LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The annual Big Read – which this year focuses on Jack London's “The Call of the Wild” – is set to begin, with many events planned, including a tour of Jack London State Park.
The Lake County Library is hosting a tour of the Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen in Sonoma County on Oct. 10 as part of its NEA Big Read program that celebrates London’s classic book during October.
Seats are still available for the bus trip and tour, the library reported.
Guests will meet in Lakeport near the Third Street boat ramp at 9 a.m. and the bus is expected to return to Lakeport about 4:30 p.m.
The NEA grant to the Lake County Library is underwriting the cost of the bus and the tour of the park. To make a reservation for the bus tour call 707-263-8817.
Docents at Jack London State Park will conduct a two-hour tour of the place where London made his home.
Among the features of the park are London’s grave site, Beauty Ranch and the ruins of Wolf House which burned in August 1913, just weeks before Jack and Charmian London were set to move in.
Guests can bring their own picnic lunches or buy a box lunch at the Glen Ellen Market. You must call the Glen Ellen Market 24 hours in advance at 707-996-8728, Extension 16. The price of the box lunch is $14.99 and a discount coupon is available at the Jack London State Park Web site, www.jacklondonpark.com .
Jack London died Nov. 22, 1916, at the age of 40, but he packed enough living for twice that into his short life.
He worked as a sailor, an oyster pirate and a gold miner before turning to writing as a career. London began writing while still in his teens and produced novels, short stories, plays, memoirs, nonfiction works and poetry. “The Call of the Wild” is one of his best-known novels.
The NEA Big Read in Lake County will feature events related to “The Call of the Wild” around Lake County all during October.
Free versions of “The Call of the Wild” are available for download at the Big Read Web site. For more information about the NEA Big Read events in Lake County call 263-8817 or visit the www.lakecountybigread.com .
In the first half of October NEA Big Read events will include cooking and camping demonstrations, a writing workshop and a program on gardening in Alaska.
Amy Patton will present the “Wild Sourdough Bread Demonstration” on October 8 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Steele Wines Farmer’s Market, 4350 Thomas Drive in Kelseyville. The free program includes a discussion on how sourdough was used by the Klondike gold prospectors with a comparison to the events in “The Call of the Wild.”
Boy Scout Troop 42 will present a “Wilderness Camping Demo” on Oct. 8 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. to show the proper way to set up a camp just like one might use in the wilderness of “The Call of the Wild.” The free demo takes place in the wilds of Library Park at 225 Park St. in Lakeport.
Local author R. V Schmidt will conduct a “Call of the Wild Writing Workshop,” inspired by London’s novel on Oct. 12 at Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St. The workshop begins at 5 p.m. sharp and ends at 6:30 p.m. Guests are asked to bring only a pen or pencil and paper to write on, not laptops or other electronic devices.
Attendees will discuss “The Call of the Wild” and possibly write a “short short” story. The workshop is free and no registration is required.
Schmidt is a longtime resident of Lake County and has been involved in several local writing projects including Reads, an anthology of writings from Lakeside Writers Guild and the play “Lakeside Stories. He facilitates a writers circle and an ongoing poet and author series at Main Street Gallery in Lakeport, as well as being involved in high school poetry and writing contests.
Lorrie Gray from the Lake County Hunger Task Force will talk about “Gardening in Alaska” with comparisons to the depictions of Alaska in the novel. This free program will take place in the Lakeport branch of the Lake County Library on Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. to noon.
A program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Lake County Library is one of 77 nonprofit organizations across the country to receive a grant to host an NEA Big Read project between September 2016 and June 2017
For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit www.neabigread.org .
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary . The library phone number is 707-263-8817.
Jan Cook works for the Lake County Library.