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So much is happening in Venice! I have been running like a maniac since I've been back from the mountains. Yesterday, I was at a press conference with the mayor, Massimo Cacciari, who announced an exciting new Jewish festival, Festival dell'Arca, in The Ghetto which will start on Sunday, May 25th and run through June 1st. There will even be an actual ark! It is to promote a deeper understanding of the Jewish culture, and I have to say that it sounds fantastic, with theatrical performances, music, lectures and conversations., etc. They hope to make it an annual event.

For example, on May 29th at 9:00 straight from Broadway will be a presentation of Iris Bahr in her one-woman show called Dai (Enough). From Amanda Cooper's CurtainUp review: "...A BBC reporter who has been covering the Israel-Palestine conflict for months decides to head into a local Tel Aviv spot (the coffee shop) in order to get an Israeli civilian perspective on the conflict. After a number of revealing interviews with a surprisingly international group (no more than a couple Israelis in the bunch), a suicide bomber enters the shop, killing all (or at least most) of the people we have just heard from. I'm not being a spoiler here. Bahr's play structure has us viewing each individual's moment of bomb impact throughout the evening. Each person's life story/interview is interrupted by the explosion. If this sounds like overkill for the viewer, it isn't...."

Another highlight will be the renowned performer Moni Ovadia in Kavanah, Stories and Songs of Jewish Spirituality, together with Arke String Quartet, on June 1st at 9:00pm.

Here's the link to the entire program: http://www.atduende.it/index.php?page=programma

Tickets are 15 euro, 10 euro for students and seniors.

Next, I dashed over to the L'Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti in Campo Santa Stefano for the conference in preparation for Coming of Age - American Art from 1850 to 1950. From the Guggenheim's site:

"AND THEN PEGGY ARRIVED
1948-2008: 60 YEARS OF THE PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION IN VENICE

To celebrate 60 years of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the museum offers a calendar of activities to supplement the temporary exhibitions. There will be lectures, free guided visits to exhibitions, a movie program during the summer, educational workshops."

Here is the link to that: http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/inglese/news.php

The evening before was the opening of the exhibition Barca xe Casa, wonderful photographs from one of my favorite organizations, il Circolo la Gondola (as you know if you read this blog) over at the lobby of the bank, Cassa di Risparmio Venezia in Campo San Luca. You can wander into the lobby through May 30th and have a look at some beautiful, haunting photos of Venice from the 1940s. through 1960s. The hours are bank hours, 8:30am to 1:30pm, and then 2:25pm to 3:35pm. And here is the link to that:

http://www.cflagondola.it/Mostre/Barca/index.html

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

by Renee Kirchner, Teaching Tips Contributing Editor

Autumn, also known is fall is the transition season between summer and winter. In the northern hemisphere autumn starts in September and in the southern hemisphere, it starts around March. Although there are different definitions of autumn, it is generally assumed that autumn lasts from September through November. During these months the days begin to shorten and animals and plants prepare for the upcoming cold season.

When we think of fall, we usually think of beautiful fall colors such as red, yellow and orange on the trees. As the days become shorter, trees do not have enough light for photosynthesis. The leaves begin to stop producing the green chlorophyll and we begin to see pretty fall colors such as yellow and orange. Small amounts of this color were in the leaves during the summer, but the green chlorophyll covered it up.

Try this fun art project with your children:

FALL LEAVES (Torn paper collage)

Supplies:

Black construction paper (8 _ x 11)
Brown construction paper
Red construction paper
Yellow construction paper
Orange construction paper
Glue

The black construction paper will be the background for this collage. Tear red, yellow and orange construction paper into small one-inch pieces. These will be the leaves on the fall tree. Using a pencil, draw a tree trunk in the brown paper and carefully tear it out. Glue the tree trunk onto the black background. Arrange the leaves on the tree in a pleasing way and glue them down. It looks nice to scatter some of them on the ground for a true fall effect.

The black background will make the bright colors seem more vivid.

Fall Books to Read:

Fall by Nuna Roca. Barron’s Educational Series, August 2004

This title is for children in preschool through grade 2. Filled with colorful illustrations and sample projects and crafts, it is a great introduction to the season of Fall.

When Autumn Falls by Kelli Nidey. Albert Whitman, September 2006.

As the heat of summer fades, fall begins. The temperatures drop as well as the leaves from the trees. Children will enjoy reading about familiar fall pastimes such as piling leaves up and carving jack-o’-lanterns.

Now It’s Fall by Lois Lenski. Random House Children’s Books, October 2000 (reprint).

This newly reissued classic by Lois Lensky holds all of the pleasures of fall. A whole new generation can fall in love with her books.