Big Read kicking off at Orpheum this Saturday with Japanese drum group

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The Big Read is kicking off in Galesburg once again this Saturday, as the Galesburg Public Library and their partners plan a month of events around a particular book.

This year they chose “When the Emperor was Divine” by Julie Otsuka, which lends itself to a month filled with events focused on Japanese culture.

Co-interim Library Director Jane Easterly says more than just than a specific book every year the month is filled with events, discussions, the performance’s tied to a larger theme.

“We have… chosen books-we chose to book a few years ago that focused on Native American culture,” Easterly tells WGIL. “We read one that focused on Mexican culture and so we try and mix it up. So, this one focuses on Japanese culture. Last year was African Culture.”

That includes a performance to kick off this year’s Big Read by Ho Etsu Taiko out of Chicago, who will bring their Japanese drumming to the Orpheum Theater stage.

GPL Big Read Coordinator Eileen Castro says that really the book is about a period of strife in Japanese-American culture.

“The parents have come over from Japan and they make traditional Japanese rice balls and foods and things like that. Then go to the internment camp where they are surrounded by all sorts of other Japanese-Americans and sort of bond together in that way.”

April will be filled book discussions and educational programs designed for all ages but it starts this Saturday at the Orpheum Theater at 2 p.m. where a Japanese drum group of Chicago will perform.

The program is funded from the National Endowment for the Arts that provides choices for books. The GPL is one of 79 libraries, museums and cultural centers around the country that were selected for the Big Read in 2019.

Free copies of “When the Emperor was Divine” will be available at the kickoff at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Stay tuned for a lot more events in April for all ages.

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