The highlight of today’s session at the GABFEST Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was the farewell visit of the Fulbright exchange Professor Heidi Allen. Ms. Allen was kind enough to find some time for us in her busy schedule. She shared with us her plans about traveling to top Ukrainian destination – the Crimea. Nearly every club member recommended a place in Crimea for visiting. The funniest part of the discussion was instructing Heidi about traveling on Ukrainian trains. At the end of the visit the Club members gave Professor Allen an authentic souvenir of our region – household utensils decorated with Petrykivka paintings. The Club activists explained the basic facts about Petrykivka art and its symbolism. The farewell group picture will be a good memento about the visits of our charismatic guest from the USA.
The official topic of the session was celebrating the D.E.A.R Day in the USA. D.E.A.R. is the acronym for Drop Everything and Read. National Drop Everything and Read Day is an annual event, which is celebrated on April 12, the birthday of beloved children's book author Beverly Clearly. According to the official D.E.A.R. Web site, "National D.E.A.R. Day is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority." In one of the popular children's books by Beverly Cleary, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Ramona's class celebrates National D.E.A.R. Day. Ramona reading a book is a part of the DEAR Day logo.We have watched several videos about Beverly Cleary’s books and their impact on several generations of Americans. The discussion was launched about reading and its importance for educated people. A book/DVD display “READ versus WATCH” was presented to the Club members. They were impressed with the amount of book/film pairs availableat the Window on America Dnipropetrovsk Centre.
The session was funny and educational.
more picture here
The number of visitors – 28 persons.
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