Dallas Festival of Books & Ideas – books were not forgotten!

What was I expecting from the increasing entanglement of the annual Dallas Book Festival with the Dallas Festival of Ideas? Over several years, the two events have moved closer together – to the point of sharing both a date and location in the Central Branch of the Dallas Public Library – a pairing that made for claustrophobia as inspiration. Due to personal scheduling conflicts, I can only speak of the book portion of the festival.

This year’s pairing, the Dallas Festival of Books & Ideas, spread the “ideas” portion spread over five days, all in separate locations. For the most part, the “books” portion, retitled “Summer in the City,” was confined to the past Saturday at the library. The omission of the word “books” from the library’s listing of events was slightly disconcerting, but writing and reading themselves were not slighted, and the separation of festival locations greatly reduced congestion and the sometimes-dueling overlap of author readings and panels of past book festivals.

Dallas Central Library branch

 I missed the bravura, nationally acclaimed author presentations of a few years ago, but still appreciated the diversity of Texas authors and interest groups – from “must-reads” by African-American authors (presented by The Dock Bookshop of Fort Worth); to presentations from the Jane Austen Society of North Texas; Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators; and Dallas Area Romance Authors. 

There were major attractions – children’s writer Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie); award-winning fantasy/horror writer Joe R. Lansdale (The Elephant of Surprise); Steven Davis and Bill Minutaglio’s nonfiction narrative of Richard Nixon’s fixation on LSD guru Timothy Leary (The Most Dangerous Man in America); historical fiction writer Melanie Benjamin (Mistress of the Ritz); and author of women-oriented Westerns, Melissa Lenhardt, whose latest volume, Heresy, has been described as a “queer, transgender, multiracial takeover of the Old West.” 

I also appreciated an emphasis on younger audiences, and people who might be less literarily conscious, reflected in discussions of fanfiction, the writing of science fiction and fantasy for children and teen audiences as well as adults (presented by the DFW Writers Workshop), exposure of young readers to the Sherlock Holmes canon (presented by local Holmes society, The Crew of the Barque Lone Star), and writing family histories, followed by performances by local teen rap artists.

And of course, the opportunity to sign up for the Mayor’s Summer Reading Challenge, with perks and prizes for readers from 1-100. If you missed this one, never fear, I’ll post later with more details, including how even kids too young to read can win!

If in all this, anybody feared that the Dallas Book Festival had left purely literary works left in the dust, WordSpace presented local poets B. Randall and Opalina Salas, and translators for local press Deep Vellum discussed their latest, selected poems of Goethe.

How the combined, intertwined festivals of books and ideas will work in the future remains to be seen, but here’s hoping the broadened festival base will attract – and keep – sponsors and visitors alike.

(Still to come, snippets and deliciously outrageous comments from the presentations by authors Davis and Minutaglio, Lenhardt, and the Crew of the Barque Lone Star.) 

What’s up at the library & some last minute contest warnings

What’s strange about the picture illustrating this post? Not that it’s a picture of me in front of my local branch of the Dallas Public Library (one of my favorite hangouts). What’s strange is that the branch was open and it was a MONDAY! 

Yes, after years of penny-pinching, the city of Dallas finally has all 29 of its library branches open at least six days a week. Admittedly, beginning in 2015, 13 of the library’s branches began opening all week, and the central branch has been open perpetually on Sundays (in both cases, assuming the Sundays and Mondays weren’t city holidays). See the site for daily schedules at all those 29 local branches and what they have to offer. 

Dallas libraries serve one and a quarter million people, but for way too long, its libraries have gotten the short end of the city’s budget. Our city council could agree that things like police and fire service, and maybe fixing street potholes were important. But libraries? Aren’t they just full of, you know, books?

Nothing against housing books, but that’s not the only thing modern libraries do. They’re the new community centers, offering free Internet and the computers to access it with. And then there are movies, music, classes, homework help, tax help. And more.

As uber-librarian Josh Hanagarne writes in his memoir, The World’s Strongest Librarian, “A library is a miracle. A place where you can learn just about anything, for free. A place where your mind can come alive. The mind that asks and experiments and evaluates will die one day, but will provide a richer life for its owner. The mind that does nothing but rest inside the brain doesn’t sidestep the puddle. It’s sitting in it.”

As a way to celebrate Dallas’s seven days a week library openings, what could be more appropriate than reading? The winter reading challenge from the Dallas Mavericks’ team that I blogged about last month has been updated. Way updated. Team owner Mark Cuban has added a challenge to young readers across the country to read at least 1.3 million minutes and 55,000 books during the month of January.

If 100 libraries in the United States meet the goal, Cuban vows to donate $25,000 to First Book, a nonprofit organization that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to children in need, including for Dallas Public Library’s Mayor’s Summer Reading Challenge. So, log in at dallaslibrary.beanstack.org, and read like the wind! 

