The Big Read - DC Kickoff for the city read of The Great Gatsby April 24, 2008

Washington, D.C. is reading THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald April 24 - May 24, 2008 for THE BIG READ - D.C. BE PART OF THE STORY!

Kickoff the month-long event with Councilmember Jim Graham, Washington Informer publisher Denise Rolark Barnes, State Education Superintendent Deborah Gist, film/stage actor Clayton LeBouef ("Homocide," "The Wire") and other guests. Jazz music performance by vocalist Lorie Williams and a preview of a spoken word, jazzy interpretation of THE GREAT GATSBY by DC WritersCorps. The Art Deco Society of Washington, DC will set the mood with vintage 1920s fashions. No admission fee. RSVP dcbigread@wdchumanities.org or call 202-387-8391.

The Big Read-D.C. is presented by the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. This event is part of THE BIG READ, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Arts Midwest, designed to restore literary reading to the center of American culture. Visit www.neabigread.org for more information.

BIG READ-D.C. SPONSORS: The National Endowment for the Humanities; The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; Reading Is Fundamental; Coca-Cola Mid-Atlantic; Busboys and Poets; The Potomac Chapter of The Links, Inc.; The Washington Post; Comcast.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS: The Art Deco Society of Washington; The Arts Club of Washington; Barnes & Noble Booksellers; Busboys and Poets; Chapters Literary Arts Center; Cultural Tourism DC; DC Center for the Book @ DC Public Library; DC Department of Parks and Recreation; DC WritersCorps, Inc.; District of Columbia Public Schools; Friends of the Library; Gottaswing.com; Hurston/Wright; Literacy Volunteers and Advocates; The National Music Center; PEN/Faulkner Writers In Schools; Smithsonian's National Museum of American History; SpeakeasyDC.

VISIT: www.wdchumanities.org/bigreadTickets: http://www.wdchumanities.org/bigread

Official Website: https://spongecell.com/event_page/view/606153