Literary Arts

Main Street Rag Third Sunday Poetry Series

Presented By: Writers Place
Venue: Writers Place
Hours: Monday, February 01, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
The Main Street Rag, a quarterly literary magazine based in Charlotte, NC, is pleased to co-sponsor a new monthly poetry series at The Writers' Place. The event will take place every third Sunday at 7 p.m. and will be hosted by Main Street Rag co-founder Shawn Pavey. This month's event will feature the work of Kansas City Poets Rachel Asbury and Lance Asbury of the poetry performance group OPUS, along with Jeremy Coleson. Admission is free, but a suggested gift of $3.00 for The Writers' Place members and $5.00 for non-members will be donated to the operating budget of The Writer's Place. Copies of The Main Street Rag will be available for purchase with all revenue to be donated to The Writer's Place. The Writers' Place is located at 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO 64111. Please call Shawn Pavey at 816-868-2707 for more information.

Young Playwrights Festival 2010

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
The Coterie's Young Playwrights Festival features a collection of new work by the city's best young writers. The rich and varied theatrical writings which emerge from a year-long process are forged into an ambitious festival of script-in-hand stagings utilizing the finest professional actors. A special experience about quality writing by young people.

Young Playwrights Festival 2010

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Thursday, April 29, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
The Coterie's Young Playwrights Festival features a collection of new work by the city's best young writers. The rich and varied theatrical writings which emerge from a year-long process are forged into an ambitious festival of script-in-hand stagings utilizing the finest professional actors. A special experience about quality writing by young people.

Latino Writers Collective

Presented By: Heritage League of Greater Kansas City
Venue: Kansas City Museum
Hours: Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
The Kansas City Museum is excited to be working with the Latino Writer’s Collective of Kansas City in 2010. The Collective is a group of Latino writers living and working in the Kansas City metropolitan area, helping each other hone and polish their works for publication. It’s mission is to foster an environment where the voices of Latino students, blue collar workers, professionals and homemakers can be heard, contributing their experience and vision to the larger Kansas City community.

That Championship Season by Jason Miller

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Sunday, March 07, 2010 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

American Classics, the fourth season of the Script-in-Hand series presented by the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, continues with That Championship Season by Jason Miller.

In this 1973 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, four members of a championship basketball team reunite to spend time with their dying coach. They still look to their coach for guidance. Only now, the men begin to suspect that their coach was a bigot, a bully, and a fraud.

The series is sponsored by The Friends of the Kansas City Public Library.

Linda Maria Gigante: Resurrecting Dead Romans

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Linda Maria Gigante presents Resurrecting Dead Romans: Reconstructing the Lives of Slaves and Freedmen from Their Tombs and Epitaphs.

Gigante will discuss the role slaves played in Roman culture and what close examination of their tombs and epitaphs reveals about their lives. She will focus on a collection of 1st and 2^nd century CE epitaphs that were removed from nonelite tombs in Rome in the late 19^th century and have, since 1929, been in the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

Resurrecting Dead Romans is the 2010 Edward J. Baker Lecture.

The event is funded by the Archaeological Institute of America and co-sponsored by the Classical and Ancient Studies Program at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Alan Dunlop: Teasing the Grid

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Renowned Scottish architect Alan Dunlop discusses the development of Glasgow as a city and its relationship to American cities.

Dunlop will trace the growth of Glasgow from medieval city to the Victorian age and the creation of the street grid. He will examine how Glasgow was influenced by the development of town planning in North America and, in turn, how it influenced great cities in the United States, most notably Chicago.

A partner in Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop Architects, Dunlop is a gifted draughtsman and is responsible for a number of important buildings in Scotland.

Dunlop is the Victor L. Regnier Visiting Faculty Chair in Architecture at Kansas State University. The event is co-sponsored by the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program: 6:30 p.m.

Courtney Martin: Barbie and Body Image

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Thursday, March 11, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Author Courtney E. Martin discusses the history of the iconic doll and the influence it has had on the self-image of American girls.

