Events at the Orem Public Library

09/14/2009 - Monday

6:30 pm
Library Fireplace
Big Read Kickoff!

The 2009 - Big Read opens with a delightful evening featuring Utah Shakespeare Festival founder Fred Adams, a concert of American music masterpieces performed by the Utah Baroque Ensemble, and special visits from Mark Twain and Tom Sawyer. Join in launching five weeks of Big Read programs with this exciting event.

09/15/2009 - Tuesday

6:30 pm
Media Auditorium
Documentary Screening: Mark Twain, Part I (2001)

Master documentary filmmaker Ken Burns explores the life of Mark Twain through photographs, diary entries, and artifacts in this stunning film about the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

09/16/2009 - Wednesday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
An Introduction to Mark Twain

Renowned novelist, popular journalist, biting satirist, successful lecturer, and failed miner and businessman, Mark Twain was a man of many pursuits. Join BYU English professor Dennis Cutchins in exploring Twain's life and works.

09/17/2009 - Thursday

6:30 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: Mark Twain, Part II (2001)

Master documentary filmmaker Ken Burns explores the life of Mark Twain through photographs, diary entries, and artifacts in this stunning film about the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

09/18/2009 - Friday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
The Big Read Theater: Tom Sawyer

Bring the kids and float along the Mississippi on a raft, explore the depths of McDougal's cave and join Tom and his friends as they get out of even more scrapes in this hour-long theatrical adaptation of Twain's great adventure story. Presented by Resonance Story Theatre and UVU Noorda Regional Theatre Center for Children and Youth. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Orem City CARE tax.

09/19/2009 - Saturday

1:00 pm & 3:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979)

This Disney remake of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain stars Jim Dale as an astronaut who ends up in the court of King Arthur and saves the day.

09/21/2009 - Monday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Spine-Tingling Tales of American Fork Canyon

Mark Twain spent some time prospecting for silver in Nevada. Did you know Utah County had its own silver miners? Join ranger Jay Allen and hear the tales of 654 sheep mysteriously killed by a single lightning bolt, silver miner George Tyng who was killed by his own men, and other fascinating tales of American Fork Canyon.

09/22/2009 - Tuesday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Books and Boys: A Match Not Always Made in Heaven

Do your boys sometimes remind you of Tom and Huck? Are you frustrated by their lack of interest in reading? Join award-winning young adult author Ann Cannon as she discusses strategies and books to help boys love reading. Her presentation is part of the Utah Humanities Council's Public Square programs.

09/23/2009 - Wednesday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Myths and Mysteries of Twain's Wild West

Did you know Mark Twain had some wild adventures in Virginia City, including witnessing a gunfight? Check your hat and pistols at the door and join author Michael Rutter who will share some tales of the rascals and ruffians that populated the frontier of Twain's Wild West. Rutter has written numerous books about the Old West, including: Outlaw Tales of Utah, The Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the American West, and Mysteries of the Old West.

09/24/2009 - Thursday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
The Story of Timpanogos Cave

You don't need to go to St. Petersburg, Missouri, to hear about haunted caves and outlaw hideouts. Find out about one in Orem's backyard by joining Karissa DeCarlo of the National Forest Service as she talks about the history, legends and lore of Timpanogos Cave.

09/25/2009 - Friday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
The Big Read Theater: Tom Sawyer

Bring the kids and float along the Mississippi on a raft, explore the depths of McDougal's cave and join Tom and his friends as they get out of even more scrapes in this hour-long theatrical adaptation of Twain's great adventure story. Presented by Resonance Story Theatre and UVU Noorda Regional Theatre Center for Children and Youth. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Orem City CARE tax.

09/26/2009 - Saturday

1:00 pm & 3:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: Pudd'nhead Wilson (1984)

Mark Twain's intriguing tale about mistaken identities stars Ken Howard as an eccentric lawyer in a small Missouri town laden with racism who solves a mystery with surprising results.

09/28/2009 - Monday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
The Timp Tellers present: Tales from Hannibal

Enjoy tales of childhood fun and frolic and see life from the perspective of a child as told by the Timp Tellers, the local chapter of the Utah Storytelling Guild.

09/29/2009 - Tuesday

11:00 am
Book Discussion Room
Tom Sawyer Book Discussion

Share your experiences reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with other readers from the community.

09/29/2009 - Tuesday

6:30 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

Two boys, who happen to look alike, are born just minutes apart to different mothers. One is the Prince of Wales, the other an impoverished pickpocket. When the two decide to switch places to see how the other lives, a rousing adventure ensues. Starring Errol Flynn, the film is based on the novel of the same title by Mark Twain.

09/30/2009 - Wednesday

7:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Music Review: Folk Music of Mark Twain's America

Media Librarian James Scarbrough will take listeners on a musical journey through the folk music of the Civil War Era and the Antebellum South.

10/1/2009 - Thursday

3:30 pm
Storytelling Wing
Twain for Teens: Mark Twain himself

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known to readers as Mark Twain, was a famous wit, an infamous misanthrope, a staunch defender of blacks, Native Americans and the working classes, and, according to H.L. Mencken, "the true father of our national literature." Come for a discussion of one of American literature's most famous and enduring voices.

10/1/2009 - Thursday

7:00 pm
Mark Twain in the Newspaper Business

Samuel Clemens cut his literary teeth as a popular journalist for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. Join Dr. Jack Nelson, a national expert on this period of Clemens' life, as he talks about 19th century print culture and how the young satirist used the newspaper business to launch himself onto the national stage.

10/2/2009 - Friday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
The Big Read Theater: Tom Sawyer

Bring the kids and float along the Mississippi on a raft, explore the depths of McDougal's cave and join Tom and his friends as they get out of even more scrapes in this hour-long theatrical adaptation of Twain's great adventure story. Presented by Resonance Story Theatre and UVU Noorda Regional Theatre Center for Children and Youth. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Orem City CARE tax.

