Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent. The community is invited to explore this immense and diverse land throughout March with Deschutes Public Library.

 

The library will host a range of free lectures and events all month long, including West African drumming, North African history and culture, traditional African oral arts and storytelling, life as a volunteer in the Peace Corps and more. Programs are free and open to all.

 

African Drumming and Dance
In Africa, music is part of the way of life—it holds great social and cultural significance. Traditional drum and dance is a lively example of the cultural heritage of West Africa. Local drumming instructor David Visiko will facilitate a West African music/dance demonstration and will also explore how each rhythm fulfills a social function in the life of the individual and community.
March 7 • 3pm • Downtown Bend Library | 601 NW Wall St., Bend
March 14 • 2pm • La Pine Library | 16425 First Street, La Pine

 

Story Safari: Collecting Stories in Kenya
Professional storyteller Heather McNeil visited Kenya to listen to traditional stories told by 12 of more than 40 different ethnic groups. She sat inside huts, around campfires and in corn fields to hear stories of tricksters, the slave trade and the animals of the savannah. In this event McNeil will describe how she put the Story Safari together, share the successes and challenges of her adventure and tell one of the stories.
March 5 • 6pm • East Bend Library | 62080 Dean Swift Road, Bend
March 10 • 2pm • Redmond Library | 827 SW Deschutes Ave., Bend

 

Peace Corps Kenya: A Retrospective
The Kuria are an ethnic and linguistic group that live in the west and east districts of Nyanza Province in southwest Kenya. In this talk, three former Peace Corps volunteers reflect on their time with the Kuria.
March 10 • 6pm • Downtown Bend Library | 601 NW Wall St., Bend
Isata’s Story
Isata Sibley was adopted from Sierra Leone just before her eighth birthday. Find out what happens when she returned to Africa with her mom, Beckie, to reconnect with her biological family.
March 14 • 12pm • Sisters Library 110 North Cedar St., Sisters

 

Kilimanjaro SHE Climb
High school student Bella Weiner talks about her plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro—the highest freestanding mountain in the world—to support SHE (Sustainable Health Enterprises). SHE is building a business in Rwanda that manufactures and distributes affordable feminine pads so that girls and women can more confidently participate in school and work.
March 14 • 3pm •
Downtown Bend Library
601 NW Wall St., Bend

 

African Adventure
Have you ever wanted to go to Africa but think it’s too far away, too different, too dangerous? So did Chandra vanEijnsbergen—until she went there. In this talk Chandra will share stories and images from her time volunteering at a reserve in South Africa as well as working with biologists studying lions, hyenas, elephants and rhinos and at a cheetah sanctuary in Namibia.
March 14 • 11am • Sunriver Library | 56855 Venture Ln., Sunriver
March 19 • 6pm • East Bend Library | 62080 Dean Swift Rd., Bend

 

Traditional African Oral Arts and Their Creative Legacy
COCC professor Cora Agatucci highlights the literary traditions of Africa.
March 15 • 2pm • Downtown Bend Library | 601 NW Wall St., Bend

 

Muslims, Christians and Jews in North Africa
Perhaps no place has endured so much volatility as North Africa—the area that now includes Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The Arab Spring upheaval is only the most recent crisis in a continuous storm spanning millennia. In this event, historian and COCC professor Jessica Hammerman explores the region’s history—including how Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisted in a hierarchy dictated by the French government—in an attempt to give people a better understanding of what’s happening now and where things might go in the future.
March 16 • 6pm • Downtown Bend Library | 601 NW Wall St., Bend

 

For more information about these or other library programs, please visit the library website at www.deschuteslibrary.org. People with disabilities needing accommodations (alternative formats, seating or auxiliary aides) should contact Tina at 541-312-1034.