One Book, One Bloomington expands, now taking votes

In 2007, One Book, One Bloomington will turn into the Big Read: One Book, One Bloomington, expanding its name and opportunities to unite the city and the surrounding area by promoting popular literary fiction.\nThe Bloomington Area Arts Council is now taking votes for the month-long, seventh annual One Book, One Bloomington. Votes can be cast at 21 different locations around town or online by e-mailing info@artlives.org until Dec. 20 at 5 p.m.\nFor the past six years, Bloomington has had a successful run with the program, said Ed Vande Sande, the arts council's development and marketing director.\n"It has gone way beyond any of our expectations," Vande Sande said. "This event has definitely helped promote the arts through literacy and celebration of the written word."\nFor its 2006 selection, Bloomington residents voted F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" as their community read.\nThis year the arts council is part of the Big Read, a new national program designed by the National Endowment for the Arts to encourage discussion of literature.\nThe National Endowment for the Arts is also responsible for giving grants to organizations and communities participating in the Big Read, including Bloomington.\n"The grant support we receive through the Big Read partnership will allow us to add some exciting new components to (One Book, One Bloomington), including visual arts, performance and music opportunities," said arts council Executive Director Miah Michaelsen. "In addition, we'll be able to reach out to underserved communities with book distributions and programs for at-risk youth and adults." \nUnlike many of the other Big Read communities, Michaelsen said, Bloomington has had a successful community-read program for almost six years. She said it is an honor that One Book, One Bloomington was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts, which has carefully built the program for the past few years.\nThe Big Read nominees for the 2007 program include "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan,. "My Antonia" by Willa Cather and "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck.\nThe winner of the 2007 One Book, One Bloomington will be announced at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration dinner in Bloomington on Jan. 15, 2007.\nFor more information on events hosted by the arts council, visit www.artlives.org.