ARTS AT OLD FIRST celebrates Children’s Book Week with Local Authors and Music
ARTS AT OLD FIRST
Building Community Through the Arts
Contact: Kate Jacobs
Phone: (616) 633-7543,
Email: kjacobs3@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARTS AT OLD FIRST celebrates Children’s Book Week with Local Authors and Music
Sunday, May 19, 3pm-5pm at Old First Reformed Church, Park Slope Brooklyn
Arts at Old First, the cultural programming project of Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope, is pleased to announce an upcoming event celebrating Children’s Book Week. Children of all ages (and their grownups) are invited to come and enjoy this wonderful family arts event, which will encompass the books, movies, costumes and cookies into one magical afternoon. Two concurrent events will run twice, allowing families to enjoy an hour-long program of authors and illustrators reading their books (upstairs) followed by an hour-long program of beloved movie themes performed by local brass quintet (downstairs). Or vice versa!
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 3:00-5:00pm
LOCATION: Old First Reformed Church, 729 Carroll St (at 7th Ave), Park Slope, Brooklyn
SCHEDULE: 2.30PM DOORS
3PM and 4PM UPPER HALL: Story time with author Sara Varon and illustrator Cecil Castellucci (Odd Duck), author Stephanie Graegin and illustrator Emily Jenkins (Water In the Park), and author/illustrator Brett Helquist (Grumpy Goat). Illustrators will be doing drawings in addition to the readings. Book signing to follow.
3PM and 4PM LOWER HALL: Music program featuring music from favorite children’s movies including Harry Potter, Star Wars, and West Side Story. Performed by local Brooklyn-based brass quintet, led by Mary Ziegler Roberts, and made up of 5 local educators and freelance musicians. Children (of all ages) are encouraged to come in costume as their favorite character from a book or movie. Cookies served
after the program.
TICKETS: $10 at the door. All proceeds benefit the Old First ceiling restoration fund.
Cecil Castellucci is the author of several books for young adults and most recently, a book for young readers: Odd Duck, a graphic novel illustrated by Sara Varon. She is the YA editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books and a two time Macdowell Fellow. She lives in Los Angeles. Sara Varon is originally from the Chicago area but now lives in Brooklyn, NY. When not drawing, she likes to visit the flowers in her yard and pet the neighborhood dogs. Her books include Robot Dreams, Bake Sale, Chicken and Cat, and Chicken and Cat Clean Up. Her most recent book is Odd Duck by Cecil Castellucci.
Emily Jenkins is the author of the highly successful picture book Five Creatures, which has won numerous awards, including a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. She is also the author of the Toys trilogy and numerous other award-winning books for children. Stephanie Graegin received her BFA in Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She later attended Pratt Institute, obtaining a Maters of Fine Arts in Printmaking. She is the illustrator of several books for children including Water in the Park: A Book About Water and the Times of Day by Emily Jenkins.
Brett Helquist‘s celebrated art has graced books from the charming Roger, The Jolly Pirate, to the alarming New York Times bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events, to the cozy E. B. White Read- Aloud Award finalist Bedtime for Bear. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.
The Brass Quintet includes Mary Ziegler Roberts (horn), Roger Lent, (trumpet), Ben Holmes (trumpet), Jen Baker (trombone), and Will Lang (bass trombone). These performers are all local freelance musicians, active in Brooklyn and New York City both as performers and educators.
ARTS AT OLD FIRST is an arts program based at historic Old First Reformed Church in the heart of Park Slope, Brooklyn. It is led by Old First’s “4th Mission Committee”, which carries out the church’s mission to provide community outreach, predominately through hospitality to the arts. We believe that our historic building is a gift that should be shared with our broader Brooklyn community, through hosting musical performances, literary talks, and other community events.
OLD FIRST CEILING RESTORATION FUND is dedicated to the repair and restoration of Old First’s sanctuary ceiling, the plaster of which began to fall in September 2011. Old First’s building a historic landmark and architectural treasure, featuring Tiffany glass, Indiana limestone and a Roosevelt organ. Restoring the ceiling will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and assessments are still underway.
