Nashville Friends: Some of you are perennially Spring-cleaned. I’m in awe of you. For the rest of us: it’s a great time to attack the closets… AND BOOKSHELVES! There are few things better than sending a book into the world, especially a book that will land in the hands of a child. (Take a deep breath. Release book from death on a shelf. See how it makes you feel.)

Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to share children’s AND adult books with the Martha O’Bryan Center, which has been doing good work in the world in Nashville since 1948.

Here’s the info from the Center…

We are gathering new and gently-used books for readers of all ages and will be holding a free book fair on April 12, 2018 at the Martha O’Bryan Center (MOBC).

Please have a look at your shelves and consider giving to this special event, focusing on young readers ages 5 through 13 (“level” reader books particularly useful). We will also be hosting parents at our event, so feel free to include books for all age ranges. Cookbooks are welcome!

For those with children attending one of these pre-schools, special one-time​ collection bins will be located at Westminster and St. George’s during morning hookup on Monday April 9th​.

Additionally, books can be dropped off anytime until April 9th​ at MOBC or the below addresses (please leave a note with your donation so MOBC can acknowledge your gift):

Christen Barfield
153 Cheek Road

Emily Byram
4322 Sneed Road

Corinne Kidd
1039 Lynnwood Boulevard

Sara Perry
301 Clarendon Avenue

Amy Richards/Ashley Frist
137 Brookfield Avenue

Rebecca Rutledge
814 Westview Avenue

Molly Virgin
917 Westview Avenue

For those of you who are exclusively digital readers or perennially spring-cleaned, please consider an online donation to the Martha O’Bryan Center. MOBC is one of Nashville’s oldest nonprofit organizations serving 10,000 of Nashville’s poorest, at-risk families. It has operated from the heart of Cayce Place since 1948. This is where they continue in service, partnering with Cayce Place families to open doors of hope and possibility, create a culture of attainment, and positively shape future generations.

 *       *       *

BONUS BACON: Dragons Love Tacos!

Here’s another cool kid-friendly, book-based event in Nashville happening soon (from press release)…

Nashville Children’s Theatre (NCT), the nation’s oldest professional theatre for young audiences, collaborates with Nashville Ballet to present the bouncing, juggling, flying play Dragons Love Tacos.

About Dragons Love Tacos

Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So if you want a bunch of dragons at your party, you should definitely serve tacos. Buckets and buckets of tacos. But save the spicy salsa. When dragons eat spicy salsa… oh boy. You’ll discover the results can be explosive.

Dragons Love Tacos was adapted by NCT’s Ernie Nolan and based on the book by Adam Rubin and illustrations by Daniel Salmieri.

“The book Dragons Love Tacos is delightfully playful, loved by both children and parent,” says Ernie Nolan, NCT Executive Artistic Director. “When reading the book it’s impossible not to imagine the riotous fun of a party full of dragons. The more you imagine that party and its lively nature, the more you realize it’s a party everyone should enjoy, and NCT’s stage is the perfect place to host this a party. We could not have found a better collaboration partner for this project than Nashville Ballet. Of course their stunningly skilled and beautifully dynamic dancers would perfectly represent our spirited dragons. Paul Vasterling was enthusiastic and supportive from the start, plus it’s incredibly flattering that he created choreography specifically for Dragons Love Tacos. I cannot wait for audiences to join our party!”

Dragons Love Tacos is the first collaboration between NCT and Nashville Ballet. “When the opportunity arose to work with Ernie Nolan on Dragons Love Tacos, I first thought of how perfectly such a project aligns with Nashville Ballet’s mission,” says Paul Vasterling, Artistic Director and CEO of Nashville Ballet. “We’re deeply dedicated to promoting dance as an essential element of our community and collaborating with other artists and arts organizations is one of the best, most effective ways in which we can cultivate a deep and meaningful place for dance in the hearts of those around us. Dragons Love Tacos is a lighthearted, fun way to reach our youngest audiences; it’s also a very smart and witty story and Ernie’s adaptation for the stage is marvelous. I’ve had so much fun working on it!”

Performance Schedule

Opening night is Thursday, April 12 at 6:30 pm. Weekend performances are at 2 pmSaturday, April 14 – Sunday, May 13. (No performance on Sunday, April 15.)

Sensory Friendly Performance on Saturday, May 5.

ASL Sign-Interpreted Performance on Sunday, May 6.

All performances take place at The Martin Center for Nashville Children’s Theatre, 25 Middleton Street, Nashville in the SoBro neighborhood.

Categorized in: