Star City Blog

The Year On Screen

By Justin Senkbile

For the movies, 2011 was full of immense highs and equally vast lows. In short, it was similar to 2010. Or 2009. Or virtually any other year. The great stuff was really great: engaging, enlightening and often challenging. And the rest was typically bad: amusing at best and insulting at worst.

We had everything from romantic spirituality (“The Tree of Life”) to apocalyptic existentialism (“Another Earth”, “Melancholia”). There were successful franchise reanimations (“The Muppets”) and disastrous ones (“The Smurfs”). “Harry Potter” made his last dent at the box office, and the “Twilight” series finally started rounding the same corner. There were lots of strong documentaries too, especially for us Lincolnites: The Ross showed “Summer Pasture”, “Tabloid” and “We Were Here”, to name just a few great titles that didn't make the list below.

On that note, since it's impossible to fit all the good into a measly ten spots, you'll also find a handy group of ten other honorable mentions below, most of which are either still playing in town or are now available on DVD.

Several of my picks were technically released in 2010, but didn't reach us until this year. And a few much-hyped titles are still unseen by this reviewer for that same reason. Steve McQueen's “Shame”, David Cronenberg's “A Dangerous Method”, and Aki Kaurismaki's “Le Havre” all received kind words when they opened elsewhere earlier this year, but won't reach us until January (The Ross already has them booked). “The Artist”, Michel Hazanavicius' silent picture, and the espionage thriller “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” will presumably reach a Marcus screen in early 2012 as well (Omaha's Film Streams has “The Artist” starting January 13th).

So here they are, the ten best films released in Lincoln this year, roughly in order of preference. Happy new year!

1. Another Year - If you'll pardon the use of an unpardonably corny phrase, Mike Leigh films are like chicken soup for the soul. His latest, which reached us in early January, follows an older couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) through the four seasons of an average year. They're a happy pair, but life comes much harder for many of their friends (including one played by the amazing Lesley Manville). This film's performances and its flawless simplicity are almost overwhelming.


2. Young Adult – Jason Reitman's “Up In The Air” was one of last year's best movies, and his latest is even better. Here, Charlize Theron stars as a writer of young adult novels who returns to her hometown with plans to whisk away a happily married ex-flame (Patrick Wilson). Not for the faint of heart (painfully awkward and embarrassing moments abound), Theron here is as stunning as she is deplorable.


3. Nostalgia for the Light – Patricio Guzman's essay film ties together Chile's violent political history and the work of astronomers, out in the desert, searching for the earth's history by looking to the stars. An amazing reminder of the potentials of the sound and image relationship, and, even better, a reassurance that there are still filmmakers interested in that relationship. A movie so personal, specific and true that it becomes universal.


4. The Tree of Life – Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Pean all appear in director Terrence Malick's intensely poetic web of feelings and sensations. Tracing human life from the earth's beginnings, through a Texas family in the fifties, and on to the cold, hermetic modern world, this is the art film for people who didn't think they liked art films.


5. Le Quattro Volte – As ambitious as “The Tree of Life”, minus the majestic scale and A list stars. Michelangelo Frammartino's second film follows a soul through four incarnations: human, animal, vegetable and mineral. Seriously. It's an incredible, completely unique experience.


6. The Descendants – Alexander Payne's beautifully textured film is about a descendant of one of Hawaii's first white landowning families (George Clooney). His pressures – financial, paternal and marital, among others – are real. But the Payne touch makes it all feel like the most effortless of comedies while retaining every ounce of dramatic weight.


7. Certified Copy – Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's latest, set in Italy, is a deceptively accessible film, a web of impressions about relationships, history and art, all wrapped up within a warm and frequently funny tale of two people who may or may not share a past (Juliette Binoche and William Shimell). The restaurant scene towards the end is one of Binoche's finest moments.


8. Hugo - As with “My Week with Marilyn” below, Martin Scorsese's 3D outing might be most appealing to movie freaks like myself. This story about the later life of Georges Méliès is, besides being one giant love-letter to cinema, the first film I've seen that really embraces 3D technology as something more than an expensive novelty.