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Speaking of challenges – here’s a list of imminent upcoming deadlines for winter contests and other literary events, mostly in Texas:

•  Writer’s Digest has extended the deadline for its short-short story contest to January 15. That’s next Monday. See the site for details.
• The Writers’ League of Texas manuscript contest deadline is a little more generous – January 31. No completed manuscript needed – only a synopsis and first pages, not to exceed 2,750 words. See the site for details and new sweeteners this year for the winners. Writers do not need to be Texas residents to enter.
• Already published a book in 2017? Check out the Writers’ League Book Awards contest, with a February 28 deadline. (Sorry, only Texas authors are eligible for this one.)
• Lonestar INK’s inaugural writing workshop kicks off February 8-10 at (where better?) the Dallas Central Library. See the site for details.
• The ConDFW science fiction and fantasy convention welcomes special guest Charlaine Harris and more, February 16-18, at the Radisson Hotel Fort Worth Fossil Creek. Information and entertainment, plus a charity book swap. See the site for details
• That’s all for now, but I promise more details about upcoming stuff – Arts & Letters Live, Authors LIVE!, NaNoWriMo updates, the return of DL Hammons’ WRiTE CLUB readers’ choice contest, and more, in future posts!

Nights are never cold when you snuggle in to read!

For everyone saddened a few months ago when the start of school signaled the end of the Dallas Public Library’s annual summer reading event, there’s a new reading event in town. It's the Mavs Reading Challenge, with the Dallas Mavericks. And though it's already in progress, having opened December 1, the season runs through March 18, 2018. That’s plenty of time to see you through a long winter’s break of reading, and into the spring.

image: pixabay

The rules are as simple as a playground pick up game.

First: sign up online or at any of the 29 Dallas Public Library locations. Nearly 400 readers have already done it! (Click here to find your closest library branch. And note that even more branches will have even more hours of operation starting January 2.)

Second: read at least 20 minutes a day. Readers from age 0-18 can participate. Parents, grandparents, older siblings or anyone else can help kids too young to read by reading to them for the same length of time. Seriously, that’s about two picture books per session.

Next: log the days your read (or were read to) for those 20 minutes online. If your computer access is limited, or you need help getting online, check with a librarian. 

Finally: visit any Dallas Public Library location to collect prizes!

Prizes include drawstring bags, hats, notebooks, and Whataburger certificates/free meals. (Did I forget to mention that Texas-based Whataburger is a sponsor?)

Plus, readers who log 40 reading days by the end of the program will be entered in a grand prize drawing for a chance to win a Dallas Mavericks fan experience. This includes four lower level tickets, four high-five line passes, and a third quarter locker room tour for a 2018-2019 Mavs home game.

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I’ll be posting more about writing classes later, BUT -- today, Tuesday, December 5, is the deadline to register for the Writers’ League of Texas online class: Whose Story Is It? Playing with Point of View, with Stephanie Noll.

Register by 5 p.m. today at the Writers League site and reopen your computers for the class itself, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., CST. The cost is $49 for Writers League members, $109 for nonmembers.

If you (like me) have another commitment tonight for which remaining glued to your screen would be rude, register anyway and access the class recording anytime through December 13.

Selecting the point of view (POV) for a story is vital to shaping the experience of your reader. The class will read and discuss excerpts of published works that use all possible points of view, including second person, discuss the advantages/disadvantages of each and complete writing exercises to let participants “try on” all perspectives and determine which is best for our own story.

Stephanie Noll is an author, teacher, and storyteller. For more on her and her take on POV, click here.

Build a better world this summer, one story at a time

When I wrote about the Mayor’s Summer Reading Challenge of the Dallas Public Library system earlier this week, readers in surrounding cities may have felt left out. So, here’s some good news about summer literary activities for young people, no matter where they live.

artist: Matthias Zimmermann

Since I have family members in Richardson, I’ve long been familiar with the wonderful programs offered by the Richardson Public Library, from toddler story times to advanced activities for teens and adults.

A couple of offerings in Richardson this summer have grandkids Gabe and Alex particularly buzzing, including the Writer’s World Building Workshop, June 24, 2-4 p.m., taught by Polly Holyoke, author of the Bluebonnet-nominated The Neptune Project and The Neptune Challenge. Holyoke will offer practical tips to help build vivid new worlds in their own fantasy and science fiction writing.

Adult writers (like me) have paid to take classes on world building, but this one is free for writers ages 10-18 years. Registration required, at the Youth Services Help Desk at the library, 400 Civic Center Drive in Richardson, or by calling 972-744-4358. I called to be sure and – there’s no residency or library card requirement for this!

Also on the boys’ to-do list is the Young Authors class taught by children’s author Nancy Churnin (The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game) on Friday mornings from June 16 – August 4 (no class July 7). The boys have been writing and illustrating their own miniature comic books for years.

It helps that their dad is an illustrator and graphic designer. Still, Churnin’s help with writing strategies, illustration techniques, page layout and more, is a huge boost. Participants have a chance to write and illustrate a picture book to add to the library’s collection. How’s that for becoming a published author is just seven weeks? (Maybe dad will take the hint and get started on that picture book he keeps talking about. . . )

The classes are available to Richardson residents entering grades 5-9 this fall. Free, but this one requires registration and a valid Richardson library card (if you need more incentive to get kids their own library cards). Call 972-744-4358 or stop by the Youth Services Help Desk at the library to register.

Other free, no residency required summer offerings from the Richardson Library include 3D printing & Tinkercad (ages 13 and up), introduction to LinkedIn (teens and adults), and a 3D printing contest with separate categories for ages 7 through adult. And more. See the library site for details.

