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 The Johnsburg Public Library, in partnership with the Johnsburg High School International Club, is sponsoring a series of ethnic programs for the community with a grant project titled “Culture Connection:  A Celebration of World Cultures”. 

Made possible by a $14,878 LSTA grant, this project is designed to provide the Johnsburg community with the opportunity to experience the music, dance, and food of various cultures.  Programs that have already taken place include a Spanish, Indian, Irish, and French cooking demonstration, as well as presentations of classical East Indian dance, Irish dancing, Spanish flamenco dancers and singers, and a French cabaret singer.  These programs have been wildly successful, both in terms of attendance and positive feedback via evaluation forms.  Registration for many of the programs filled up on the first day.  To date, attendance at the “Culture Connection” programs that have already taken place has totaled over 500, a figure which is indicative of the success of the programs.

As a partner, the Johnsburg High School International Club has promoted the grant events at their school via flyers to all club members, as well as hosting in the school auditorium some events that required a stage.  Students in the foreign language classes at the high school were also given copies of the flyers for the programs pertaining to Spain and France.  Members of the International Club have also assisted with programs taking place at the library.  They have helped with set-up and decorating, acted as hosts and hostesses, and been the chefs’ assistants for the cooking demonstrations.  It has been a wonderful way to involve teens in library activities, which was one of the goals of the grant project.

The grant also funded an interactive art exhibit called “The Human Race Machine”, which was housed at the high school for one week.  It was made available for students to use during the week, as well as the entire community during the local business expo that was held at the high school.  The technology allows participants to view themselves with the facial characteristics of six different races, mapped onto their own images.  It is designed to challenge your own perceptions of race and diversity and proved to be a very popular component of the “Culture Connection” project.

More “Culture Connection” programs are scheduled for May and June including a Caribbean, German, and Italian cooking demonstration, performances by a Caribbean steel drum band and a German band, and a guided bus trip tour for library patrons to the Chinatown and Little Italy neighborhoods in Chicago.  Detailed information on the upcoming “Culture Connection” grant programs can be found on the library’s Calendar of Events page.

You can also read about this project in an article in the Northwest Herald.