The Dr. Seuss Festival is Coming to Abilene

The Cultiral Affairs Council is putting on the Children’s Art and Literacy Festival (CALF) or as many are calling it the Dr. Suess Festival. It all kicks off during Art Walk on Thursday, June 14th and continues through Sunday, June 17th, 2012. Downtown Abilene will be transformed into the imaginative world of Dr. Seuss. View all his work at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL) and at The Center for Contemporary Arts. Children will enjoy dramatic presentations from eight different Dr. Seuss books throughout the four day event. Meet the Dr. Suess characters, see the movies and take in the art works of Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) while visiting some of our historic landmark locations in downtown Abilene.

Don’t let the name Dr. Seuss fool you into thinking the CALF is for kids only. Theodor Suess Geisel was a prolific artist and writer whose work spanned over 65 years and quite often included his personal editorial, political propaganda of the day, advertising and military opinions. He began his career not as a children’s author but as a cartoonist and was often quoted as saying “I don’t write for children, I write for people.”

The Art of Dr. Seuss will be on display at the NCCIL as early as June the 8th, 2012.

Information

Dates

June 14th through  June 17th

Venues

Center for Contemporary Arts 220 Cypress

NCCIL 102 Cedar

Abilene Preservation League 1174 North 1st Street

The Grace Museum 102 Cypress Street

Cypress Street Station 158 Cypress Street

Abilene Zoo 2070 Zoo Lane

Abilene Public Library 202 Cedar Street

McKay’s Bakery 266 Cypress Street

The Paramount Theatre 352 Cypress Street

Time & Event

June 14th, 5pm till 8pm for Art Walk

June 15th, 10am, 2pm and 4pm for book readings

June 16th, 9am till 4pm for green eggs and ham brunch and a movie

June 17th 11am till 2pm for the Fathers Day picnic and book reading

CALF Tickets

Early Registration: $10 for adults & $5 for children

Father’s Day Picnic at the Abilene Zoo: $10 for adults & $5 for children

2012 NCCIL Membership: $20 for first time members

Green Eggs and Ham Brunch: $9 per person

Want to prove you were there? Buy a t-shirt: $12 for adults & $10 for children

Purchase tickets online or buy them from the Cultural Affairs Council at 1101 N.1st.

On Going Exhibits

The Lorax: National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL)

The Art of Dr. Seuss: A Retrospective at The Center for Contemporary Arts

Dr. Seuss Touring Sculpture Garden: 6 bronze character sculptures on exhibit downtown

Intercollegiate Dr. Seuss Inspired Exhibition: ACU Downtown Gallery

The Show

Paramount Theatre

Horton Hears a Who! the movie will be shown two times at 11am and 3pm at the Historic Paramount Theatre.

More

Here’s an early example of how Dr. Suess helped the war effort during WWII. The video Dr. Suess created was called, Private Snafu The Goldbrick.