Barbie has often been criticized for promoting an unrealistic idea of body image. Martin grew up playing with Barbie dolls, despite the opposition of her feminist mother, and finds herself now “happy with my curves, convinced of my own intelligence, and unabashedly feminist.”

The event complements the Celebrating 50 Fabulous Years with America’s Favorite Doll exhibit at the Toy & Miniature Museum and is co-sponsored by the UMKC Women’s Center.

Jeff Miron: Obamanomics – Growing the Pie or Dividing the Pie?

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Libertarian economist Jeff Miron discusses the economic impact of the federal government’s 2009 stimulus package. Miron says because tax liabilities accompany any government spending program, last year’s stimulus package may not have expanded the output of the American economy, but instead simply redistributed the economy’s output.

Miron will explain how money was redistributed and offer an alternative plan that he says would promote economic expansion.

The event is co-sponsored by the Show-Me Institute.

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program at 6:30 p.m.

Tasha Alexander: Tears of Pearl

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Thursday, March 18, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Tasha Alexander is the author of four Victorian-era historical mysteries following the career of the fictional Lady Emily Ashton, whose exploits include tracking down stolen antiquities and investigating murders as an agent of the British Empire. In the latest installment, Tears of Pearl, Alexander explores a vividly depicted Constantinople in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire with particular attention given to its treatment of women.

She also wrote the novelization of the Oscar-winning film Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

This event complements the 2010 Adult Winter Reading Program.

Harzfeld’s: A Brief History of Petticoat Lane

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Sunday, March 21, 2010 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

In 1891, Siegmund Harzfeld and the Parisian Cloak Company introduced a new era of commerce and fashion to the residents of Kansas City. The ready-to-wear movement arrived at his flagship Harzfeld’s location along Petticoat Lane, which later expanded its reach through a regional network of satellite stores.

Joe and Michele Boeckholt trace Harzfeld’s fashions with archival photographs and memorabilia. They are authors of Harzfeld’s: A Brief History. They are both graphic designers living in the Kansas City area.

A Conversation with Margot Livesey

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Fiction writer and UMKC Cockefair Chair Writer-in-Residence Margot Livesey will discuss her work in a conversation with Angela Elam of KCUR 89.3 FM’s New Letters on the Air.

Livesey’s first book, a collection of stories called Learning By Heart, was published by Penguin Canada in 1986. Since then, she has published six novels including Homework, Criminals, The Missing World, Eva Moves the Furniture, Banishing Verona, and The House on Fortune Street. Additionally, she has been the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the N.E.A., the Massachusetts Artists’ Foundation, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Livesey is currently a distinguished writer in residence at Emerson College.

Of Livesey’s work, Alice Sebold once said “Every novel of Margot Livesey’s is, for her readers, a joyous discovery. Her work radiates with compassion and intelligence and always, deliciously, mystery.”

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program: 6:30 p.m.

Roy Morris: How Samuel Clemens Headed West and Became Mark Twain

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Author Roy Morris discusses his book Lighting Out for the Territory, about how Samuel Clemens’ six-year journey from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Hawaii – with lengthy stopovers in Virginia City, Nevada, and San Francisco – resulted in his literary emergence as Mark Twain.

Morris describes how Clemens’ voyage coincided with a journey of self-discovery. The man who would become one of America’s favorite authors dodged Indians and gunfighters, received marriage advice from Brigham Young, and narrowly avoided fighting a duel.

The event is co-sponsored by Rainy Day Books. The book will be available for sale.

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program: 6:30 p.m.

Leigh Rubin: A Twisted Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Thursday, March 25, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Leigh Rubin discusses his new book The Wild and Twisted World of Rubes, a collection of the best cartoons from his 25 years drawing the one-panel cartoon Rubes.

Rubin will discuss his career as a cartoonist and use humor to emphasize the rewards of persistence and the fun of problem solving while celebrating the joy of creativity. His presentations seek to inspire attendees to add a little creativity to their own lives and to break their normal routine and think outside the box.