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Texas-based Half  Price Books  also joins the summer readathons with its Feed Your Brain summer reading program for kids in preschool through high school. Reading 15 minutes a day (during June and July earns Bookworm Bucks (good for in-store credit) for ages 14 and under. (Adults may read aloud to kids still learning to read.)

For teens, there’s a Feed Your Brain Summer Reading #BOOKBINGE. Read HPB’s recommended Penguin Teen titles and write a short review to earn your own Bookwork Bucks. See the site for details.

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The Richardson Library programs mentioned here and the Dallas Library’s reading challenge are just the iceberg tip of what’s available at local libraries this summer. Find, read, share and enjoy! 

Wordcraft – Dallas summer reading club: read, win, repeat

I signed up for the Dallas Mayor’s Summer Reading Club and thought – hmmm, this looks different. Where last year’s adult version of the club offered drawings for cool prizes, the 2016 version promised to reward me immediately. Just for signing up. Wow, I thought. Maybe I’ll get a bookmark. (I can always use bookmarks.) And the library site promised weekly prizes as well. Hmmm again.

The big prize drawings still looked good. So did the grand prizes. But actual prizes in hand every week just for posting about reading? How many bookmarks could even I use? So I waited a couple of weeks to check them out.

They were better than bookmarks! (Again, nothing against bookmarks, but. . . ) I got to pick a free book off a cart just for signing up. And the current week’s prize? A free pass to the Nasher Sculpture Center for an adult (or adult and kid). My family loves the Nasher! Even the kids love its cool outdoor sculpture garden. But face it, except for a couple of free days each month, it costs. (And on the free days, boy, is it crowded!)

I was obviously losing major goodies by not dropping by the library every week to pick up the free loot.

Adults can win prizes by logging books read and posting a brief review online, by completing a “learning track” online and exploring new hobbies and topics, or by sharing book reviews on Twitter or Facebook using @dallaslibrary #SummerReading and entering weekly drawings for tickets to Alamo Drafthouse. (Add that to my must-do list!)

I’m going on and on about the grownup stuff because, a) it’s fun and b) one glimpse of an adult reading for his/her own pleasure tells a kid more about the joys of reading than hours of nagging would do.

But really, this is way too good a deal for us grownups to keep to ourselves. So sign up any children in your household as well. Children up to age 5 can earn their own weekly prizes by reading (or being read to) at least 3 hours a week. (Download the reading log sheet to keep track.)

Children ages 6-12 need to read 5 hours weekly to get a weekly incentive prize. Children up to age 12 who log 40 hours by July 30 are also eligible for grand prize drawings, held after the reading club’s conclusion August 4.

Teens who log 4 or more books earn the weekly incentive prize plus a free book. And teens who read 8 books by July 30 will be entered for grand prize drawings. Check out the site for grand prize drawings for all ages.

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Wouldn’t you know, Half Price Books  is striking back with its own Feed Your Brain summer reading program as well. Children in grades up to eighth who log 300 or more minutes (use the downloadable log) can claim Bookworm Bucks (a $5 coupon) good at any HPB store. Logs are due no later than September 1.

High schoolers can read any of HPB’s recommended titles for teens, or books of your choice, write a short review and go to Half Price's site to claim the Bookworm Bucks.

Happy tales to you!

Wordcraft – They have a list or two, just for you!

The North TexasTeen Book Festival just keeps getting better! The later date this year – April instead of last year’s March – surprised me, but the schedule change meant the NTTBF had the entire Irving Convention Center to itself this past Saturday. And it needed it. The convention center was packed with more than 70 authors and nearly 8,000 attendees, more than double last year’s attendance.

Yes, it was hectic. Fortunately there were security personnel to direct the traffic that streamed up and down the escalators. Concession stands sported long lines at the concession stands (note: go before the end of each hour’s panels), and some of the panels having to turn attendees away for lack of room. After being confronted by long lines of school buses last year, I took DART, which stops near the convention center, to avoid the parking crush.

My take is: thousands of people, mostly teens, crazy about books, is worth some aggravation. But maybe next year the festival can expand over an entire weekend? (There was a separate session Friday for educators.) Monitors had to urge attendees to give author panels time to get to their next appointment, but how great is it to see kids mobbing authors as if they’re rock stars? To see them begging authors, book bloggers, and BookTube stars their own age for autographs and pictures?

The level of enthusiasm made the festival worth being nearly run over a few times. Hey, it was a festival, not a staid and stodgy conference.

My sights were set first on the Lone Star All-Stars panel. How have I gone so long without knowing about the amazing reading lists complied by the Texas Library Association? Two of the lists – Lone Star for grades 6-8 and TAYSHAS for grades 9-12 – were featured at the festival. These are designed to encourage students to explore a variety of current books. These are lists for recreational reading, not intended to support a specific curriculum, and each title has been favorably reviewed in professional review services.

In addition to the Lone Star and TAYSHAS lists, the Texas Library Association also has suggested reading lists for younger kids as well as adults. Click on "reading lists" here to see everything.

