New York Literary And Cultural Arts Tour 2012
Start spreading the news. . . The Literary and Cultural Arts Tour is slated for New York this year and you can be a part of it! The tour dates are September 25 – October 3, 2012. An exciting array of activities will feature many well-known and some little-known spots in New York City and upstate New York. As your little town blues are melting away, go on a guided tour of Upper Manhattan with stops at Lincoln Center, Central Park West, Columbia University, Harlem and more. A ferry ride will take participants past the Statue of Liberty (closed for a year) and dock at Ellis Island with a chance to explore the immigrant experience. Then it’s off to the 911 Memorial, a trip to Little Italy and Chinatown to shop and browse before an elevator ride whisks everyone to the Empire State Building Observatory. Other highlights include a walking tour of the Garment District with time for browsing, visiting the Main Branch of the New York Public Library (everyone knows those lions out front!) and touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, there’ll be time to shop along Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue as well take in a play or two on old Broadway (or Off Broadway).
After five fun filled days in the City that never sleeps, it’s off to West Point in upstate New York. Along the way, participants will tour Kykuit: the Rockefeller Estate and then Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Other highlights include a tour of West Point Academy with a possible Cadet Review, a Hudson River Cruise, a tour of Hyde Park to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home and lunch at the Culinary Institute of America.
For more information and/or to add your name to the list, contact Ann Cousineau at acousineau19@gmail.com.
Authors, Authors!
Luncheon Raises Funds for Reach Out & Read
The entire ballroom, lobby and entryway to The Clubhouse at Rancho Solano were filled with authors, books and literacy supporters on Nov. 6 as the community showed its support of Reach Out & Read.
Noted authors come to Fairfield to revel the audience with their tales of how their books came to be written and published. Six novelists and writers were featured this year: Catherine Coulter, Jo-Ann Mapson, Michael Hager, Paul McHugh and Carmen Bernier-Grand .
Authors spent hours with luncheon guests, signing books and discussing their craft.
"The crowd was friendly and enthusiastic," observed author McHugh. "And, of course, it was a pleasure to assist libraries in their crucial mission."
Proceeds go to support a children's literacy program that puts books in the hands of those ages 1-5 who visit local medical clinics for wellness checkups. Pediatricians, working with the Foundation, get children acquainted with books at the earliest possible age.
"It's a perfect partnership," said Steve Huddleston, president of the Foundation. "Physicians and volunteers help parents understand the importance of reading to their children right from the start, beginning early to make them good readers and book lovers."
Nearly $75,000 was raised through sponsorships, ticket sales, auction proceeds and book sales, Foundation officials reported.
SCLF in the news
• Group effort aims to build literacy in Solano County
By Ryan Chalk/ RChalk@TheReporter.com
Boosting literacy rates and helping low-income families gain access to the Internet is the goal of a new partnership between the Solano County Library, area nonprofits, after-school clubs and a major cable and Internet provider.
Last week, elected officials, business leaders and directors from a handful of nonprofit after-school tutoring and mentoring organizations met in Fairfield at the Solano County Library Foundation offices to hear from Dilenna Harris, executive director of the library foundation, and staff on ways existing programs can partner with the library to boost academics, primarily in underserved areas. The plan calls for outreach to after school programs by library administrators to get them up to speed on an exciting online tutoring program as well as provide information on how to deliver Internet connectivity and computers to low-income families.
More...Reprinted with permission from The Reporter, Aug. 28, 2011.
Welcome to the Solano County Library Foundation
Adult Learners Program The mission of the Solano County Library Foundation is to support the programs of the Solano County Library and the literacy and lifelong learning needs of the community it serves. Since its establishment in December 1994, The Foundation has raised over $1.4 million dollars in support of library projects and services that promote reading and literacy in Solano County.
Recent Projects
Improving literacy in our community has long been one of our priorities. Since 1998 we have underwritten the cost of many literacy programs, but our primary focus has been Reach Out and Read, an ongoing program that promotes early literacy by bringing new books and advice about the importance of reading into the pediatric exam room.
Some of our most recent endeavors throughout the county include:
• Providing funding for Solano County Library's Solano Kids Read Program for 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Interior of new Cordelia library with fully stocked shelves made possible in part by contribution from the Solano County Library Foundation.
• Raising over $260,000 in cash and in-kind contributions for the Opening Day Collection for the Fairfield Cordelia Library*.
• Partnering with the Frank H. and Eva B. Buck Foundation, which generously donated the funding to purchase brand new books for the Vacaville Public Library-Town Square (Opening Day Collection).
*The opening of the Vacaville Public Library -Town Square on January 21, 2000 signaled a new direction for the Foundation, as this was the first time the Board had funded an Opening Day Collection.
Storyteller, Vacaville Public Library - Town Square.
• Assisting in the fundraising for the Storyteller sculpture at the Vacaville Public Library - Town Square and the Storytime sculpture at Vacaville Public Library - Cultural Center.
• Supporting the Sunday Afternoon Concert Series at John F.Kennedy Library in Vallejo.
Find out more about our history of supporting Solano County Library programs
Site Last Updated March 2010
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