhere. The Community Foundation of New Jersey provided funding for the fair.

The North End branch library, 722 Summer Street, 973-733-7766, will hold several programs during the month, all of which begin at 3:30pm: on Wednesday the 5th, the branch will discuss safety in the community, in school, at home and on the Internet; on Thursday the 6th, there will be a "Read a Book Day" storytime; on Monday the 10th, children are invited to "Bring Your Teddy Bear to the Library" day; on Friday the 14th, there will be a "Make a Hat Day" craft; the branch will celebrate "Ice Cream Cone Invention" day on Wednesday the 19th, when it will make ice cream and serve it on ice cream cones; and on Wednesday the 26th there is a "Johnny Appleseed’s Birthday" craft.

The Roseville branch library, 99th Fifth Street, 973-733-7770, will celebrate the beginning of the new school year by inviting students in grades 1 through 4 to design and color their own bookmarks from September 11 through the 14th, from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.

The Madison branch library, 790 Clinton Avenue, 973-733-8090, will hold a “Wood Crafts” day on Wednesday, September 19, beginning 1:30pm, when all patrons are invited to have fun making picture frames, decorative blocks, and other crafts from wood.

There will be two September programs at the Clinton branch library, 739 Bergen Street, 973-733-7754: on Wednesday the 19th at 4pm is Back to School Fun Night at which children will play games or watch a movie; on Wednesday the 26th at 4pm all patrons are invited to have fun making leaves and other fall items at a "Fall Crafts" program.

The Main Library Children’s Room, 5 Washington Street, 973-733-7797, will celebrate Grandparents’ Day on Saturday the 8th, from 10:30am to 11:30am, when toddlers and preschoolers are invited to a storytime featuring tales about grandparents. On Saturday the 15, from 11am to noon, there will be a special program when Marveltha Mensah, Miss Liberia New Jersey, will read stories to toddlers and preschoolers.

The Van Buren branch, 140 Van Buren Street, 973-733-7750, will present four programs: on Monday the 10th, 17th and 24th at 4pm, there will be a storytime for children aged 5 and older; on Friday the 14th at 2pm, children aged 3 to 5 are invited to enjoy finger plays, arts and crafts, and a special storytime; on Saturday the 22nd at 11am, Brasil Tchê will present Gaucho Forever: A Different Brazilian Performance, at which the audience will discover the culture and the history of the gaucho through stories, music and dance; on Thursday the 27th at 4pm, there will be a unique arts and crafts program at which youngsters aged 8 to 12 will make a "wild thing" based on Maurice Sendak’s Where Wild Things Are.

The Branch Brook branch library, 235 Clifton Avenue, 973-733-6388, will hold three events in September: on Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th, from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, children are invited to celebrate Grandparents’ Day by making a special card; on Thursday the 20th at 10am, there will be a Hispanic heritage celebration with a folktale and a craft; and children are invited to share stories and poems about harvest and the fall season on Monday the 24th and Friday the 28th at 10:30am.

The Newark Public Library and Merrill Lynch’s IPO Volunteers will cosponsor two programs designed specifically for college students, the title of which is Investing Pays Off: It’s Never Two Early to Start. At 6pm on Tuesday the 18th, Patricia Barksdale, Vice President of Wealth Management of Merrill Lynch Global Private Client, will discuss managing credit and budgeting. On Thursday the 20th, at 6pm, Ms. Barksdale will address jobs and careers, investing and financial planning. The programs will be held in the Main Library’s Centennial Hall. For more information, call Anthony Clark at the Library at 973-424-1831.

The library’s 2007 Hispanic Heritage Celebration will focus on the Ecuadorian community, one of the fastest growing Hispanic groups in New Jersey. It is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs. Following is the list of programs for the celebration. For more information call 973-733-7772.

Exhibition

Ecuador Expocultura 2007: New Jersey showcases the cultural traditions and American experiences of the Ecuadorian community, as seen through their art, music, literature, news accounts and communications, and features information on immigration, festivals, civic organizations, and much more. 2nd Floor Gallery, September 10 - November 3, 2007.

Programming

Thursday, September 13, 2007
The opening reception for the exhibition and programming features María de Lourdes Vinueza, Consul for Ecuador in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as keynote speaker, an audiovisual presentation by Sebastián A. Medina entitled, "Images of Ecuador," and the vibrant sounds of a traditional Ecuadorian banda de pueblo or "town brass band."
Centennial Hall, 6 pm

Saturday, September 15, 2007
Indigenous Music and Dance of the Andes - Four traditional Andean music and dance groups come together to present a wide-ranging musical journey through the Ecuadorian Andes. Featured groups: Inti-Raymi, Coro Nueva Esperanza 2000 Virgen de la Nube, Andinay, and Club Social, Cultural y Deportivo Bucay.
Centennial Hall, 2 pm

Saturday, September 22, 2007
Volcanoes: Arts and Crafts Workshop for Kids - Ecuador is part of the "Ring of Fire," a ring of volcanoes that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Ecuadorian artist, Dario Scholis, will direct a group of 20 children as they each paint a volcano on a 16" x 20" canvas. The 20 pieces of canvas will be assembled into a composite mural to be displayed at the Newark Public Library during this year’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration. Open to kids 6 to 12 years old. Pre-registration necessary—please call 973-733-7772.
Auditorium, 2 pm

Saturday, September 29, 2007
Cuestión de Vida o Muerte (A Matter of Life and Death) theater performance - Four siblings living abroad receive a telegram calling them home, regarding "a matter of life and death." They hurry home, anticipating the death of their grandmother and expecting to receive their inheritance. But things may not be as they seem. Theater group, Teatro Tocando Puertas, presents a comedic, wry look at the impact of the country’s agrarian reform on the lives of the common country folk. Performed in Spanish.
Auditorium, 2 pm

Thursday, October 11, 2007
An Evening of Prose, Poetry and Music - Enjoy a literary evening with Ecuadorian writers and poets Galo Vaca, José Saguay and Beto Otero, and a classical guitar recital by Los Hermanos Herrera. Presented in Spanish.
Auditorium, 6 pm

Saturday, October 20, 2007
Three Aspects of the Musical Tradition of Ecuador - Three-part program featuring:

• An exhibit and demonstration of over two-dozen indigenous Andean instruments by Pepe Santana, Ecuadorian-born musician, teacher and instrument-maker
• A performance of traditional pre-Columbian and mestizo music by the group Inkhay
• A performance and dance workshop of folkloric dances from the Ecuadorian Andes presented by the group Ayazamana.

Saturday, October 27, 2007
La Mitad del Mundo—Proyecto QuitsaTo y Música Académica Ecuatoriana - A concert of classical Ecuadorian music provides the ideal framework for the screening of La Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World), a documentary on the true location of the "middle of the world" or equinoctial line. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Auditorium, 2 pm