Eight area library systems, including Polk County Public Library, have partnered for Whole Lotta Shakespeare Goin’ On, a community reading project focused on the works of William Shakespeare. The project commemorates the 450th birthday of the Bard, and is designed to encourage reading throughout the region.

Events at Polk County Public Library will focus on the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The library is sponsoring several programs to honor the poet and playwright.

An Era of Excellence will be presented at Isothermal Community College’s Polk Center in Columbus on March 25 at 6:30 p.m. Come see a multi-media program of Renaissance music, art and literature, presented by Jeannette Comer and Helen Beverly. They will be performing period music on several instruments and including vocal numbers, literary selections from Shakespeare, and color slides of famous works of art from Renaissance Europe.

Dr. Gary Ettari, Associate Professor of Literature at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, will present an oral lecture about William Shakespeare at both the main library in Columbus and the Saluda Community Library on April 10. His lecture at the Columbus library will be at 10:30 a.m., while parents with teens and children in school may want to bring them to his lecture at the Saluda library at 4 p.m. in the afternoon.

On April 23 6:30 p.m., Happy Birthday, Shakespeare takes place at ICC’s Polk Center. The Foothills Music Club presents an evening of period music from the time of William Shakespeare and later pieces based on Shakespeare’s works. Come enjoy madrigal singing and works for harpsichord, lute, guitar and other instruments.

Be sure to check back with the library about other events later in the spring. There will be a gallery show by Tryon Painters & Sculptors in May-June and there are plans for a collaboration for another artistic performance still in the  process.

The regional read celebrates the joy of reading and William Shakespeare’s impact on the perception of the human condition. The project strives to promote the power of books and the importance of literature, supporting the library’s mission to foster lifelong learning and cultural appreciation.

Free copies of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be available at Polk County Public Library events while supplies last. More information is available at polklibrary.org/kids/shakespeare/. This program is made possible through a grant from the Polk County Community Foundation.

– article submitted
by Jen Pace