9. The Skin I Live In – Pedro Almodovar's latest is about a demented plastic surgeon (Antonio Banderas) and his unfortunate patient (Elena Anaya). It's a classical tale of revenge and madness, a bigger-than-life horror story filtered through Almodovar's brand of high melodrama. Also gets the award for best, craziest plot twist in recent memory. Avoid spoilers at all costs!


10. My Week With Marilyn - A young man (Eddie Redmayne) breaks into the film industry in London. He spends his days with Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and his nights with Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams). If not a perfect movie, this is a perfect movie experience and an irresistible fantasy for film lovers. Williams channels Marilyn's spirit like no one else I've seen.

Honorable mention:“White Material”, “Senna”, “Putty Hill”, “The Trip”, “Bridesmaids”, “The Muppets”, “My Dog Tulip”, “Carlos”, “The Black Power Mixtape, 1967-1975”, “The Time That Remains”

Science Odyssey: What the Higgs Is Going on at CERN?

By Clay Farris Naff

The week began with rumors that at long last the so-called God particle has been discovered. Then, CERN, the international organization that operates the Large Hadron Collider on the French-Swiss border held a press conference that produced considerable confusion among reporters.

In Part 1, we hear excerpts of the announcements made at CERN and some of the bizarre reaction to them. In Part 2, we turn to Ken Bloom, a University of Nebraska physicist and member of the CMS team at CERN for some answers about what it all means. 

Higgs, Part 1
Higgs, Part 2

Clay Farris Naff is (claynaff.com) is a science author and blogger whose weekly radio program, Science Odyssey, airs Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 9 a.m. CST on KZUM, Lincoln's community radio station. You can hear it over the air at 89.3 FM or on the web live at kzum.org. Clay's science and religion blog on the Huffington Post can be seen here.

IN SHORT: The Week of Dec. 18th – 24th

SUNDAY, DEC. 18^th – Winter Crafts Session

Want some free Christmas fun? The Gere Library branch will be hosting a winter crafts session where you can make bookmarks, snowmen and even your own mittens! You’ll also be invited to attend their Pageant matinee at The Playhouse. This is an excellent event for children and since its an all day event, you can join the fun whenever you want!

Cost: Free
Time: noon to close
Date: 12/18/11
Telephone: (402) 441-8560
Location: Gere Branch Library
Address: 2400 S 56th Street, Lincoln, NE 68506, USA (View Map) 

MONDAY, DEC. 19^th – Poetry at the Moon

This special Poetry reading event will feature readers from the 2012 Nebraska Poets Calender! Every year Black Star Press releases a calendar that celebrates Nebraska with special artwork that offers a glimpse into the beautiful plains and the words to describe it. This reading is free and open to the public, so celebrate Nebraska in style.

Description: Open mic to follow at 8 pm
Time: 7 pm
Date: 12/19/11
Telephone: (402) 435-2828
Website: http://www.crescentmooncoffee.com
Location: Crescent Moon Coffee House
Address: 140 N 8th St, #10 (Lower Level), Lincoln, NE 68508, USA (View Map)
Phone:+1 (402) 435-2828

TUESDAY, DEC. 20^th - Christmas & All That Jazz

The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra inspires the holiday mood at this festive concert of seasonal favorites. The band will be performing arrangements written by NJO musicians Peter Bouffard, Mark Benson, and others. One of the most popular events of the year, you won't want to miss this special holiday performance!

Cost: $25 adults; $12.50 students
Time: 7:30 pm
Date: 12/20/11
Telephone: (402) 477-8446
Email: njo@artsincorporated.org
Location: Cornhusker Marriott
Address: 333 S. 13th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508, USA (View Map)
Phone: +1 (402) 474-7474

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21^st - DJ Nick the Quick and Amateur Dance Contest

If you’ve got those dancing feet than you can win some money for the holidays this Wednesday. $300 for First Place $200 Second Place $100 Third Place $50 for Fourth Place. Go get your John Travolta on at the Grove!

Cost: $5.00 to enter
Time: Doors open 8:30 pm
Date: 12/21/11
Telephone: (402) 474-7575
Location: The Grove
Address: 340 W. Cornhusker Hwy., Lincoln, NE 68521, USA (View Map)
Phone: +1 (402) 474-7575

THURSDAY, DEC. 22^nd - New Moon Songwriters Night 

Regular Lincoln performer Tony Church will be the featured singer at Crescent Moon’s New Moon Songwriters Night. Go to listen. Go to perform. Just go.