Nobody finds more fun and inspiration in dogs, cows, cats, kids, religion, weird and quirky people, and life in general than Rubin.

The book will be available for sale.

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program: 6:30 p.m.

John McPhee

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Monday, March 29, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Pulitzer Prize-winning author John McPhee discusses his career and the writing life as part of the Writers at Work series.

McPhee began his writing career at Time magazine. Since 1965, he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker. He has authored several books and won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1999 for Annals of the Former World. He is a nonfiction writing instructor at Princeton University. Among his former students is Pulitzer Prize winner and current editor of The New Yorker David Remnick.

The event is part of the Writers at Work series organized by Kansas City novelist Whitney Terrell and co-sponsored by Chris Davis and the English Department at UMKC.

McPhee’s books will be available for sale.

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program: 6:30 p.m.

Bill Braniff: Understanding the Roots of the Terrorist Threat to the United States

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Bill Braniff discusses the terrorist threat faced by the United States and explains how close examination of the environments in which terrorist organizations operate is crucial to understanding the global Salafi-jihadi movement.

An instructor at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Braniff will explain the roots of the al-Qa´ida ideology, as well as the political landscape and the theological context in which it operates.

The event is co-sponsored by the Hauptmann School for Public Affairs at Park University and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program: 6:30 p.m.

A Conversation with Joe Ratterman

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Library Director Crosby Kemper III leads a conversation on entrepreneurship with Joe Ratterman, president and chief executive officer of BATS Exchange.

Based in Lenexa, Kansas, BATS Exchange is one of the fastest growing equity markets in the United States with a team focused on fostering innovation and competition in the securities markets. BATS was founded in June 2005 at a time when market innovation and technology leadership were at risk due to over consolidation in the exchange industry.

Ratterman joined BATS as a founding employee and served as executive vice president and chief operating officer from 2005 to mid 2007.

He is also president and CEO of BATS Global Markets, the holding company for BATS Exchange and BATS Europe.

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program: 6:30 p.m.

Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo: Asia Fantasia

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

One half of the husband and wife team that makes up the national performance group Eth-Noh-Tec, Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, presents Asia Fantasia.

Growing up in the late ‘60s with a Japanese and Filipino American heritage, Kikuchi-Yngojo was provided with a rich cultural environment from which to explore the creation of an Asian American identity. His talent for Asian music, dance, and theater, along with his innate comedic ability merged with his social and political philosophy place him in the exciting art form of storytelling.

Friday Night Family Fun: Dianne de Las Casas

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Friday, March 12, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Award-winning author and storyteller Dianne de Las Casas presents an evening of singing, clapping, laughing, and of course, storytelling.

Inspired by her seventh grade English teacher, who would read aloud to the class every day, de Las Casas “fell in love with words both on paper and in the air.” De Las Casas adapts traditional folklore, adding fun audience participation, song, and of course, humor. Through the use of character voices, creative movement, animated facial expressions, and gestures, she creates a world of fantasy and enchantment.

Celebrate the Grand Reopening of the Newly Renovated Lucile H. Bluford Branch

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Lucile H. Bluford Branch
Hours: Saturday, March 06, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Ribbon cutting celebration featuring special guest Guion Bluford -- the nephew of civil rights pioneer Lucile Bluford and America’s first black astronaut in space -- and a host of local dignitaries

KC Currents School Board Election Panel Discussion

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Lucile H. Bluford Branch
Hours: Sunday, March 07, 2010 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

A panel discussion focusing on the April Kansas City School Board elections, hosted by KCUR 89.3 FM’s KC Currents, a magazine-style show covering Kansas City’s minority communities

Friday Night Family Fun: Singing Through History

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Friday, March 19, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Adam Miller performs Singing Through History, a collection of folk music classics.