The NTTBF panel of Lone Star All-Stars included authors of current and previous list titles Karen Blumenthal  (Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different), Rachel Caine (Ink and Bones), Christina Diaz Gonzalez  (Moving Target), Gordon Korman (Ungifted), Marie Lu  (Legend series), and Teresa Toten  (The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B).

“What these lists (Lone Star and TAYSHAS) do is introduce readers to a lot of voices they might not have heard of,” said Blumenthal, a longtime Dallas resident.

Korman agreed. “Every state has a list like these. One of the great things about lists like that it provides a level of critical acclaim for books that don’t get the Newbery level of acclaim.”

Does not getting Newbery Medal from the American Library Association (which only honors one book each year) mean a book isn’t worthy of being read?

“Most of my books are funny,” Korman said wryly, “and you know the funny movie doesn’t win the Oscar.”

Kids apparently agreed on the worthiness of the books in question, avidly asking questions and descending on authors at the panel’s conclusion, a phenomenon repeated over and over during the festival.

I’ll post more about the NTTBF, especially the popularity of BookTube and how to set up your own book channel, later. In the meantime, don’t forget that this coming Saturday, April 30, sees a revising and expanded Dallas Book Festival  at the Central Branch of the Dallas Public Library, 1515 Young St., Dallas, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

I’m looking forward to hearing author Joshua Hammer discuss his The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, among other, but one librarian personally recommended Adam Mansbach’s Go the F**k to Sleep for all parents who’s been at their wits end over their kids' sleeping habits. (Check out the YouTube readings by Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson and others.)

Wordcraft – Summer reading clubs – not just for kids!

Was there ever any feeling as wonderful to a child as leaving your classroom behind on the last day of school? And then, two days later, the realization arrived that there were only so many lightning bugs you could chase, only so many places to ride your bike or skate, only so many hours your mom was willing to let you spend shriveling up like a prune in the neighborhood pool.

But even in the bad old days before the Internet or video games, when there was nothing on TV except reruns, my sister and I, and later my daughter, never had to worry about being bored as long as the local library was open for our free-range reading. Summers in Texas are long and hot. You need some really cool books to see you through.

Now, like a remembered glass of cold lemonade, like that first icy dip of a toe in the swimming pool, the joy of summer reading is back. And it’s bigger and better, with prizes, even free books. And it’s not just for kids anymore.

I signed up for the Dallas Mayor’s Summer Reading Club online the first day it opened, finished the first book on my list (timed to coincide with the club’s June 6 opening) and posted my first review. Those of us over 18, which I admit to, have to write a brief online review. If that sounds too much like school, don’t worry. Give them the title of the book, the author’s name, and a brief description of why you liked it. You won’t be graded on the review. Instead, you get chances to participate in two drawings for really grownup prizes – tickets for symphonies, film fests, theater; gift certificates and weekend hotel stays (where you and your beloved will, no doubt, share a few good books).

Not sure what to read? The Dallas Public library staff has posted reviews of a few of their five-star recommendations to get you started. Sign up at Mayor’s Summer Reading Club.

Oh, and your kids? OK, don’t keep all the fun for yourself. Sign up kids up to age 18, have them read (almost) anything – books, e-books, audio books, or magazines, for 30 minutes each day for a week, and they’ll receive kid-friendly prizes. Children too young to read can still qualify by being read to.

Not in Dallas? My grandsons are entered in the summer reading club at their home library in Richardson, Texas. Or check your own local town’s library for possibilities.

Local bookstores would love to encourage children to read also. Currently in progress is the Barnes & Noble summer reading club. Read any eight books, record them in a journal available online or in the flier at your local B&N store, and choose a free book from the age-appropriate lists for readers from grades 1-6.

Half Price Books strikes back with its Feed Your Brain summer reading program that lets children from preschool age through high school earn $5 HPB Bookworm Bucks monthly. Eighth graders and younger qualify with 15 minutes of reading (or being read to) daily in June and July. High schoolers can earn Bookworm Bucks by reading a book each month in June and July and writing a short review.

Ready, set, read!

Wordcraft -- Dallas libraries' new weeklong schedule

Quick¾ what’s one great thing about the photo illustrating this post? The library? The young person entering a library? And joining other people in that library?

If you answered, all of the above, you’re absolutely correct. But there’s one more really great thing about this photo¾ it was taken on a Monday.

If being open on a Monday doesn’t sound like a big deal, consider this: after years of city budget cuts that closed most of the city’s library branches on Mondays (not to mention Sundays), we once again have an all-week long library system. The kind of system you’d expect from a city studded with high-ticket, high-profile museums and opera houses and sports arenas.

As of yesterday, January 5, seven of Dallas’ 29 branches,(including the White Rock Hills branch where I snapped this picture) are open seven days a week. Of those, all except the central branch downtown will also have extended evening hours, open until 8 p.m. three nights a week.

Starting April 6, six more locations are scheduled to provide all-week service.

My daughter’s family in a close-in suburb can’t imagine not having a library to take her kids to every day of the week. But her city has a single library serving a population of about 100,000 people.  Dallas has twenty-nine libraries serving one and a quarter million people. For way too long, its libraries have gotten the short end of the city’s budget. Our city council could agree that things like police and fire service, and maybe fixing street potholes were important. But libraries? Aren’t they just full of, you know, books?

