Friends, Seagrove Potters for Peace to host Three Cups of Tea discussion

The Friends of the Library and Seagrove Potters for Peace invite the community to read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, and join a discussion that will promote education in central Asia

A community discussion will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 17, at the Sarah Smith Self Gallery of the Randolph Arts Guild. The discussion is free and all ages are invited — versions of the book for children and teens as well as for adults are available at the library.

Three Cups of Tea recounts mountaineer Mortenson’s campaign to pay back Pakistani villagers who came to his aid by building them a school. The project mushroomed into an international effort to combat extremism and terrorism through education.Today, his Central Asia Institute promotes community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In August 2009, 13 potters organized themselves as Seagrove Potters for Peace and produced 150 tea vessels to raise money for the institute. All the items sold out in the one-day sale.

This year’s sale, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, August 14, will include 24 potteries; for a list and more information, go here.

A selection of the vessels will be held back and made available for purchase at the community discussion, which will be led by Dr. Jeff Jones, associate professor of Russian/Soviet and world history at UNC-Greensboro.

Copies of the book also will be for sale, and attendees can drop small change into a “Pennies for Peace” jar. Raffle tickets also will be on sale for $1 for the giveaway of two sets of two tickets to an appearance by Mortenson at Wake Forest University in November.