Celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros at Asheboro library

ASHEBORO – Celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) with outdoor games, music, food and raffle prizes from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Bring the family and celebrate the importance of literacy and reading for children of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Part of the parking lot will be blocked off for the free event, which is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Latino Coalition of Randolph County.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For more information, call 336-318-6804.

‘Road Scholar’ Walter Ziffer looks at Saul of Tarsus in Asheboro library talk

ASHEBORO – How did Paul the Apostle, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, contribute to the founding of Christianity?

Theologian Dr. Walter Ziffer will discuss the question in a talk called “In Search of the Real Founder of Christianity: Jesus of Nazareth or Saul of Tarsus,” at 6  p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at the Asheboro Public Library.

His talk is free and the public is invited. It’s next in the Road Scholar series, part of the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Many Stories, One People project.

Ziffer, a Holocaust survivor from Czechoslovakia, is author of numerous articles in Europe and the United States, and two books. He has taught at seminaries in France, Belguim, Washington, D.C., Maine and North Carolina, and is currently an adjunct professor of philosophy and religion at Mars Hill College.

Ziffer holds an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, two masters degrees in theology from Oberlin College and a Th.D. from the University of Strasbourg in France.

The final Road Scholar event at the Asheboro library is “Sarah McGuirk, Orphan  Train Rider” with essayist Tamra Wilson at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 21.

The project is made possible by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Support is also provided by the Friends of the Library.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Play real-life ‘Game of Thrones’ with UNCG history professor at Asheboro library

ASHEBORO – In the HBO series Game of Thrones, viewers see vestiges of medieval history: knights in shining armor defending their ladies’ honor, jousts and tournaments, and courtly intrigue.

Join UNC-Greensboro Associate History Professor Richard Barton at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at the Asheboro Public Library, for a grounding in the nature of power for those who play the game of thrones. Barton’s research interest is the structure and nature of power in medieval France, which he ties in with events in the fictional kingdoms of the popular series.

Barton’s talk, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Randolph library invites children to “Play and Learn”

ASHEBORO – Join the PAL (Play and Learn) Club at four Randolph County libraries in April.

Children ages 0-5 and parents/caregivers are invited to have fun with letters through storytimes, literacy-building games, crafts and other activities.

The schedule is as follows:

• Archdale (10433 S.Main St.): 10 a.m. Thursday, April 28;
• Asheboro (201 Worth St.): 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 15;
• Liberty (239 S. Fayetteville St.): 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 6;
• Randleman 142 W. Academy St.): 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 18

The events are part of Every Child Ready to Read, an initiative to help young children develop the building blocks of literacy so that they will be ready to learn when they start school.

For further information, call 336-318-6804.

Novelist Ross Howell Jr. to appear at Asheboro library

Novelist Ross Howell Jr.

ASHEBORO – The execution of a 17-year-old African American girl in Virginia during the Jim Crow era forms the basis of Greensboro author Ross Howell Jr.’s fact-based novel Forsaken.

Howell will discuss his recently-published book during a Friends of the Library event at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at the Asheboro Public Library. His talk is free and the public is invited.

Forsaken tells the chilling true story of Virginia Christian, an uneducated African American girl who was tried and convicted of murdering her white employer in 1912. Charlie Mears, a white man, covered the case as a rookie reporter.

The book chronicles the story of the trial and its aftermath as seen through Mears’s eyes, weaving in actual court records, letters and personal accounts.

Howell pursued a career in marketing and publishing after earning an M.F.A. in the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. His fiction has appeared in the Virginia Quarterly, Sewanee Review, Gettysburg Review and other publications.

He has taught creative writing and literature at Harvard University, the University of Iowa, the University of Virginia and, currently, at Elon University.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Meet Scout: ‘Mockingbird’ actress Mary Badham to appear at Asheboro’s Sunset Theatre

Mary Badham speaks at Birmingham Southern College. Adapted from a photo by Thecoiner License CC BY-SA 3.0

ASHEBORO – Actress Mary Badham, who played Scout in the classic 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, will appear at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the historic Sunset Theatre in downtown Asheboro.

Badham will share her experiences making the film, reflect on the book’s message of tolerance and compassion, and take audience questions.

Her appearance is sponsored by the Friends of the Library, the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau, the City of Asheboro and The Courier-Tribune. It’s free and the public is invited.

Prior to Badham’s appearance,  a free showing of the film will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the Sunset for those who have not seen it or want to see it again.

Badham was chosen for the role of Scout at age 10, with no prior acting experience. She was nominated for a Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar for her performance.

After appearing in two other films, including This Property Is Condemned with Natalie Wood and Robert Redford, and TV shows Twilight Zone and Dr. Kildare, she left acting as a teenager to pursue her education.

She currently maintains a busy schedule talking to audiences internationally about the book and the film, and has twice appeared at the White House. Her interest is in expanding knowledge about the film’s message of social injustice and to insure that each generation of students can experience the film’s impact.

The Sunset Theatre is located at 234 Sunset Ave. For further information, contact the Asheboro Public Library at 318-6803.

Join the Spring Break fun at the Asheboro library

ASHEBORO – School will be out during the last week of March, so join in the Spring Break fun at the Asheboro Public Library.

School-age children are invited to take part in activities and adventures each day at 4 p.m.:

·        Monday, March 28: Simple Science – Learn about sound and static electricity.

·        Tuesday, March 29: Yoga Storytelling – Learn basic poses while enjoying a story.

·        Wednesday, March 30: Movie Day – Watch The Good Dinosaur and do a fun craft.

·        Thursday, March 31: Artist Corner – Coloring books are not just for little kids anymore!

·        Friday, April 1: Construction Friday – Test your building skills using LEGOs and other household items.

All the events are free and all supplies will be provided.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6804