Nothing against housing books, but that’s not the only thing modern libraries do. They’re the new community centers, offering free Internet and the computers to access it with. Dallas city libraries require computer users to have either a library card or an Internet card. Internet cards are available to anyone with valid identification, regardless of local residency.

And then there are movies, music, classes, homework help, tax help. And more.

Librarian Josh Hanagarne writes in his memoir, The World’s Strongest Librarian, “A library is a miracle. A place where you can learn just about anything, for free. A place where your mind can come alive.¼ The mind that asks and experiments and evaluates will die one day, but will provide a richer life for its owner. The mind that does nothing but rest inside the brain doesn’t sidestep the puddle. It’s sitting in it.”

Hanagarne’s library in Salt Lake City has a fitness room. (He’s six foot seven and competes in strongman events. I don’t doubt that he really is the world’s strongest librarian.) I wonder how much lobbying it would take to get a gym in Dallas libraries. Or at least a coffee shop. But for now, my mind is too thrilled about what we have to brood about what we don’t have. At least, what we don’t have yet.

For a full listing of Dallas branch library hours and locations, see http://dallaslibrary2.org/. Check out what the library has to offer you. And maybe check out Hanagarne’s book. It may change your mind about libraries and librarians.

(Next Tuesday -- remember NaNoWriMo? Remembering November, looking ahead.)

Wordcraft -- Who’s writing here? And why?

Surrounded by tens of thousands of publications at the Dallas Public Library’s central branch, in the middle of last Saturday’s Dallas International Bookfair, it seemed appropriate for a group of Dallas writers to gather to talk about why they write. Robert Wilonsky, managing editor for the digital version of The Dallas Morning News, guided the conversation with panel members Harry Hunsicker, Karen Blumenthal and Laura (L.A.) Starks.

Of the three, only Blumenthal originally had a career in writing, as a financial journalist. In a twist stranger than fiction, and egged on by her history-reading daughter, she parlayed her financial expertise into a children’s nonfiction book about the stock market crash of 1929. Hunsicker was (and still is) a commercial real estate appraiser, a job that leads him to many of the settings he uses in his alternate life as writer of mysteries and thrillers, including his latest novel, The Contractors, out this year. And Starks said that her original career as a chemical engineer involved “the same looking at risk” as in her thriller fiction, except that “in fiction, it’s not what can go wrong, but what will go wrong.”

Given all this, Wilonsky wondered, where did they get the chutzpah to begin a book? How did they force themselves to face the daunting blank screen of a computer?

“I had this kid who became fascinated with the New Deal,” Blumenthal said. “She was nine.” While searching for reading material for her daughter, she discovered a dearth of high-quality nonfiction for children, a need that prompted her to write her own book. “All my colleagues said, why would you do that? Who would read it? I won an award which,” she said wryly, “doesn’t make you any money, but you get to write another book.”

She had since written children’s nonfiction about computer entrepreneur Steve Jobs, Prohibition, and is currently at work on a children’s book about the evolution of machine guns. And the difference between writing nonfiction for adults versus for children? While nonfiction for adults “goes off in all sorts of tangents, when you write for children, you strip that down to the essence.”

“I tried to write the great American novel as my first book,” Hunsicker said. “I wrote about seventy pages. And they were really bad. Once I clued in the genre that I read, the blank screen was not that intimidating.”

“I would have this scene and then another and another,” Starks said. “I had about 50,000 words and I thought, this must be a book. I was so wrong.” She credited Suzanne Frank, program director for SMU’s continuing education creative writing classes for teaching her what a book really was. “She said, you need to make it larger in scope, and she was so right. The book would go on to become the thriller 13 Days.

Hunsicker, too, credited SMU’s creative writing classes for helping him develop his story-writing skills.

“Two of you talk about taking classes at SMU,” Wilonsky said. “Is it possible to teach someone to write?”

“That’s a can of worms,” Hunsicker said. “You can teach people to write a paragraph or a scene but you can’t teach them to write a story.”

Blumenthal disagreed--at least to a point. Writing, she said “is hard. It’s painful. It’s ugly. People who are willing to do that can learn to be better writers.”

(For more about the writers involved in this discussion, see their websites, www.karenblumenthal.com/, http://harryhunsicker.com/, and http://lastarks.com/. For more about SMU’s continuing education creative writing program, see www.smu.edu/Simmons/CommunityEnrichment/CreativeWriting/. And next Monday, I’ll discuss local resources, from free to pricey, for writers.)

Totally Texas -- Santa's tiny village is big in Richardson

Santa’s Village

411 W. Arapaho Road

Richardson, Texas

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For the past month, my grandkids have been watching Santa’s Village rise on the lawn behind the Richardson city library along Arapaho Road. Santa's Village is a tiny town of brightly colored, kid-sized houses. And for three weekends each December, Santa is in residence.

This year he arrives at 6 p.m. Saturday, December 7, in time to light the town’s holiday tree, staying till 9 p.m. He returns to Richardson December 8, December 12-15, and 19-22.

As of fifteen minutes before this posting, anticipated wintry weather has not caused Richardson to cancel the opening, but if conditions are icy Saturday, cancellations will be posted at 972-744-4301, option 4, and at www.cor.net/santasvillage/.

