EVENTS AT THE RACINE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Racine – Take some time out from holiday preparations to enjoy these cultural events being offered by the Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St.

Cultural Film Series –Join fellow film enthusiasts at Java Vino, 424 Main St., to preview some of the Racine Public Library's collection of intriguing cultural films. JavaVino offers appetizers, wine and coffee for purchase during the film. Participants are encouraged to then visit Downtown Racine's finest restaurants for dinner. Next film in the series:

December 13; 5-7 p.m. – The Island – Russian

"Somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives a very unusual man. His fellow-monks are confused by his bizarre conduct. Those who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future. However, he considers himself unworthy because of a sin he committed in his youth. The film is a parable, combining the realities of Russian everyday life with monastic ritual and routine."

Holiday Choral Concert – Join us for some midday holiday cheer at the Library as Park High School shares their vocal talents with us in this 30 minute Holiday Choral Concert on Thursday, December 18 from 2:00-2:30 p.m. in the Youth Services Dept. Performing traditional carols and other songs of the season will be the Park High School Women's Concert Chorale and Panther Choir under the direction of Heather Skaggs.

Poetry Roundtable - Teen and adult poetry enthusiasts unite monthly at Java Vino, 424 Main St., to discuss contemporary American poetry, highlighting a different poet at each meeting. As a group, participants read poetry excerpts, analyze them and discuss their significance in today's society. Individuals with varying levels of poetry experience are welcome. On Thursday, December 18, from 7-9 p.m. at Java Vino, Poetry Roundtable will examine the works of one of the most innovative and influential figures of 20th Century poetry: John Giorno. Giorno's exhaustively accomplished career spanning forty years features, among other things, a personal memoir of poetry entitled, You Got To Burn To Shine (Serpent's Tail, 1994). He is the creator of the Giorno Poetry Systems, founded in 1965, an organization that has innovated the use of technology in poetry, connecting poetry with many new audiences. He also pioneered the hugely successful Dial-a-poem project and the 1984 AIDS Treatment Project.

BONK III - The 3rd event for the Racine Public Library's new "BONK!" performance series will take place on Saturday, December 20 at 6 p.m. Created to expose the public to both local and nationally recognized artistic talents, the series showcases poets, writers, musicians, film makers and all sorts of talents in between. A completely free program, this series is located in downtown Racine at the Blueberries restaurant, 418 Sixth Street, which offers food and drink to be purchased at the events.

This month's featured performances include a reading from Milwaukee poet Chuck Stebelton, new work from local teen artists, writers and video artists from the Main Gallery program, and other super-secret featured performers


Chuck Stebelton works as Literary Program Manager at Woodland Pattern Book Center. He is the author of Circulation Flowers (TougherDisguises, 2005) and Precious, an Answer Tag chapbook. Newer work appears in recent issues of Antennae, Jubilat, LVNG, Verse, and Chain 12: Facts. He recently collaborated with Cindy Loehr on Revival, "a cathedral of flame with a pre-recorded oration inside." For more information on his recently released title Circulation Flowers visit http://www.tougherdisguises.com/books.html

Main Gallery is a summer program that provides meaningful employment in the arts for young people (14-19) of Racine. The young artists work in a variety of media to create works of art that will be auctioned off at the annual Chair-i-ties fundraising event in August. All proceeds from Chair-i-ties go back into the MG program for the following summer. Started in 1995 Main Gallery is modeled after the nationally acclaimed Gallery 37 in Chicago.

Each BONK! performance features a short question and answer session with the artists. Local artists and performers are encouraged to consider sharing their talent/craft with the community via the BONK! series. For more information on how to participate please contact the organizers at http://bonkperformanceseries.wordpress.com. You may also contact the Racine Public Library at 262.619.2571 or Becky Spika at becky.spika@racinelibrary.info and Nick Demske at nick.demske@racinelibrary.info.