Description: Open Mic 8 pm - 10 pm (sign up at 7 pm)
Time: 7 pm
Date: 12/22/11
Telephone: (402) 435-2828
Website: http://www.crescentmooncoffee.com
Location: Crescent Moon Coffee House
Address: 140 N 8th St, #10 (Lower Level), Lincoln, NE 68508, USA (View Map)
Phone: +1 (402) 435-2828

FRIDAY, DECEMBER. 23^rd - Acoustic performance by Josh Hoyer of Son of 76

Josh Hoyer has a rich connection to the downtown music scene. Check out this article from the Lincoln Journal Star about his musical career. He’ll be doing an acoustic performance at Crescent Moon Coffee on Friday so don’t miss out! 

Time: 8 pm-10 pm
Date: 12/23/11
Telephone: (402) 435-2828
Website: http://www.crescentmooncoffee.com
Email: crescentmoon@inebraska.com
Location: Crescent Moon Coffee House
Address: 140 N 8th St, #10 (Lower Level), Lincoln, NE 68508, USA (View Map)
Phone: +1 (402) 435-2828

Martin Sheen finds “The Way”

by Justin Senkbile

While youngest son Charlie has spent the last few years “winning”, Martin Sheen and his eldest, Emilio Estevez, have been busy making a new film called “The Way”. Written and directed by Mr. Estevez, it follows a man's journey along the Camino de Santiago, a centuries-old route across northern Spain to the spot where, according to tradition, Saint James the apostle's remains are buried.

Sheen plays this man, named Tom, a California eye doctor whose wayward son Daniel (Estevez) has just died during a storm while on the Camino. Tom travels to France to recover the remains and, upon learning what his son was attempting, resolves to walk the hundreds of kilometers and finish the pilgrimage in his honor.

Along the way, and despite his closed-off, self-reliant nature, Tom racks up an interesting international coterie. There's Joost (Yorick van Wageningen), a proud Dutchman; Jack (James Nesbitt) and lively but troubled Irish writer; and Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger), the angry, chain-smoking Canadian. It's this gang of four that guides us along on this rather intimate trek.

A passion project for Sheen and son, made with very little money and with the close collaboration of the featured communities, the movie deserves quite a bit of sympathy right off the bat. And thankfully, as a document of the Camino, “The Way”, couldn't be better. Estevez creates this world so well because he keeps the details in the forefront. The people, the towns, the conditions and the food (even the regional names for dishes, in one scene) are all given such essential roles that the characters we're watching, even Sheen, take on a secondary importance.

Which works out okay, because it's the character stuff that could use some work. The actors chug along well enough, bringing what life they can to the dialogue and emoting that often rings very false. Add to that the lightest of light laughs, and you occasionally find yourself just hanging on, waiting for the lines to end and for the real interesting stuff to come back on screen. The surroundings and situations hold things together enough to make the group's bond convincing and even a little touching by the end, but the actual interactions between them feel terribly strained.

It may not be a great movie, but “The Way” does offer something unusual: what feels like a true, textured look at a real sliver of living history.

“The Way” is playing at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13^th and R streets, through December 22^nd

 

“Being Elmo”: Stories From the (Sesame) Street

by Justin Senkbile

I think we can imagine how hellish high school must've been for a kid obsessed with “Captain Kangaroo” and all things Jim Henson. But Kevin Clash was one such kid, and he made it out alright. Nowadays, besides being the man behind the ubiquitous and apparently ticklish Elmo, Clash has the pleasure of being able to list “Muppet Captain” as one of his several job titles at Sesame Street.

Clash's story, documented through interviews, archive footage and a tad of animation by directors Constance Marks and Philip Shane in their film “Being Elmo”, is a classic rags-to-riches one. From his working class Baltimore neighborhood, Clash came up through homemade puppets and local TV in the late-seventies, to actually working on “Kangaroo” and fielding offers from the Muppet King himself.

When Clash finally arrived at Sesame Street, in the mid-eighties, Elmo was a rarely used puppet. Eager to develop a solid character to bring to the show, he threw out Elmo's preexisting caveman-esque personality (a clip reveals him to have been something like Animal's cousin), and created the childlike little creature we know today.

