NEWS BRIEFS 8/26

Labor Day Holiday

Labor Day Classes will be cancelled and the university will be closed Mon., Sept. 1 in observance of Labor Day.

Convocation Speaker

Novelist Julia Alvarez will speak at Appalachian State University's annual Fall Convocation and Founder's Day ceremony Sept. 4 at 10:30 a.m. in Varsity Gym.

Alvarez teaches at Middlebury College in Vermont and has appeared at several colleges and universities as a visiting writer or guest professor.

Students and faculty may recognize Alvarez as the author of "In the Time of the Butterflies," the work chosen as required reading for this year's incoming freshmen. The public is invited to the event.

Call 262-2092 for more details.

Visiting Writers Series

Writer Jan Karon, author of the best-selling Mitford series, begins Appalachian's Visiting Writers Series Sept. 4 with a reading from her works at 7:30 p.m. in the Calloway Peak Room of the Student Union.

The four-book series revolves around a small town named Mitford, a community of characters created from Karon's impressions of Blowing Rock.

Following the reading, Karon's books will be available for purchase and the author will autograph her works. Admission to the reading is free.

Call 262-2979 or 265-0393 for additional information.

Olde Boone Streetfest

The Downtown Boone Development Association has announced plans for the Sixth Annual Olde Boone Streetfest to be held Sat., Sept. 27 in downtown Boone.

Last year's Streetfest brought various crafts people and artists to the area, as well as food and amusement booths sponsored by local schools, churches and civic organizations.

Streetfest organizers want to increase the number of booths to host individuals or groups wishing to demonstrate traditional mountain crafts or foods.

More information can be obtained by contacting the DBDA at 262-4532.

Humanities Festival

The Appalachian Humanities Program begins its Humanities Thematic Festival Wednesday with a lecture delivered by Gene Miller, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Miller will present "The Professoriate on Film: Images of College Teachers in Hollywood Movies" tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Linville Falls Room of the student union.

The lecture is the first in a series of events designed to recognize the humanities and the role they play in human life.

Contact Silvio Sirias at 262-2092 for more information.

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