Miller is renowned for his extensive repertoire of more than 5,000 traditional and contemporary folk songs. His highly entertaining performances at festivals and concert halls across the United States have won him fans of all ages.

A masterful entertainer who never fails to get his audience singing along, he has distinguished himself as one of the great interpreters of American folktales and folk songs.

Friday Night Family Fun: Max’s Family Band

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch
Hours: Friday, March 26, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Gary Negbaur returns with Max’s Family Band to perform his unique brand of music.

The band consists of Gary, a pianist, singer, and songwriter, and his wife, Yvette, a theater and cabaret singer. Inspired by the antics of their 3-year-old son, Max, the Negbaurs composed 15 songs for and about him that are relatable to children and parents alike.

Garry Noland and Cory Imig: Pitty Patt(rn)

Presented By: Kansas City Public Library
Venue: Central Library
Hours: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Artists Garry Noland and Cory Imig discuss the inspirations and ideas that informed the exhibit Pitty Patt(rn), curated by Sean Kelley, and on display at the Central Library until March 28.

Using a variety of media from acrylic paint to duct tape to National Geographic magazines, the artists challenge expectations of language, space, and everyday things.

Garry Noland has a BA in the History of Art. Cory Imig received her BFA in Fibers.

Reception: 6 p.m. • Program at 6:30 p.m.

Songwriting Workshop

Presented By: Plaza Wellspring
Venue: Plaza Wellspring
Hours: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Wednesday: 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Songwriting Workshop with Jamie Sussman

Do you love listening to music? Have you ever wondered what it takes to write a song? Here is your chance to find out. Learn how easy and fun it can be to write your own songs. Exercises will get you writing your own lyrics and melody lines. No musical talent is needed to participate in this workshop. All you need is an open mind and some creativity.

The Art of Metaphor

Presented By: Plaza Wellspring
Venue: Plaza Wellspring
Hours: Thursday, March 25, 2010 from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Thursday: 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. The Art of Metaphor with Linda Putthoff

How do we create meaning from life events using metaphor? We know the use of metaphor and imagery in our movement work gives our mind/body a stepping stone toward balance and ease. So, too, can viewing every day events through a lens of metaphor and archetypal imagery provide richness and depth to our experiences. Discover the power of the mind in creating our experience!

Insiders Guide to the Arts in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area: A Panel Presentation

Presented By: Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities, YWCA of Greater KC, KC Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts
Venue: YWCA of Greater Kansas City Black Box Theater
Hours: Thursday, April 15, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities, Kansas City Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants, and the YWCA of Greater Kansas City present an intimate evening with some of Kansas City’s leading artistic entrepreneurs, arts lawyers and grant providers in a panel discussion format. Learn more about how these individuals succeed, support and survive in Kansas City.

Panelists include-

· multidisciplinary artist

· legal advisor for artists starting their own businesses or marketing themselves

· prominent gallery director

· screenwriter/director

· arts grant manager

· performance artistic director

Armitage Gone! Dance

Presented By: Lied Center of Kansas
Venue: The Lied Center of Kansas
Hours: Friday, November 05, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

An Evening with Garrison Keillor

Presented By: Lied Center of Kansas
Venue: The Lied Center of Kansas
Hours: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Carnival of the Animals & Peter and the Wolf

Presented By: Lied Center of Kansas
Venue: The Lied Center of Kansas
Hours: Sunday, March 13, 2011 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM

Award-winning journalist Jonathan Eig to discuss Get Capone: The Secret Plot that Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: National Archives at Kansas City
Hours: Thursday, July 15, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

The National Archives at Kansas City will host award-winning author Jonathan Eig on Thursday, July 15, at 6:30 p.m. for a discussion on his new book Get Capone: The Secret Plot that Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster. Eig will be available to sign copies of his book after the discussion. A 6:00 p.m. reception will precede the event. In addition, attendees are encouraged to view the exhibition Mugged!: Facing Life at Leavenworth prior to the discussion.

