A Lunar New Year Festival, a History Presentation, a SCBWI Conference and School Visits!

My life has been busy and full of variety lately! In late January, I traveled to Paso Robles and gave a talk for the Paso Robles Historical Society on the town's history and the history of the Paso Robles Inn. What a splendid night it was! The newly reopened, beautiful restored Carnagie Library, which is now a local history museum, was packed. What I loved most of all, though, was seeing so many people, young and not so young, who are interested in their town's history.

 

On Valentine's Day, I attended Foster City's Lunar New Year Festival. I told the amazing but true story of the Chinese Treasure Fleet voyages. It was a beautifully sunny winter day, especially since Foster City's Recreation Center is located right on the bay.  A large crowd gathered to enjoy good food and entertainment and to bring in the "Year of the Tiger" in proper style.  

    The children who helped with the storytelling were wonderful but I especially enjoyed talking with aspiring authors and illustrators, as well as a teacher in training.

 

I'll be performing at a Chinese New Year Celebration this Sunday

Foster City will host a Chinese 2010 Lunar New Year celebration with vibrant performances, music and bustling activites on Sunday, January 14, 2010 from 11 AM to 3 PM at Lagoon Room of  Foster City's Recreation Center. There is no cost to attend.

The celebration will spotlight a Chinese American re-creation of a traditional village street fair. With dazzling displays of luminous decorations serving as the backdrop, the event will feature exciting musical, acrobatic and lion dance performances, the traditional tea ceremony, the time-honored tradition of tea drinking and the ancient martial arts & performance, Calligraphy, brush painting, art exhibitions, animated storytelling in Chinese and English and Chinese-opera style face painting. I'll be telling the story of my book, the Adventure of the Treasure Fleet at 1:45.

Chinese New Year Celebration 2010 represents a departure from other cultural celebration events because the focus of the event will be on education alongside entertainment. The event's program has been designed to teach the visiting public about the history, traditions and customs of this historic Chinese holiday. Moreover, with support from the San Mateo/Foster City Unified School District, this event will reach a diverse audience of teachers and students. The Foster City Arts & Culture committee has planned the event to provide information related to the history and values of the holiday as well as providing fun arts and crafts activities for teachers to integrate into their classroom curriculum. Overall, the event will foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of America's diverse heritage by preserving and sharing the history, rich cultural legacy, and continuing contributions of Chinese Americans.

The event will be held at Foster City Recreation Center, 650 Shell Blvd. Foster City, CA 94404. Please come!

Interview just posted on "Multiculturalism Rocks!"

Nathalie Mvondo is the editor of the awesome blog, "Multiculturalism Rocks!" She just posted an interview with me, which can be found at http://nathaliemvondo.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/monday-interview-author-ann-martin-bowler/ Thank you, Nathalie, for your all your work promoting multicultural books!

Please come to Talk on the History of Paso Robles

The El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society invites you to a free lecture on the history of

Paso Robles and the Paso Robles Inn  presented by author Ann Martin Bowler
February 4, 2010 from 7 - 8:30pm at the Carnegie Library in the Paso Robles City Park.
Read more at http://www.pasoroblesinntravellog.com/?p=137