Submitted by Whatcom County Library System
Whatcom READS!, the annual county-wide one-book reading program in Whatcom County, was awarded a $3,500 matching grant from Humanities Washington to support the 2015 program. The Whatcom County Library Foundation (WCLF) received the funds. The Friends of the Bellingham Public Library and WCLF are the major contributing sponsors for Whatcom READS!
Whatcom READS! encourages everyone to read and discuss the same book. Western Reads is a campus-wide reading program designed to promote intellectual engagement, community and conversation among new students. For 2014-2015, both groups selected Daniel James Brown’s award-winning book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and are jointly developing programs and events. Pick up a copy of the book from your local library or from Whatcom READS! community partner, Village Books.
There are many ways to join in the discussion and exploration of Brown’s book in January of 2015; book discussions throughout Whatcom County, events with local presenters like rowers Dale McKinnon, Curtis Smith, and Bob Diehl, explorations of how family stories become history and a chance to see and discuss L. Riefenstahl’s Olympia at the Pickford Film Center. All events are free and open to the public. Pick up a ticket at the Pickford box office to reserve your seat for the Olympia film screening.
Daniel James Brown will visit Whatcom READS! February 24-26 for five in-person events, including the keynote author event at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden on February 24, at 7:30 p.m. and repeated at the Mount Baker Theatre on Wednesday, February 25, at 7:00 p.m. All author events are free, no tickets required, and Brown will sign books following each event. More information on all events is available online at the Whatcom READS! and Western Reads websites: http://www.whatcomreads.org and http://www.wwu.edu/westernreads.
Humanities Washington is the state’s flagship non-profit for promoting and providing programs based in the humanities. Since 1973, Humanities Washington has provided program grants and a rich array of programs, exhibits, and experiences to hundreds of thousands of people across the state.
Whatcom READS! is organized by all the public and academic libraries of Whatcom County and our community partner, Village Books.