Alphonse Capone moved to Chicago in 1920 without the notion that he would one day become America’s Public Enemy No.1. Get Capone: The Secret Plot that Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster dives deep into the world of the notorious crime boss. Get Capone not only details the fall of Capone, but his rise to control and how he maintained it. Eig traces Capone’s career from his beginnings as a small time Brooklyn hoodlum to his virtual control of the underworld in 1920s Chicago before he was thirty years old. Capone made a fortune bootlegging during Prohibition, eventually extending his reach to racketeering, gambling, and other mob-controlled activities. Ruthless in exercising his power, he evaded criminal charges for his actions, in large part because of the fundamental corruption of Chicago’s law enforcement. Capone would become a national celebrity, igniting the ire of President Hoover. Get Capone presents information that was found in newly discovered personal and government documents including new theories such as - did Capone really have anything to do with St. Valentine’s Day Massacre? Filled with astonishing new information that will change the familiar story, Get Capone offers a fascinating, riveting account of an iconic American figure.

Jonathan Eig is a former writer and editor for the Chicago bureau of The Wall Street Journal and the former executive editor of the Chicago magazine. Eig is the author of two highly acclaimed New York Times best sellers, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season. Luckiest Man won the Casey Award for the best baseball book of 2005, and Opening Day was selected as one of the best books of 2007 by the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Sports Illustrated. He has appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart, NBC’s Today Show, CNN, NPR, and frequently lectures across the United States. He currently lives in Chicago, half a mile from the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, with his wife and children.

Story Time with Kathy McLellan

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Celebrating Women Artists of Color

Presented By: Kaw Valley Arts & Humanities, Inc.
Venue: Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities
Hours: Friday, July 09, 2010 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

As a part of Downtown Kansas City, Kansas Second Fridays Art Walks, Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities will be Celebrating Women Artists of Color. Come celebrate women through the visual arts, poetry, and music.

Among those featured:
Nedra Bonds
Bonnye Brown
Maria Boyd
Carolyn Chaperon
Wilma Dooley
Virginia Moore
Ernestine Owens
Nicolette Paige
Ada Shakir
Sherry Whetstone

Art/Work - Creativity from the Cube

Presented By: Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City
Venue: Union Station
Hours: Sunday, August 01, 2010 from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM

JoHo Story Teller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Join us for a morning of exciting tales performed by story teller, Jo Ho. This week’s theme is “Jungle Tales.”

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Location: Johnson County Museum, 6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913-715-2550.

Black Comedy/The White Liars - UMKC Theatre

Presented By: UMKC Theatre
Venue: Grant Hall Theatre
Hours: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Black Comedy/The White Liars - UMKC Theatre

Presented By: UMKC Theatre
Venue: Grant Hall Theatre
Hours: Sunday, October 24, 2010 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Black Comedy/The White Liars - UMKC Theatre

Presented By: UMKC Theatre
Venue: Grant Hall Theatre
Hours: Monday, October 25, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Black Comedy/The White Liars - UMKC Theatre

Presented By: UMKC Theatre
Venue: Grant Hall Theatre
Hours: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM

JoHo StoryTeller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Join us for a morning of exciting tales performed by story teller, Jo Ho. Today’s theme: Aesop’s Fables.

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Jo Ho Story Teller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Join us for a morning of exciting tales performed by story teller, Jo Ho. Today’s theme is Old MacDonald’s Pumpkin Patch.

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Regional Used Book Sale

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Metcalf South Shopping Center
Hours: Thursday, November 04, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM

A “Friends of Library Member Only” Preview Sale will be held on Wednesday, November 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. which requires a current Friends of the Library membership card that may be purchased at the sale or at the Friends Used book stores located at Antioch and Blue Valley Neighborhood libraries.

According to Marsha Bennett, Community Relations Coordinator for Johnson County Library, this new sale be similar in size and scope of the Library’s Sizzlin’ Summer Used Book which was held in June at Metcalf South that raised over $83,000.00.

