Guy Montag is a fireman whose job is to burn books...

Join the Wabash Valley Big Read 2012 in reading Ray Bradbury's classic: Fahrenheit 451. From late February and into April, events, discussions, and more centering on Bradbury's frightening vision of a future without books will be featured throughout the Wabash Valley community.

A full brochure of upcoming events for the Wabash Valley Big Read 2012 is available!

February 2012

• Arts Illiana’s Fahrenheit 451 Opening for Tablescapes
  Ohio Building
  Thursday, February 23
  6:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.

  Enjoy the creatively designed TableScapes, food and drink. Tickets are $15 and include a free book. Call Arts Illiana at 235–5007 for more information.

March 2012

• The Big Party for Fahrenheit 451
  Vigo County Public Library
  Friday, March 2
  7:30 p.m.

  Bring your favorite book — the one you would save from the fire! Appetizers and cash bar. $5 reservation required. Call 232–1113, ext. 2281 or 2282, for more information.

• Fahrenheit 451: Two Issues
  Westminster Village Wednesday, March 7
  1:30 pm

  Why Reading Still Matters — Local author Mike Lunsford discusses one of his favorite topics — reading — and the critical role it continues to play in the lives of each of us. Lunsford contends that we need to read for pleasure and understanding now more than ever, despite the conveniences that ever–present and fast–growing technology gives us. By reminding us to cherish our books, it is obvious that Ray Bradbury believed that too. As Lunsford wrote just a few years ago: "Television news and newspapers and Internet reports remind us over and over again, like a daily vitamin, like a prisoner’s ration, that people around the world are separated by ideologies and faiths and desperate economic circumstances. Our collective storytelling can remind us that we are not so different, not so divided or alone."

  E-Readers and Books in the Digital Age — Rose-Hulman professor Corey Taylor will discuss if e-readers like the Kindle and the Nook are making print books obsolete? Are e-readers the future of literature, or are we heading for a Ray Bradbury-like future full of screens? The talk will explore, and maybe offer some potential answers to, these questions.

• FREE MOVIE! Fahrenheit 451
  Community Theatre (1431 S. 25th)
  Saturday, March 17
  1:00 p.m.

• Burning Issues
  Vigo County Public Library
  Thursday, March 22
  12:10 p.m.
  

  Original play based on Fahrenheit 451 themes by playwright, Lucinda Berry.

• Music You Are Not Supposed to Hear
  Sinfonietta Concert • Scottish Right
  Sunday, March 25
  3:00 p.m. &mdash free books!

  Tickets available at the door. $10 adult / $5 student. (Children 10 and under free.)

• The Man Behind the Masterpiece
  Vigo County Public Library
  Thursday, March 29
  4:00 p.m.

  Author Sam Weller is Ray Bradbury’s official biographer, having written The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury and Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews. His talk is entitled The Man Behind the Masterpiece. It will focus on Bradbury's life, his astounding contributions to popular culture, the author’s personal relationship with Bradbury as his authorized biographer, and includes a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the origins of Fahrenheit 451 and how it was created. Weller teaches at Columbia College Chicago and is a journalist.

April 2012

• Six Degrees of Subversion
  Swope Art Museum
  Friday, April 6
  6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
  

  Can you guess which artists represented in the Swope collection have been censored? Follow a self–guided tour to identify a few and watcha short slide show to find out which artist is six degrees from author Ray Bradbury. Visit with friends and have a bite from the treat table and a nip from the cash bar.

  7:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
  View a slide show connecting Bradbury to an artist in the Swope collection.

• Adapting Fahrenheit 451
  ISU Cunningham Memorial Library
  Thursday, April 12
  6:00 p.m.

  Jake Jakaitis, Director of Undergraduate Studies in English at ISU, will give a presentation on Tim Hamilton's authorized graphic novel and François Truffaut's film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel. A discussion will follow.

• Free Fahrenheit 451 Drive-In Movie!
  Ivy Tech Parking Lot
  8000 South Education Drive
  Friday, April 13
  8:00 pm.

  Sponsored by Ivy Tech Wabash Valley English/Communication Depart/Student Life.