No matter what the weather, the line to see Santa for pictures and gift requests always winds the length of the village, so best arrive well before the opening. The civic center parking lot fills early, as do the post office and bank lots across the street. Please ask before parking in front of neighboring businesses!

Besides Santa, the village is inhabited by costumed characters ready to chat and pose for pictures with children--maybe even with adults if they ask nicely! Children may leave letters for Santa at the village post office, get a height and weight check-up at the teddy bear hospital, a cookie from the bakery, view the kid-friendly window displays, listen to seasonal music performances, and more.

During daylight hours, when Santa is away, the village is still open for strolling and picture taking. Admission is free, sponsored by Richardson’s Park and Recreation Department.

UPDATE, Friday p.m.:  The city of Richardson reports activities at Santa's Village this weekend are cancelled.  Save those wish lists for next week!

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Need some indoor activities while the weather’s coldest? The Bookmarks branch of the Dallas Public Library inside NorthPark (Northwest Highway and Central Expressway in Dallas) is one of my family’s favorites. I know, shopping malls get crazy in December, but Bookmarks is surprisingly laid back, and one of the few Dallas library branches open on Sundays and Mondays. Comfy chairs, kid-friendly computers, books and magazines even a parent can enjoy. For a schedule of activities, see
http://dallaslibrary2.org/branch/bookmarks/php/.

Totally Texas -- Movies for free -- or almost!

Most of the time my family is about the outdoors. But come rainy days -- or Texas summer days hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk, we’ll settle for the great indoors. Among our favorite indoor venues -- a movie theater. With the right movie, the boys are spellbound, grownups rest and laugh at jokes over the kids’ heads, and everybody’s cool and dry -- at least for a couple of hours.

Big spenders that we aren’t, for family movie days or evenings, we look for bargains. We’re lucky enough to live close to a couple of discount movie houses, but other family-friendly deals abound, especially in summer.

High on our list of bargains is Studio Movie Grill’s Children’s Summer series, at several locations in the Dallas area. Monday - Friday, we can catch movies for $1 per kid, $2 per adult, starting at 11 a.m. Yes, you can buy a meal there, too, but you don’t have to. This week’s movie is Despicable Me; next week’s is How to Train Your Dragon. This deal is only good at the box office. Get there early -- it often sells out. For the full schedule, click on “family” at www.studiomoviegrill.com/.

(Studio Movie Grill also shows $2 cartoons weekends year round. And for evening movies at $1, often mild enough for older kids, click on the “alternate programming” link. )

Or, combine movies with the outdoors, as in “dive-in” movies at selected Dallas swimming pools. Tonight, June 21, it’s Hotel Transylvania at the Walnut Hill Pool, free with cost of pool admission. Gates open at 8:30 p.m. Dive-in movies later this summer are Madagascar 3, July 12; Wreck-it Ralph, July 26, and Pirates: Band of Misfits, August 16. For locations, see
www.dallasaquatics.org/news-events/.

Also tonight, you can catch Moonrise Kingdom as part of the Nasher Sculpture Center’s ‘til Midnight programming each third Friday. Admission to the museum, music and movie is free from 6 p.m. to midnight. The film screens at 9 p.m., but hey, tomorrow’s not a school day! July’s film is Cars, August’s is Three Amigos. And yes, it continues in the fall. For details, see
www.nashersculpturecenter.org/.

Also free, and not too late for little ones, are the family movie nights at the Dallas Public Library’s Central Branch. Films screen every Thursday during the summer, beginning at 6 p.m. at the second floor Children’s Center. When I called, I was told licensing agreements prevent the library from publishing the line-up online, so give the librarians a call at 214-670-1671 for each week’s movie. For directions and other library events, see www.dallaslibrary/.

For later this summer, I’ve already put the Dallas Museum of Art’s film series, Love, War and Myth in Ancient Greece, on my calendar. Sound too heavy? Think -- Jason and the Argonauts, with mythical monsters by the late Ray Harryhausen. Thursdays this August at 7 p.m. Tickets are a tad more expensive than others listed here -- $5. But when was the last time you saw the skeleton warriors on the big screen? For the full schedule, see
www.dma.org/Events/Films/indes.htm.

Totally Texas -- Documents rare and arresting

This week’s weather alarms reminded me of the need to write about indoor events as well as outdoor ones. While haunting one of my favorite indoor venues, the Dallas Public Library, I came across an exhibition of memorabilia about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Right, I live in the city known as the site of the most infamous U.S. assassination since Abraham Lincoln’s. We can’t escape it, especially in this fiftieth anniversary year of Kennedy’s death.

The first floor of the Dallas Public Library’s central branch, 1515 Young Street, showcases front pages coverage of the assassination from both daily newspapers in existence in 1963. But the majority of the collection is on view on the library’s seventh floor. Among other artifacts, the exhibition includes the Dallas Morning News full page photo of the murder of Kennedy’s presumed assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, by Jack Ruby; numerous courtroom sketches of Ruby’s trial by journalist-illustrator John Groth (Oswald was killed before he could go to trial); political cartoons of the period; and condolence notes to the Kennedy family.

The photos are no more graphic than coverage of last month’s Boston Marathon bombing, but may want to exercise caution if visiting the exhibit with young children.

