Neighborhood Dispatch: Queer reading series, read to a therapy dog and more
This week, check out these book-centered arts events.
This week, we’re opening up our world view through books: laugh and learn from LGBTQ stories, connect with voices from Philadelphia’s past, or help your children gain confidence in their reading with the help of... puppies.
Queer Reading Series
Imagine being queer in 1980s Edinburgh and a beloved lesbian, gay and feminist bookstore that is the heart of the LGBTQ+ community shuts down. What would you do on its final night? In “Love Song to Lavender Menace,” the inaugural play for Inis Nua Theatre’s first-ever Queer Reading Series, characters explore ideas of loss, activism and building a community in this highly acclaimed Scottish comedy. Playing at the Proscenium Theater at The Drake, the play kicks off a three-part event that will highlighting LGBTQ life, continuing in March and May.
💵Free, 📅Nov. 14, ⌚7p.m., 📍302 South Hicks St., 🌐inisnuatheatre.org, 📨 Reserve seats.
Read to a therapy dog
Remember the utter anxiety of having to read out loud in class? It doesn’t have to be that way for your children. Parkway Central Library is inviting kids who are learning to read, or are independent readers, to practice their skill with a therapy dog as their audience. Dogs will be accompanied by their handlers, and each child will be assigned a reading time on a first come, first served basis. Besides being good listeners, the doggies are good cuddlers.
💵Free, 📅Nov. 16, Nov. 30, and Dec.14, ⌚3:30- 4:30 p.m., 📍1901 Vine St. (in the Story Hour Room, within the Children’s Department.), 🌐Facebook.
Growing Up in the Revolution (for teachers)
Two hundred and forty-five years have gone by since the British occupied Philadelphia during the Revolution. It’s hard for adults to connect to this time period, let alone for younger generations. That’s why The Museum of American Revolution educators are offering an online workshop for teachers. Learn how children and teenagers experience the war through the eyes of young revolutionary James Forten, and how these stories can help students imagine life in the Revolution.
💵Free, 📅Nov. 17, ⌚7- 8:30 p.m., 📍Online at amrevmuseum.org, 📨 Sign up.