“We are delighted to offer another large regional book sale for the community,” Bennett stated. “There is definitely something for every age and interest. We estimate there will be approximately 100,000 items, all organized in easy to find categories. We have outgrown our space for quarterly used book sales previously held at the Antioch Neighborhood Library, so have moved to two semi-annual sales. Metcalf South offers a larger space and plenty of parking.”

According to Bennett this is a great community recycling event and a way to stock up on winter reading material. “Not only are items weeded from the library’s collection taken to the sale, but donations from the community make up about 60 to 70% of the items offered at the sale,” Bennett said. “Books and audiovisual materials are sorted by categories so people can easily find their area of interest or favorite authors. There are hardbacks, paperbacks, fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, as well as some audiovisual materials. The variety of items offered at this sale will certainly please everyone. And the prices are very affordable.”

Regional Used Book Sale

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Metcalf South Shopping Center
Hours: Friday, November 05, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Regional Used Book Sale

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Metcalf South Shopping Center
Hours: Friday, November 05, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

The Seafarer

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre and Kansas City Actors Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Saturday, October 23, 2010 from 8:00 PM to 10:30 PM

The Seafarer

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre and Kansas City Actors Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM

The Seafarer

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre and Kansas City Actors Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Friday, October 22, 2010 from 8:00 PM to 10:30 PM

The Seafarer

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre and Kansas City Actors Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Sunday, October 24, 2010 from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM

Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Join us for a morning of exciting tales performed by story teller, Jo Ho. Today’s theme is Home Sweet Home.

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Location: Johnson County Museum, 6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913-715-2550.

Stone Lion Puppet Theater Presents Twas Etc

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, December 01, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Event: Stone Lion Puppet Theater Presents Twas Etc. @ the JoCo Museum
Time: 10:00 a.m
Details: Santa is off doing a practice run, so Mrs. Claus decides to get her friends together for a wacky storytelling session of Clement C. Moore's famous poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. A great show for all ages!

Fee: $3 per person; members $2 per person. Tickets sold on a first-come, first-served basis; space is limited. Advance registration is recommended. Call (913) 715-2575 to purchase tickets. Maximum of three children per adult. Children must be supervised at all times.

Location: Johnson County Museum, 6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913-715-2550.

In-Progress New Play Reading: Honest

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Sunday, November 14, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Distracted

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Distracted

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Friday, November 26, 2010 from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Distracted

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Sunday, November 28, 2010 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Young Playwrights' Festival 2011

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Thursday, May 12, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
The Coterie’s Young Playwrights’ Festival features a collection of new work by the city’s best young writers. The rich and varied theatrical writings which emerge from a year-long process are forged into an ambitious festival of script-in-hand stagings—utilizing the finest actors, directors, and designers to make this a special experience about quality writing by young people.

JoHo Story Teller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Join us for a morning of exciting tales performed by story teller Jo Ho. Today’s theme is Winterfest Around the World.

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home

Improbable Futures for Unpopular Places: An Evening with Rob Walker

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Grand Arts
Hours: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Funky Mama

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

JoHo Storyteller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Today’s theme is Alaskan Adventure. Gear up in your parkas and mukluks for a winter journey to icy Alaska. Through stories, songs, interesting facts, and breathtaking photos, travelers will get nose to nose with the Eskimos, polar and katmai bears, Beluga whales, and the dog-mushing Malamutes and Siberian Huskies.

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

In-Progress New Play Reading: Bakersfield Mist

Presented By: Unicorn Theatre
Venue: Unicorn Theatre
Hours: Sunday, January 09, 2011 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Book Signing at John Wornall House

Presented By: The Heritage League of Kansas City
Venue: The John Wornall House Museum
Hours: Friday, February 11, 2011 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Join author, Alison Henderson, author of the new book, “Harvest of Dreams” for wine, cheese and a discussion of her book. Alison will be available to autograph copies as well.

This is a free event, but, as always, donations are greatly appreciated!

