Translations, part 2

Back in October, the Ritz Library posted information pertaining to Translations, the annual competition whose purpose is to "explore social concerns through art". As a result of this festival competition, some of the artwork and literature submitted will be on display in the Ritz Library display case from Monday, April 27th through Friday, May 8th.

This year, Translations judged three categories: Visual Art, Reading of Literature and a special category for Social Concerns about the Hudson River. 32 entries were submitted by DCC students .

The Visual Winner was an impressive piece by Nathan Garcia. It was ceramic fishes symbolically representing how cell phone technology interferes with genuine human communication. Honorable mention in the Visual category went to Marykate Monroe’s painting “Welcome to the city that never sleeps.”

The Written winner was JonnaLynn Rouse’s moving poem “What does my future hold?” Honorable mention goes to John Zamierowski’s untitled short story about a milk jug floating in the Hudson.

The Social Concerns about the Hudson River winner was John’s story about the milk jug followed very closely by MaryKate’s painting, "Welcome to the city that never sleeps".

Congratulations to all the festival competition winners and to all the students who chose to participate in this year's event!

Stop by the Ritz Library on the 3rd floor of Hudson Hall to view some of this year's entries! To view some photos of the entries, click here.

Special thanks to Dr. Peter Phipps for putting together the bulk of this blog entry.

BLACK HISTORY ACTIVITIES FOR WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9TH

Black History Month activities continue the week of February 9th. See attached schedule for activities available this week.



Check out the display at the Ritz Library, Hudson Hall, 3rd Floor presented by the Black History Committee. View the online exhibit entitled The Missing Chapter: Untold Stories of the African American Presence in the Mid-Hudson Valley presented by SENYLRC.



Black History activity sheets and calendars are available in the Library while supplies last.

BLACK HISTORY ACTIVITIES FOR WEEK OF FEBRUARY 2nd

Come celebrate Black History month at DCC!
See attached schedule for activities available the week of February 2nd.

Check out the display at the Ritz Library, Hudson Hall, 3rd Floor presented by the Black History Committee.

Black History activity sheets and calendars are available while supplies last.

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that the Ritz Library subscribes to paper versions of over 300 magazines, newspapers & journals? These publications are kept in the Current Periodicals section on the 3rd floor of the Library. This area has lots of soft seating to stretch out to browse through magazines like People, Vibe or Cosmo. You'll also find today's Poughkeepsie Journal, New York Times & Wall Street Journal.

Visit us on the 3rd floor of Hudson Hall.

Brundibar

See the Brundibar exhibit at the Ritz Library, Hudson Hall, 3rd Floor

Do you know Brundibar?

It is one of the most important (I think the most important) children’s musicals of the 20th Century. It had its first production in 1943 in the concentration camp at Terezin. After the final performance most of the young performers in that original cast and the composer, Hans Krasa, were murdered! The paragraph below tells more of the story but even more has developed over the last couple of days. Two years ago, while doing my research for the production, I visited Terezin outside of Prague in the Czech Republic. Recently I have been e-mailing with people there. They sent me some material for a small exhibit I have created in the DCC library. In one of the e-mails I found out that one of the children, Ela Weissberger, lives in Tappan Hill! I spoke with her a couple of days ago. What an amazing woman! She is the author of a book about her experiences, “The Cat with the Yellow Star, Coming of Age in Terezin.” We are trying to arrange her coming to one of our performances! And yesterday I spoke with Maurice Sendak’s secretary – Mr. Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are, etc.) is the co-author with Tony Kushner of the new and special translation I am using. Brundibar is one of the most unique of all theatre stories. DCC is one of the first theatres in America to get the rights to produce it. Google reveals over 100,000 sites about Brundibar! Even Wikipedia tells the story. You Tube has pictures from around the world.