I actually went to the library for a look at the permanent collections on the seventh floor -- a long-lost copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and a Shakespeare first folio.

It always surprises me that these permanent exhibits aren’t packed with people. The Shakespeare folio is one of about 250 still in existence, presented to the library in 1986. The Declaration of Independence is one of about two dozen surviving copies of the declaration’s first printing. Each is housed in its own room.

I’ll admit, my first-grader grandsons probably won’t be thrilled by these documents just yet. But for children in higher elementary grades and up -- and yes, adults, too -- seeing these is something not to be missed.

They’re free, and accessible during the central branch’s hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 1 -5 p.m. Sunday. The library is closed on Mondays and city holidays.

Totally Texas -- Art, books, causes and kids

It’s one of those weekend when I wish I could clone myself. Fortunately, my favorite events are at overlapping times so, just maybe, I can make more than one of my favorite events without major help from technology.

Dallas Etsy’s Spring Handmade Bash runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27; the Dallas Public Library’s International Book Fair is noon to 5 p.m. Saturday; Dallas Big Read’s read-in honoring Fahrenheit 451 is from 4-6 p.m. Saturday; and the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Great Create is Sunday, April 28, from 1-4 p.m.

Etsy first. My daughter and I attended a previous Spring Bash, and were amazed at the range and quality of crafts on view. Offerings at this year’s bash run the gamut from accessories through art, baby and kids stuff, bags and purses, body care, clothing, housewares, paper goods, and pets. Everything is handmade -- no resale, commercial products, vintage or supplies.

This spring’s bash is at The Shops at Park Lane, 3030 Park Lane (Park Lane at Central Expressway). Considering how busy that site across from NorthPark gets on Saturdays, I’d suggest coming in from the back, on Greenville. Besides, that’s where the free parking is and the nearby Park Lane DART station.

This year’s Bash includes live music, entertainment, food, and a play area for kids. It’s free, and the first fifty shoppers also receive free goody bags. The Bash is sponsored by Etsy Dallas, which has the blessing of, but not affiliation with the online marketplace Etsy, Inc. (And keep an eye open later this year for the Spring Bash’s sister, Jingle Bash.)  For more information, see www.handmadebash.com/.

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In downtown Dallas, the Dallas Public Library‘s Central Branch, 1515 Young Street, hosts an afternoon of books, kids crafts, storytelling, and more at its 13^th annual International Book Fair from noon to 5 p.m. I’m looking at the session with Carve magazine editor discussing how to get short stories published, from 2-3 p.m. or lunch with Nancy Smith, author of Dallas International with J.R. Ewing.

Or maybe I should check out the exercise program, or the theatrical skits, or the screening of Like Water for Chocolate (17 years or older, or with parent/guardian). Or the storytelling and poetry reading or -- well, you get the idea. See
http://dallasinternationalbookfair.com/.

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Sometime in between, it’s off to Klyde Warren Park, over Woodall Rogers Freeway between St. Paul and Pearl streets, where Dallas’ Big Reads month of focus on Ray
Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451 concludes with a read-in from 4-6 p.m.

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All of the above events are free. However, you will need a ticket ($75 for individuals as available, free for children age two and under) to attend Sunday’s The Great Create at the Nasher Sculpture Center, 2001 Flora St. This is a family-focused fundraiser featuring workshops with arts, as well as live entertainment and kid-friendly food. Events are intended for children age 12 and younger, with teens invited to assist the artists and younger guests. Please note that the museum will be closed to the public all day Sunday for this ticketed event.  See
www.nashersculpturecenter.org/.

Totally Texas -- A library designed for kids

Bookmarks

Dallas NorthPark Center

8687 North Central Expressway (Central at Northwest Highway)

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As I write this, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and temperatures hover near 60 degrees F. It won’t last long. And the boys must get at least an hour daily of serious rowdy time or they’re not fit to live with. What’s our choice when winter weather turns playgrounds into mud pits? You guessed it -- we head for a shopping mall.

Our mall of choice is NorthPark. It has not only stuff kids were never intended to play on, but do, but also Bookmarks, the only library branch in Dallas designed just for kids. Because when the boys work off their extra energy, there’s nothing they like better than curling up with a good book. Or a computer. Maybe even a craft project. All of which are on tap at Bookmarks.

Designed for children up to age 12, the storefront library offers internet computers, story telling, puzzles, crafts and other activities for youngsters and their caretakers. Oh, and it has books you can check out with your Dallas library card.

The boys love the story book murals like the one illustrating this post. And they love the computers, loaded with games accessible even to nonreaders. They needed only a little adult help on our most recent visit to master Bookmarks’ new touch screens.

The computers are only for kids. And Bookmarks is not daycare -- you must stay to supervise your children. But with comfortable chairs, magazines and Wi-Fi, library visitors of all ages can coexist happily.

Bookmarks is one of only three Dallas library branches open on Monday, which makes it a go-to for Monday school holidays. It’s closed Tuesdays but otherwise open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Sundays (noon to 5 p.m.).

It’s located on NorthPark’s first level, between Nordstrom and Macy’s. Restrooms and a drinking fountain are across the hall. Only a few steps away is the mall’s outdoor sculpture garden, with grassy lawns to run and tumble on whenever the sun does decide to come out.