Set in Weston, MO in 1866 (inspired by the Wornall House), “Harvest of Dreams” is a historical romance that follows the life of a young widow, Lisa McAllister.

From the dust jacket:
“Alone on her farm in the middle of a blizzard, young widow Lisa McAllister labors to give birth to her first child. Help arrives in the form of a stranger with a six-gun. Lisa has no reason to trust this man who makes a living by violence, even if he is on the right side of the law. Men and their guns have already claimed the lives of her father, brother, and husband, and she’s determined to protect her son at any cost. Jared Tanner, a security agent for the stagecoach, has been on his own since he was twelve. With Lisa and her baby, he’s finally found something worth fighting for – a family of his own. But a fresh wave of violence threatens to tear them apart. Can their new love survive?”

LunaFest

Presented By: GaDuGi SafeCenter
Venue: Liberty Hall Theatre
Hours: Sunday, March 06, 2011 from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
This annual film festival will be celebrating films "by, for and about women."

Also experience a special screening of Misti Boland's Candy, Tall Grass Film Festival winner of Best Kansas Short Film. All proceeds benefit the Breast Cancer Fund, GaDuGi SafeCenter and the KU Women in Film Scholarship Fund. Sunday March 6, 2011, art exhibit at 4 pm and screenings begin at 5 pm. Tickets are available at the venue for $10 ($8 for students and seniors). For more information, call 785-843-8985 or see lunafest.org.

Dear Diary

Presented By: Van, Heidi
Venue: Fishtank Performance Studio
Hours: Sunday, March 13, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Story Teller Jo Ho

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Today’s theme is Journey across the Sea. stories of immigrant children.
Fee: FREE.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Mariko Nagai of Tokyo Discusses New Book of Stories

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch
Hours: Monday, May 16, 2011 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Reading at Grinter Place

Presented By: Grinter Place State Historic Site
Venue: Grinter Place State Historic Site
Hours: Thursday, June 02, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The Intergalactic Nemesis

Presented By: Lied Center of Kansas
Venue: The Lied Center of Kansas
Hours: Saturday, October 29, 2011 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

An Evening with David Sedaris

Presented By: Lied Center of Kansas
Venue: The Lied Center of Kansas
Hours: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

KC Fringe Festival

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Fringe Central
Hours: Thursday, July 21, 2011 from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Authors Tony Barnstone, Mary Troy Read at Writers Place

Presented By: BkMk Press
Venue: Writers Place
Hours: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

It's 1965 and Ponyboy Curtis belongs to a lower-class group of Oklahoma youths who call themselves greasers. Walking home from a movie, Ponyboy is attacked by a group of Socs, short for Socials, a rival gang that threaten to cut him. So begins this impactful tale by S.E. Hinton, who wrote this landmark work as a teen in Tulsa.

The Socs jump greasers like Ponyboy and his friend Johnny for fun. When Johnny kills a Soc who was beating the two of them up, the pair goes into hiding. As Pony's world crumbles, it teaches him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Friday, September 16, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Friday, September 16, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Saturday, September 17, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Sunday, September 18, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Friday, September 23, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Friday, September 23, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Thursday, September 22, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Friday, September 16, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Sunday, September 25, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Friday, September 30, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Sunday, October 02, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Saturday, October 01, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Friday, October 07, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Saturday, October 08, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The Outsiders

Presented By: Coterie Theatre
Venue: Coterie Theatre
Hours: Sunday, October 09, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Art/Work Visual and Literary Arts Exhibition Family and Friends Reception

Presented By: Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City
Venue: Union Station Grand Hall
Hours: Sunday, July 17, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Art/Work Finals and Awards

Presented By: Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City
Venue: Gem Theater
Hours: Friday, August 05, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Story Teller Jo Ho

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Today’s theme is Journey across the Sea. stories of immigrant children.
Fee: FREE.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

First Sunday Family Funday: Printmaking

Presented By: The Kansas City Museum
Venue: Kansas City Museum
Hours: Sunday, September 04, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

The holidays are a special time to sit back and celebrate the good times with family and friends. Come and help celebrate the winter holidays from various cultures around the world from noon-4 p.m. Sunday, November 6, during Kansas City Museum’s First Sunday Family Fun Day. Families will design their own Mexican poinsettia; create their own mythical Icelandic Yule Cat and so much more!

