(360) 943-5001 - Fax (360) 586-6838 - 415 Tumwater Blvd. SW - Tumwater, WA 98501
Reference & Information line: 704-INFO (360-704-4636) in Olympia area or toll-free 1-800-562-6022.
TRL Web site: http://www.trlib.org

Media Contacts: Leanne Ingle, Communications Specialist, (360) 704-4508; Tim Mallory, Adult Services Coordinator, 360-704-4502; Christine Peck, Aberdeen Community Librarian, (360) 533-2360; or Emily Popovich, Raymond Community Librarian, (360) 942-2408.

To celebrate the official start of Timberland Reads Together, Timberland Regional Library’s third districtwide one-book community reading initiative, community leaders will read aloud from the beginning chapters of the book chosen for this year, Willa Cather’s "My Ántonia." Kick-Off events will occur simultaneously in six libraries throughout the Timberland Regional Library system’s five counties on Monday, April 23 from noon to 1 p.m.

In Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, the kick-offs will be held at the Aberdeen and Raymond Timberland Libraries. The events are free and open to the public. People are welcome to bring their brown bag lunches to these noontime events.

Kick Off Event at Aberdeen Timberland Library
121 E Market Street, Aberdeen, in the library’s Rosalie Spellman meeting room:

Christine Peck, Aberdeen Community Librarian, will open the program and introduce the emcee for the event, Jo-Ann Andrews, Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees, Grays Harbor Representative.

Coffee and cookies will be provided by the Friends of the Aberdeen Timberland Library.

Kick Off Event at Raymond Timberland Library
507 Duryea Street, Raymond

Emily Popovich, Raymond Community Librarian, will open the program and introduce the emcee for the event, Bryan Harrison, Pacific County Administrator.

Mike Wessells, Timberland Regional Library Manager of Community Relations, will give a short introduction to the Timberland Reads Together community one-book program.

Members of the audience will have an opportunity to share a little about their own heritage.

This year’s Timberland Reads Together program includes over 65 free public events being held throughout Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties. They include group book discussions; dramatic portrayals of Willa Cather by scholar and actress, Betty Jean Steinshouer, and professional theatrical and musical performances. Additional information and a districtwide calendar of events can be found on the library’s Web site at www.trlib.org.

The public is invited to join in any of the discussions listed. The book is available at libraries in print, audio, and Spanish versions. Some bookstores are offering a discount on the book to customers who show their Timberland library cards. Reader’s Guides are available free at all Timberland libraries.

Where in the World…? Celebrate your family’s origins by showing on the library’s world map which countries your ancestors came from.
May 1 to 30, Westport Timberland Library

The Little Bohemian Band (See description)
May 6, Sunday, 3 to 5 p.m., Hoquiam Timberland Library

The Little Bohemian Band (See description)
May 10, Thursday, 7 to 9 p.m., McCleary Community Center, 726 W. Simpson, McCleary

RACOGALU: Bohemian Music Ensemble (See description)
May 11, 7 to 8 p.m., Westport Timberland Library

Betty Jean Steinshourer’s Willa Cather Speaks: The Making of My Ántonia (See description)
May 15, Tuesday, 7 to 9 p.m., Aberdeen Museum of History, 111 E 3^rd Street, Aberdeen

Memories of Migration: Join other Harborites in the Rosalie Spellman Meeting Room to share family histories of migration to this area.
May 17, Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m., Aberdeen Timberland Library

My Ties to Cowboy Poetry: Virgil Stortroen performs old cowboy and country and western music interspersed with humor and poetry.
May 18, Friday, 7 to 8 p.m., Westport Timberland Library

Book-It Repertory Theatre Performs My Ántonia (See description)
May 24, Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m., Hoquiam Timberland Library

RACOGALU: Bohemian Music Ensemble (See description)
May 5, Saturday, 1 to 2 p.m., Naselle Timberland Library

The Little Bohemian Band (See description)
May 8, Tuesday, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Peninsula Senior Activity Center, 21603 Pacific Hwy, Ocean Park

Book-It Repertory Theatre Performs My Ántonia (See description)
May 20, Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m., Hannan Playhouse, 518 8^th Street, Raymond

Costumed in period clothing, actress and literary scholar, Betty Jean Steinshouer, will present a one-woman portrayal of Willa Cather.

Ms Steinshouer is one of the nation’s top experts on Willa Cather and an experienced presenter with over 25 years of research on My Ántonia, the book that Cather said she was "destined to write." Steinshouser has presented more than 3,000 programs in 36 states. She has met some of the real people who inspired characters in My Ántonia. She has also studied the original version of the book. In one part of her presentation, she will share her perspective on why Cather changed the book as she did between the first and subsequent editions.

Steinshouer’s is Web site: http://home.mindspring.com/~bjsteinshouer/id1.html

Literature comes to life with this theater company’s dramatic readings from My Ántonia. Without relying on sets, costuming or props, the actors open audiences’ imaginations and transport them to the prairie with Jim, Ántonia and their families and neighbors.

Book-It adapts current and classic novels, using narrative from the books and annually presents a season of performances at the Seattle Center’s Center House Theatre. Recent titles they have enacted include Broken for You, by Stephanie Kallos; the children’s book, Bud Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis; and A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Their Web site is www.book-it.org/.

Professional musicians interpret the rich folk and classical traditions of Bohemian music, performing songs and melodies that could be heard over a century ago in settlers’ homes and evoking an era when a variety of musical styles arrived on America’s prairies.

The Olympia-based ensemble, "RACOGALU" includes Barbara Collins, violin and vocals; Jef Ramsey, guitar and mandolin; Lorree Gardener, bass and vocals; and Steven Luceno, vibes. Collins researched Bohemian composers and themes and developed this program especially for Timberland Reads Together.

People may want to wear their dancing shoes to this all-ages program. Gene Sadowsky and Marty Streckler from Oregon are bringing up their accordions and backup to entertain with music reminiscent of settlers’ Saturday night dances in town. Nothing could revive a farming family after a week of hard work better than energetic music, cheerful laughter and lots of good company.

The band has recorded two CDs and is working on a third. They have played for every size and kind of event from weekend-long dance festivals to anniversaries.

For more information, the public can contact any Timberland library, visit the Web site at www.trlib.org or telephone Timberland Central Reference librarians: (360) 704-4636 in the Olympia area, or 1-800-562-6022 from all other areas.

Timberland Regional Library serves the information, reading and lifelong learning needs of the Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston county public at 27 community libraries and 7 library service partner locations. The library system is funded by local property taxes. For information on any subject, the public can telephone Timberland’s Central Reference Service librarians at 704-4636 in the Olympia calling area or from all other areas, toll-free, at 1-800-562-6022. Or they can "Ask a Librarian" online at www.trlib.org. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library’s program may contact the library a week in advance.

Revised 04/09/07