10/3/2009 - Saturday

1:00 pm & 3:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: Tom Sawyer (1973)

This musical adaptation of Mark Twain's novel stars Johnny Whitaker, Jodi Foster, Celeste Holm and Warren Oates.

10/5/2009 - Monday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Puppets on the River and Other Tales of Mississippi Mischief

Puppeteer Mark Pulham has won the hearts of both children and adults at the Orem Library and the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival with his puppet characters and charm. Watch him perform Twain-inspired tales that are sure to delight the entire family.

10/6/2009 - Tuesday

3:30 pm
Storytelling Wing
Twain for Teens: Write Your Own Childhood Adventure

Samuel Clemens had quite an adventurous youth to draw from when he wrote, and wide experience as a printer, journalist, steamboat pilot and world traveler in his adulthood. With a little of his biting wit and sarcastic humor, and a dash of exaggeration to get a laugh, Twain took his own experiences and turned them into stories that delighted (and sometimes infuriated) readers. Try your own hand at humorous hyperbole as we write adventurous tales from our own experience.

10/6/2009 - Tuesday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Mark Twain in Utah

Mark Twain was never one to miss an opportunity to poke fun and 19th century Utah was a humorist's paradise. Learn about Twain's western travels and his thoughts about the young Utah Territory from Associate Librarian Eliot Wilcox.

10/7/2009 - Wednesday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Puppets on the River and Other Tales of Mississippi Mischief

Puppeteer Mark Pulham has won the hearts of both children and adults at the Orem Library and the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival with his puppet characters and charm. Watch this encore performance of Twain-inspired tales that are sure to delight the entire family.

10/8/2009 - Thursday

3:30 pm
Storytelling Wing
Twain for Teens: Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer introduces readers to Huckleberry Finn, perhaps the most famous and influential American character. While Tom Sawyer is a loosely-tied series of childhood mischief and boyish adventure, Huck's adventures focus on a character struggling with his own conscience in a brutally racist society. Join us for a discussion of the similarities and differences between Twain's best-known protagonists.

10/8/2009 - Thursday

7:00 pm
Library Fireplace
BYU Dixieland Jazz Band

Although Dixieland Jazz didn't emerge onto the national music scene until the end of Twain's life, the roots of this prolific sound were born along Twain's beloved Mississippi River. The award-winning BYU Dixieland Jazz Band will perform a special concert in honor of the Mississippi River music tradition. Bring the family for a swinging good time!

10/9/2009 - Friday

7:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Cinema Survey: Mark Twain in the Movies

Twain's books are favorites of producers seduced by the prospect of turning their enduring popularity into Hollywood gold. BYU Theatre and Media Arts professor Dean Duncan will explore several of these notable (and not so notable) attempts.

10/9/2009 - Friday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
The Big Read Theater: Tom Sawyer

Bring the kids and float along the Mississippi on a raft, explore the depths of McDougal's cave and join Tom and his friends as they get out of even more scrapes in this hour-long theatrical adaptation of Twain's great adventure story. Presented by Resonance Story Theatre and UVU Noorda Regional Theatre Center for Children and Youth. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Orem City CARE tax.

10/10/2009 - Saturday

1:00 pm & 3:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)

This Disney adaptation of Mark Twain's novel follows the adventures of Huck and Jim the runaway slave as they escape on the Mississippi River. Elijah Wood, Jason Robards and Courtney B. Vance star in this rousing film.

10/12/2009 - Monday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Tom & Huck's Cemetery Secrets and Superstitious Tales

Toss some salt over your shoulder and join storyteller Debi Richan for a spine-tingling evening of Tom and Huck's secrets for warding off warts, evil spirits, and bad luck; in addition to spooky tales straight from the Mississippi Valley.

10/13/2009 - Tuesday

3:30 pm
Storytelling Wing
Twain for Teens: What Do I Read Next?

Mark Twain wasn't the only author to write about childhood adventure. Join us as we present adventure books from a variety of time periods and genres. Come to find your next great read, and maybe some inspiration for your next great adventure.

10/13/2009 - Tuesday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Tom Sawyer and American Childhood

When Samuel Clemens was born, children were considered expendable labor working in dangerous conditions in mines, mills and factories. However, when Mark Twain published his novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, it was as much a social commentary about childhood as it was a story and attitudes began to change. Join librarian Lori Stevens as we explore what it was like to be a child in America during the nineteenth century.

10/13/2009 - Tuesday

7:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: Mark Twain Tonight! (1967)

Hal Holbrook performed his Tony award winning one-man show for over 55 years; this 1967 Emmy Award winning presentation was the only time it was nationally televised. Spend a rollicking evening with this beloved classic.

10/14/2009 - Wednesday

1:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Book Discussion Room
Tom Sawyer: Book Discussion

Share your experiences reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with other readers from the community.

10/15/2009 - Thursday

10:30 am
Storytelling Wing
Orem Kids go to the Frogs!

Join puppeteer Mark Pulham as we hear some great stories and songs about famous frogs and have a frog jumping contest (frogs will be provided).

10/16/2009 - Friday

1:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Film Screening: Tom and Huck (1995)

Bring your pillows and blankets for this fun Disney classic starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro.

10/16/2009 - Friday

7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
The Big Read Closing Event: Tom Sawyer

Bring the kids and float along the Mississippi on a raft, explore the depths of McDougal's cave and join Tom and his friends as they get out of even more scrapes in this hour-long theatrical adaptation of Twain's great adventure story. Presented by Resonance Story Theatre and UVU Noorda Regional Theatre Center for Children and Youth. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Orem City CARE tax.