The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art kicks off two months of family programs, special events, book discussions, film screenings and more, starting on Saturday, April 13.
The classic Western novel, True Grit by Charles Portis, will be the subject of this Indianapolis community experience, which is a community-wide reading initiative designed to connect people through the joy of sharing a book. The Eiteljorg Museum is one of 75 organizations nationwide to receive a 2019 NEA Big Read grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Through the NEA Big Read program, a community is encouraged to read the same noteworthy novel by a living author and participate in events related to it.
The celebration begins on April 13 with the fun, family-oriented Big Read True Grit Kickoff event at 1 p.m. Families can expect to enjoy chuck wagon grub, meet and learn about Cameo the horse and her cowboy Paul, hear stories of real western heroes such as Nat Love and Stagecoach Mary, play western games, get creative with hands-on art activities, and don’t forget to snag a pic with John Wayne.
Other events for families include:
- May 9, 6 p.m.: True Grits cooking class with Duos Indy. Register at Eiteljorg.org.
- May 11, 11 a.m.: Words and Other Wild Things featuring Brick Street Poetry and Snakes Alive! with live creatures from the Joseph Moore Museum of Earlham College.
- June 1, 11 a.m.: Juneteenth Community Celebration with free admission.
- June 5, 6 p.m: Western swing music with the Sawyer Family Band, a free concert as part of the Summer Under the Sails Music Series
- June 12, 6 p.m.: Poetry reading with North Dakota Poet Laureate Larry Woiwode and Brick Street Poetry.
For complete details on events and book discussions around Indianapolis, visit www.eiteljorg.org/BigRead.