For a complete schedule of Bookmarks’ activities for children, see www.dallaslibrary2.org/brach/bookmarks/php/.

(Next Friday -- if it’s midwinter, it must be time for the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Hope the weather cooperates. If not, that’s what covered arenas are for.)

Totally Texas -- It's cool down underground

Inner Space Cavern

Highway I-35, exit 259

Georgetown, Texas

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For years I watched wistfully during trips to Austin as billboards for Inner Space Cavern slid past the windows. This time I held the car keys, informing my family that yes, we were stopping, prepared to quell any arguments with the information that the temperature inside the cave was 72 degrees F. Seventy-two degrees on a day when the outside temperature was forecast to top 100 -- how could anybody in Texas object?

We used our AAA memberships to get a discount on the price of tickets to the Adventure Tour -- the shortest one, at approximately an hour and fifteen minutes. The map inside showed the total trip was three-fourths of a mile, which seemed an easy walk.

Contrary to some internet information, the cave’s entrance, at least for our easy tour, was by inclined ramp rather than cable car. As we walked toward the dark opening, the interior air wafted out, blissfully cool. I almost wondered if somebody had forgotten to close the refrigerator door.

My family followed instructions at the website, www.myinnerspacecavern.com/, to wear comfortable walking shoes (at least, we all had the equivalent of tennis shoes). Some members of our tour showed in flip-flops and crocs and weren’t turned away. And after all, it was less than a mile round trip -- what could it matter? I actually wondered how we’d manage to more than an hour on such a short trip.

But three-fourths of a mile up and down the cavern’s damp and sometimes slippery walkways, even though graded, is different from the same distance on level ground. And the porous limestone rock overlaying the cave dripped liberally. Who would have thought dry Texas soil could hold so much water?.

The ceiling drips are the reason for the rock formations inside -- stalactites on the
ceilings, stalagmites on the floor, sometimes joined into columns, sometimes what our guide called “kissing,” near-touching chandeliers and pillars doomed not to meet for another thousand years. And there are the multiple rooms of “soda straws” -- miniature stalactites covering ceilings like popcorn gone wild, each with a drop of water trembling at its tip. And the curtains and waterfalls of frozen stone. With discreet lighting, reflections from crystal-clear pools doubled the effects.

Obviously, the humidity inside is high -- greater than 90 percent. By the end of the trip, we felt drenched, even without splashing in the puddles our guide steered us around. We all made it out without complications, although signs warned the damp may cause difficulty for some visitors with respiratory problems. And the walkways are not accessible to wheelchairs or strollers.

The boys, just out of kindergarten, were fascinated by their first caving experience. But really, skip the flip-flops. Check the website for hours, rates, and discounts. And remember to bring a camera.

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When there’s not a cave handy to dodge 100 degree-plus days, my family unashamedly hangs out at the movies. (No worries about shooters. Anybody who tried to force us into the Texas summer heat would be torn apart with our bare hands.) Studio Movie Grill’s Children’s Summer Series shows kid-worthy movies Monday - Friday, 10:59 a.m., $1 for children, $2 for adults. Get there early -- it fills up fast!  At 
www.studiomoviegrill/LocationsDetail/.


Also, the downtown Dallas Public Library, 1515 Young Street, shows family matinees Saturdays and Sundays during August. Shows start at 2 p.m. Free. Call 214-670-1671 during open hours (10-5 today) for this weekend’s shows.

Totally Texas -- Bookmark this

My daughter promised her just turned five-year-old twins we’d better go by Bookmarks in NorthPark Center in Dallas.  The boys are crazy about the kid-friendly computer programs in the Dallas Public Library’s branch inside the shopping mall, a branch designed for children up to age twelve.  But she didn’t think they’d be able to sit still long enough to take advantage of the craft project the library hosted.  But when the librarian set out a table stocked enticingly with arrays of construction paper, crayons and markers – not to mention stamping pens, kid-safe scissors, and googly glue-on eyes -- even the bossier twin surrendered his mouse.

My daughter is still amazed that there are parents and caretakers of small children in North Texas who don’t know about this little powerhouse of a library.  It’s only a few feet from CenterPark, the central plot of grass, gardens and art with space for kids to play.  And just across a corridor from family-friendly restrooms.  (Do I need to tell anybody with small ones in tow how great that is?)  If you get lost in the maze of stores, find Ad Astra (the piece of art that looks like an immense orange tinker toy) and look south to find the corridor labeled with Bookmarks’ name.

Since the library is in NorthPark, a development of art collector Raymond Nasher, it wouldn’t be complete without art.  The twins love following nursery rhymes and fairy tales through the murals on Bookmarks’ walls.  And there are adult-sized chairs and magazines available even for people older than twelve.  Bring the kids and stay awhile.

Bookmarks is closed Tuesdays but open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon until five.  Special activities include music, story telling and crafts.  This Wednesday, March 23, at 10:30 a.m. storyteller Hazel Sandlin presents “Irish Fairy Tales for the Fairly Young” and traditional Irish tunes.  For more information about upcoming events see http://dallaslibrary2.org/branch/bookmarks.php  And feel free to pass along your own special places for the young or young at heart.