Bilingual folktales September 22, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Entertainment.comments closed
When Elizabeth Evans, director of the Renaissance Artist Puppet Company, recognized the growth of the Hispanic population in the region, she wanted to create something that would bridge emerging cultures with existing ones. “I wanted to find a way to make the American and Spanish-speaking communities aware of each other,” she says.
The result is Colores del Agua, the Colors of Water, a bilingual show that uses marionettes, rod puppets and masks to tell two Latin American water folktales. The first is a Zapotec story that describes the creation of rainbows; the other, a Tano Indian narration of how rivers and oceans came to be. Performer Margarita Ruiz helped translate the original text of these stories into an interactive learning experience, with dialogue spoken in English, followed by its Spanish equivalent, accompanied by original music incorporating Caribbean and Meso-American rhythms.
“Colores del Agua, the Colors of the Water,” 7 tonight, 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Montgomery County Cultural Center, 208 DeKalb St., Norristown. Tickets: $9.50. Information: 267-467-6052 or www.renartpuppetco.com.
Bug discovery September 22, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Ecology.comments closed
Did you know that the wings of a honeybee beat more than 11,000 times a minute to make that distinctive buzzing sound?
Learn this and other interesting facts about bees from local beekeeper Joe Duffy at the fourth annual Festival of Insects at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, where guests will see a hive up close and taste fresh honey. Additional activities include Insect Olympics, where kids become the bugs, crafting aquatic insect necklaces, or chomping on chocolate-covered crickets and earthworms.
While the little buggers are enjoying crafts and activities, parents can learn solutions to lawn and garden pest problems at the Integrated Pest Management workshop, 2 to 3 p.m.
Festival of Insects, noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Schuylkill Center, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd. Admission: $5; $8 for the Integrated Pest Management seminar, which requires reservations. Information: 215-482-7300 or www.schuylkillcenter.org.
