Teens, tweens: draw monsters with illustrator Rich Powell at library

Illustrator Rich Powell will show teens and tweens how to draw monsters of all varieties at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 19 at the Asheboro Public Library.

The drawing session, part of “Own the Night,” the library’s Teen Summer Reading Program, is free and open to anyone age 10-18.

In addition to demonstrating drawing techniques, Powell will focus on finding inspiration for monsters; developing them from creatures you see every day; and what makes them scary.

He also will talk about classic monsters – vampires, werewolves and the like – versus science fiction monsters.

Powell has been illustrating for the past sixteen years while occasionally art directing for the world of computer gaming. His work appears in MAD Magazine, Our State, on greeting cards, t-shirts, posters, book jackets, magazine covers, children’s books, and in national advertising campaigns.

For more information about the library’s Summer Reading Programs and complete schedules, visit www.randolphlibrary.org/summerreading.html

Magical Storyteller Mark Daniel returns to Randolph libraries

Magical Storyteller Mark Daniel will return to Randolph County’s public libraries this summer with his unique blend of magic, puppetry and stories.

He will appear at all seven libraries as follows:

• Archdale, 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 25;
• Asheboro, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 25;
• Franklinville, 2 p.m. Thursday, July 26;
• Liberty: 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 24;
• Ramseur, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 26;
• Randleman, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 19;
• Seagrove, 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 24.

Daniel’s performances, part of “Dream Big: Read!”, the Randolph County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, are free and the public is invited.

Daniel has been a mainstay of summer reading programs for more than 20 years. His performances have inspired over three million children in thousands of schools and libraries, celebrating the joy of reading and great books. For more information about Daniel, visit www.magicalstoryteller.com.

For a complete schedule of summer events at the libraries, visit www.randolphlibrary.org/summerreading.html or contact your local library.

Poet Bill Griffin to visit Asheboro library as Poetry of Conservation continues

Poet Bill Griffin, a family doctor and geriatrician from Elkin, will keynote a poetry reading and open mic at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Griffin’s appearance is part of the Poetry of Conservation project sponsored by the NC Zoo, the Randolph County Public Library and the Randolph Arts Guild. He is poet-in-residence at the zoo during the week of July 8.

Local poets are invited to join Griffin and read their work – especially nature themed work – during the open mic, which is free and open to the public. The library is located at 201 Worth Street.

Griffin is author of four poetry chapbooks, including Snake Den Ridge, a Bestiary,  in which each poem takes the voice of a creature from the Great Smoky Mountains. In 2009, he received the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Poet Laureate Award.

His most recent book is little mouse, a collection of 32 poems, each 20 lines and each with the title “little mouse.” His work has appeared in regional and national journals, including Southern Poetry Review, Tar River Poetry, POEM, NC Literary Review and Pembroke Magazine.

Griffin also will be featured at a free Lunch and Learn at noon Wednesday, July 11, at the Randolph Arts Guild, and  will conduct workshops at the zoo. For more information, visit nczoo.org.

The Poetry of Conservation is a program that brings three poets to the Zoo through September for week-long residencies to explore nature and conservation in verse, conduct readings and workshops at the zoo and in the community, and select lines of nature-related verse to be sculpturally installed in public areas of the zoo.

Griffin’s library visit also is part of “Between the Covers,” the Summer Reading Program for adults. For more information and complete Summer Reading schedules for children, teens and adults, visit www.randolphlibrary.org/summerreading.html.

'Fish the Magish' to thrill Asheboro audiences with magic

Asheboro magician and educational entertainer “Fish the Magish” will bedazzle children and families with wonderful storytelling and mind-bending magic during a performance at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at the Asheboro Public Library.

The show is free and everyone is invited.

“Fish” – a.k.a. Mike Fisher – will get audience members participating in the magic in a funny, educational performance built around the “Dream Big: Read!” library Summer Reading Program theme.

A graduate of Clemson University, Fisher has been entertaining children in libraries, schools and churches since 1992.

For more information about the library’s Summer Reading Program and complete schedules, visit www.randolphlibrary.org/summerreading.html.