Make an English advent calendar

Create your own German Cornucopia

Design a Mexican poinsettia

Make your own Icelandic Yule Cat

CeLABORation: LIVE! in the Crossroads

Presented By: Mid-America Arts Alliance
Venue: Mid-America Arts Alliance
Hours: Friday, September 02, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Alicia Candiani Lecture - Kansas City Artists Coalition

Presented By: - Select Organization -
Venue: Kansas City Artists Coalition
Hours: Monday, October 10, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

First Sunday Family Funday: Winter Holidays

Presented By: The Kansas City Museum
Venue: Kansas City Museum
Hours: Sunday, November 06, 2011 from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Author Brian Burnes to discuss The Kings of Cut-Rate

Presented By: The National Archives at Kansas City
Venue: National Archives at Kansas City
Hours: Thursday, November 10, 2011 from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
The National Archives at Kansas City will host author Brian Burnes for a discussion of his book The Kings of Cut-Rate: The Very American Story of Isaac and Michael Katz. Burnes will be available to sign copies of his book after the discussion. A 6:00 p.m. reception will precede the event.

Burnes tells the story of Isaac and Michael Katz, who changed forever our definition of the drug store. Sons of immigrants, they started with a fruit stand in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. In 1914 they acquired two cigar stands downtown and turned them into drug stores. But that was just the beginning. Isaac, who walked with a limp and quit school at age 14 to sell newspapers on the railroad, hardly had a moment when he was not innovating. They expanded to two stores, four, then eight. Other druggists filled prescriptions, but Katz began stocking cameras, cosmetics, clocks, shirts, pets and the best selection of discounted smokes, beer and whiskey in town. They treated customers like kings. By 1970 they had 65 stores throughout the Midwest and annual sales of more than $100 million. “Let’s go to Katz” had become a refrain.

Copies of The Kings of Cut-Rate: The Very American Story of Isaac and Michael Katz will be available for purchase via The Kansas City Store onsite. For more information or to make a reservation for this free event call 816-268-8010 or email kansascity.educate@nara.gov.

About the author

Brian Burnes is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and received his bachelors in journalism from the University of Missouri, and master’s degree from the University of Kansas. He has been a reporter at The Kansas City Star since 1978 and was named history reporter in 1993. He is the author of several books including Harry S. Truman: His Life and Times, Walt Disney's Missouri, and Great Plains Originals.

JoHo Storyteller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Today’s theme is “Joy to the World!”

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Location: Johnson County Museum, 6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913-715-2550.

Jo Ho Storyteller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Today’s theme: “PJs and Plushables!”

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Location: Johnson County Museum, 6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913-715-2550.

Mark Twain’s “The Private History of a Campaign that Failed”

Presented By: The Johnson County Library
Venue: Johnson County Library
Hours: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Join patrons from around the country to discuss Mark Twain’s fictionalized account of his brief and inglorious career as a Confederate irregular and deserter. Download this short story for free as a PDF file, e-book or audiobook at www.jocolibrary.org/civilwar.

This event is part of Johnson County Library’s 2011-2012 Legacies of the Civil War series.

Jo Ho Storyteller

Presented By: Johnson County Museum
Venue: Johnson County Museum
Hours: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Event: Story Teller Jo Ho @ the JoCo Museum

Time: 10:00 a.m.
Details: Today’s theme: “PJs and Plushables!”

Fee: FREE. Sponsored by Target. Each family receives one free book to take home.

Registration: Drop-in for families. Groups of ten or more must pre-register. Call (913) 715-2552 to register.

Location: Johnson County Museum, 6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913-715-2550.