Danville Public Library

Events Calendar: May-July 2013

(A general calendar of Danville-area events is available here)

Vendors interested in participating must register with the DDI office at least one business day prior to setting up the market.  Each vendor is allowed one 12 by 12 foot wide space at a cost of $5 per market day.  All approved items for sale at the farmers' market must be either home grown, baked from scratch or handmade locally by a grower, crafter, artist, farmer or baker.  Locally is defined as the area that the items are produced in is located within the east central Illinois and west central Indiana area. No wholesale items are allowed to be sold.

For a complete list of guidelines and a vendor application, contact DDI at 217-443-3886 or info@downtowndanville.org.  The information is also available at www.downtowndanville.org.  For more information about downtown Danville, contact DDI Executive Director Dana Schaumburg at 217-443-3886 or info@downtowndanville.org or visit www.downtowndanville.org.

Robert A. Johnson will present a workshop for genealogists and historians titled "Family Search: Getting the Best From the Best Resource Microfilms" on Saturday, May 25, from 9 to 11 a.m. in the first floor Meeting Room of the library.  The workshop is free, but seating is limited.  People interested in attending should call (217) 477-5220 to reserve a seat.

Robert A. Johnson is a native of Vermilion County, Illinois.  He has been working on genealogical research since 1977.  He specializes in research for the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern States, has cemetery research and location experience, Family History Library experience, and is a specialist in courthouse research.  Besides teaching at Danville High School, Mr. Johnson has been completing research on his own family, and assisting others in their efforts, with great success.  A graduate of Western Illinois University, Monmouth College, and Eastern Illinois University, Mr. Johnson enjoys helping individuals in family history research in his spare time.

"Beautiful Dreamer" -- a new biography about Midwest sculptor Lorado Taft -- will be presented at the library on Thursday, May 30, from 2 until 3:30pm.  The author, Lynn Allyn Young, will share some of the photographs she took while researching Taft's life.  Born in Elmwood in 1860, Lorado Taft crafted the figures on Danville's "Victory" World War I monument in 1922.  His works are located throughout the United States, from Seattle, Washington to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Beloit, Wisconsin.  Best known to Illinois residents may be his "Alma Mater" figure grouping at the University of Illinois or his 48-foot-tall "Eternal Indian" at Lowden State Park in Oregon.

Taft made a name for himself in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a talented artist and influential lecturer and author.  Yet he struggled to produce classically inspired works during a time when a new, modern style was emerging.  In more recent times his name has been largely forgotten, except among a small but loyal following who are caring for the sculptures and, if needed, restoring them with grass-roots fund-raising campaigns.

Lynn Allyn Young volunteered as a docent with the Chicago Architecture Foundation for 12 years.   She became interested in Taft at the time when his "Fountain of Time," a huge concrete sculpture near the University of Chicago, was undergoing a massive restoration.  She began identifying all of Taft's work and then traveled around the country, hunting down the pieces and documenting their locations and their condition.  She presents in this 136-page paperback book a wide variety of present-day color photographs, interesting vintage images, and excerpts from numerous publications.

Scholarly works have investigated Taft's early years and the impact his art had on the Midwest and beyond, but no one has stepped forward to present a simple-to-read, comprehensive biography -- until now.  Young has also developed a Facebook page ("Beautiful Dreamer. Lorado Taft") and a blog (www.taftbeautifuldreamer.com) where she is posting new discoveries and links to other Taft researchers.  She is excited to share her discoveries and once again to stir up interest in this important sculptor and art historian.

The presentation on Lorado Taft is free and open to the public.  It will be followed by a book signing; copies will be available for $20.