Brundibar is one of the most joyous, charming & funny children’s musicals ever written! Is it just for children? No! Definitely no! It is for the happy “forever-after” child in all of us! It is for any child/adult from 5 to 105. In the 1940s Brundibar’s happy story and delightful music tried to illuminate a world of terrible darkness – one of the darkest moments in world history. Google Brundibar for its history but come to the James & Betty Hall Theatre at Dutchess Community College on November 14 at 7:00 pm, November 15 at 2:00 & 7:00 pm and Sunday, November 16 at 2:00 pm. Come for its joy & laughter but never forget its history. This production uses the new translation by famed children’s book author Maurice Sendak and noted playwright Tony Kushner. It is directed by Steve Press who held the Greenspan Trust Handel Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Dutchess Community College. The musical director is Dr. Christopher Brellochs. The choreographers are two former DCC students, Susie Riefenhauser & Samantha Dahowski. The production is produced by the college Department of Performing Arts & the Masquers Guild. As a free bonus the college will present a brief curtain raiser before Brundibar: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Steve Press’s delightful comedy, The Spider and the Bee, five talented actors directed by Will Szigethy will perform the story of The Spider and the Bee. Go to the college’s web site for directions to the Theatre and telephone 845 431-8696 for additional information. Children and seniors $5.00. DCC students and staff are free. General admissions is $10.00. No advance reservations – all tickets sold at the door at the time of the performance.

I’m proud that DCC is producing Brundibar for our community. I hope you will inform others about this important college project.

Steve Press

The Big Read

Check it out - the BIG READ is here! What is the Big Read? The Big Read is an annual event which spans the United States that encourages reading. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, different organizations within a community who support reading pick a classic work of literature to read and then discuss. This year in Poughkeepsie the book of choice is F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby. Local colleges, stores, libraries and schools are part of this collaboration, including Dutchess Community College. We have multiple copies of The Great Gatsby in the Francis U. and Mary F. Ritz Library, so stop by and grab a copy!

Open the PDF of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District's The Rotunda Big Read events by clicking here.

Stop by and see our Big Read display as you walk into the library and pick up a Reader's Guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby to enhance your reading experience.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Visit the Francis U. & Mary F. Ritz Library

Display Case in Front Lobby

3rd Floor - Hudson Hall

The theme this year is Child's Play Around the Hispanic World. Members of the DCC Hispanic Heritage Committee display dolls and toys purchased from Hispanic countries. They also feature juvenile books written in Spanish which can be borrowed from the DCC library.

STD

When you give the give the gift of love,

Make sure it is wrapped properly.

April is STD Awareness Month!

Visit the Francis U. and Mary F. Ritz Library
Display Case

3rd Floor, Hudson Hall

Celebrate Women's History Month

Mission Statement of the Women's Committee: to celebrate women and their achievements. To promote the visibility of women on campus. To explore issues important to the professional and personal success of women. To provide the college community with "A Guide to Women's Services" and to maintain a referral service of campus and community services. To provide an example of women's solidarity on campus. To sponsor and celebrate Women's History Month, highlight issues unique to women and encourage women on campus to recognize their full potential. To increase resources on campus related to women's issues.

Now on display at the Francis U. and Mary F Ritz Library, 3rd Floor, Hudson Hall:

WOMEN'S ART: WOMEN'S VISION

RPM

Visit the Francis U. & Mary F. Ritz Library Display Case located on the 3rd floor of Hudson Hall and view library material on Rap, Poetry and Music.

Included are articles on Hip Hop by Professor Joe Allen.

RITZ LIBRARY ANNIVERSARY

The Francis U. & Mary F. Ritz Library is happy to join in DCC's 50th Anniversary celebration.

The library opened in 1958 in Bowne Hall with approximately 3,000 books. Today, we occupy the 2nd and 3rd floors of Hudson Hall and maintain a collection of 80,000 books and over 336 magazine, journal and newspaper subscriptions. We also offer a growing array of electronic resources.

Join us in the anniversary festivities. Visit the library display case located on the 3rd floor of Hudson Hall and view photographs and documents related to our library history.

Fire Safety

Dave Walsh and the Emergency Services Club present:

"October is Fire Safety Month"

If you don't want to choke

Crawl under the smoke.

Get down on the floor

And head for the door.

Visit the Francis U and Mary F Ritz Library

Display Case in Front Lobby
3rd Floor - Hudson Hall

Journeys to the Hispanic World

Behold the Blue Footed Boobies from Espanola Island.

Observe yellow cola from the Incas.

Catch sight of coins purchased from Costa Rica.

Appreciate the beautiful clothes and pottery from Peru.

Look at photos taken by students on the Galapagos Islands.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Visit the Francis U. & Mary F. Ritz Library

Display case in Front Lobby

3rd floor - Hudson Hall