Up & Coming Weekly

Summer Reading FUNdamentals by KAREN POPPELE Yea! School’s out for summer break! Time to hit the books –– that is, books for fun and pleasure! Head on over to your local Cumberland County Public Library (CCPL) branch or the John L. Throckmorton Library on Fort Bragg and sign the family up for one of the free summer reading programs. “Our summer reading club is a way to motivate kids –– all the family –– to read,” said Kellie Tomita, marketing and communications manager at the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center. “We have great special programming for all ages.” The CCPL summer reading program, which started June 7 and runs through July 31, offers clubs for three age groups, with gift incentives. Participants may pick up a packet of guidelines and a Reader’s Log at any library branch. “Make a SPLASH. READ!” is for children birth through fi fth grade, who earn free prizes for the number of hours that they read or that someone reads to them. They may attend regularly scheduled story times or sign up for special age- appropriate programs featuring puppet shows, clowns, interaction with nature’s critters and more to earn prizes. Teens are encouraged to “Make Waves at Your Library.” After reading fi ve books and fi lling out a reading log, teens may exchange the log for a prize and pick up a continuation log. Each completed continuation log may be brought into any library location and entered into drawings for gift certifi cates. All returned logs are then eligible for entry in the grand prize drawing for a gift certifi cate. Additionally, individual branches offer special programs for teens, such as movies, writing, gaming, anime, origami, jewelry and other crafts. Adults may read or listen to books or attend one of the library’s book clubs in June or July to complete their logs. As with the teen program, adults may exchange their readers’ log for a prize, and each continuation log may be entered into drawings for gift certifi cates. Supplies of prizes and space at special programs are limited. “We want to encourage people to read and to visit the library,” Tomita said. “The Friends of the Library do fundraisers for community programs. The summer reading program is one of these benefi ts. It’s rewarding to see the positive feedback. Last year we had husbands and wives competing and out-reading one another. We want reading to be fun and rewarding.” “Voyage to Book Island,” the summer reading program at Fort Bragg’s John L. Throckmorton Library, located in Building 1-3346 on Randolph Street, takes place at 11 a.m., June 23 through July 28. “It’s part of our literacy initiative,” said Bernadette Ross, reference librarian. “We want to emphasize reading as a lifelong skill for all ages. We’ll have stories, games, crafts –– entertainment, but educational for all. We’ll give gifts throughout the program –– grab bags, certifi cates. We offer a series of reading programs, including the summer reading program and our upcoming Picnic in the Grove on Nov. 6 to help children celebrate reading.” For more information on the CCPL Summer Reading Program, call the Headquarters Library at 483-7727 ext. 300 or visit www.cumberland.lib. nc.us/ccplyouth/summerreadingclubs10.htm. For additional information on “Voyage to Book Island,” call the John L. Throckmorton Library at 396- BOOK, or visit /www.fortbraggmwr.com/libraryevents.php, because summer break doesn’t have to mean a break in reading. KAREN POPPELE, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Brian Steverson Brings Art to Life at 4th Friday by STEPHANIE CRIDER Brian Steverson has been in Fayetteville for about fi ve years. He’s a life- long artist and has been sharing his talents with the community for the past two or three years. He’s become a regular at festivals, like the Dogwood Festival and International Folk Festival, and has recently joined the ranks of exhibiting artists at Arts Alive! that happens during the regular 4th Friday celebrations downtown. On June 25, the Fayetteville Art Guild will host an exclusive exhibit of his work. His pieces will be on display at Gallery One13, 113 Gillespie St. on Fridays and Saturdays through the month of July. “I am going to fi ll the room the pieces — they will be mostly acrylics, some large and some small,” said Steverson “I plan to have everything there from portraits to landscapes to city scapes. I have a couple of still lifes in there, too.” Steverson describes his works as somewhere between realism and impressionism. His goal though is not to create controversy or make a statement with this show. “There is a wide variety of stuff in my paintings.” said Steverson. “Some look more real than others and some look more Monet-ish. Ultimately though, I try to make pleasing paintings. It is something nice to look at. There is no deep thought to them.” 8 UCW JUNE 23-29, 2010 While there is certainly a place for thought provoking art and art that shocks and makes a statement, there is also a place for art that is just fun to look at and art that will make you smile just because it is appealing and well done. Steverson paints with red, yellow, blue and black and white on his palette, but that is hard to tell by looking at his work. The colors are vibrant and the shades are many. His work pace is quick and his brush strokes are sure, strangely enough, both are skills he picked up when he painted signs for a living. “Nowadays computers are used to make billboards and then the images are put on to vinyl and it is stretched into place, but it wasn’t like that when I was doing it,” said Steverson. “Back in the day, they would give us six foot by 20 foot boards and say ‘You’ve got till the end of the day, (or noon, or whatever they decided) to be done with it.’ That is what made me fast and that is what made me where I could mix colors. “I use red, yellow and blue because that is all they gave us when I was painting signs and then we had to mix the colors ourselves. We couldn’t buy 40,000 colors. That just wasn’t feasible,” he continued. To look at Steverson’s work now, the fact that he mixes his own colors is impressive, and the speed with which he paints is fun to watch, but it is his ability to capture such a diverse number of subjects so accurately that really makes his work worth checking out. Whether it is a picture of the Old Capitol building, the Market House or airborne soldiers leaping from a plane, Steverson’s work speaks for itself, much like the work of other local artists with a message to share. “There are a lot of really good artists downtown — if people would just come and take a look,” said Steverson. Give Gallery One13 a call to fi nd out more about this exhibit at 223-ARTS. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM

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