It took off quickly, and Elmo was already pretty popular before his convulsing doppelganger terrorized frantic parents during the 1996 holiday shopping season. On the Tickle Me Elmo subject, Clash is politely grateful for all the good vibes, even if he's quick to point out that the character, who always speaks in the third-person, would never say “me”.

He's a strikingly normal guy, complete with a family life and a handful of regrets. So it begins to feel like we're just seeing a film about a man with a cool job, which naturally leads us to wonder what the point of it all is. But Elmo is something different, and that becomes clear the moment we see Clash and his puppet in a room with a kid. We can only speculate on what the child is thinking or feeling, but the change that takes place in the puppeteer is obvious.

“Being Elmo” is a movie about following your dreams, sure. But it's also the story of a man compelled to touch lives in some positive way, whether by simply coaching an aspiring young puppeteer, or bringing Elmo by to see a terminally-ill child (there are many of these requests, he tells us). For Kevin Clash, being Elmo is noble work.

“Being Elmo” is playing at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13^th and R streets, through December 22nd

 

OmniArts nebraska to present its first annual benefit, “A Holiday Centerpiece” Thursday, December 15

OmniArts nebraska, a new Lincoln performing arts company, will be presenting its first annual seasonal benefit, “A Holiday Centerpiece,” at the Unitarian Church, 6300 O St., on Thursday, December 15^th, from 5:30 to 8:30.  The event is a fundraiser for the company and will feature a performance, silent auction of art by local artists, and waffles, by the Waffleman.

In August of 2011, OmniArts nebraska made its formal debut with a two-week residency at the Haymarket Theatre, where they presented two original productions, the lonely book, and Marginalia @ 40.  Co-founders/Directors, Daniel Kubert and Dustin Witte, are now excited to present this benefit, as their company moves forward, and prepare to announce its first full season of productions (2012-2013).

The performance will feature original movement and choreography, stories, some well-known holiday songs, words of wisdom, and a few surprises.  The talented cast of “A Holiday Centerpiece includes Andy Dillehay, Elizabeth Govaerts, Daniel Kubert, Vince Learned, Ciara McCormack, Corey McKenna, Jamie Pruden, Ladd Wendelin, and Dustin Witte.  The performance is based on gathering together during this time of year to share with each other many things; generosity, laughter, fellowship, compassion, and wisdom.

Audience members are invited to bring a written or visual representation of words of wisdom that they have learned or live by.  These will be incorporated into the performance. 

“A Holiday Centerpiece” will be presented Thursday, December 15 at the Unitarian Church, 6300 O St.  Doors open at 5:30 for waffles and the silent auction, with the performance starting at 6:30.  The cost is $6.00 per person.  For more information call 402.474.5745 or find OmniArts nebraska on Facebook.

 

"Christmas Pageant" the best ever at Lincoln Playhouse

By Ladd Wendelin

In Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, two often-overlooked spirits appear in Stave Three, out from under the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present, an impoverished boy and a girl by the names of Ignorance and Want. Dickens describes them as “yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish…Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing.”

With a flourish of his pen, Dickens also seems to have created the initial character sketches for what would become Barbara Robinson’s ragtag gang of juvenile delinquent siblings, The Herdmans, in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which runs now through December 18^th at the Lincoln Community Playhouse (56^th and Normal). However, Dickens never anticipated that Ignorance and Want, symbolic characters of poverty and social inequality, would eventually take up cigar smoking and stealing lunch money, terrorize and even reinvigorate the Nativity in their own unique way.

The Herdmans are your typical troubled behavioral cases led by Imogene Herdman (Mackenzie Bretz), her four brothers, Ralph (Andrew Ojeda), Leroy (Nick Fullerton), Claude (Matt Loudon), Ollie (Jack Christenson), and the youngest Gladys (Ingrid Gessert). Having made a name for themselves in the school hallways through random acts of assault and battery, the Herdmans catch wind of the annual Christmas pageant. Chaos soon plagues the rehearsals leading up to the performance.

Director Summer Wildham and a large cast of youngsters bring plenty of zip and energy to their individual roles and the pageant itself, which is memorable, heartwarming and hilarious to say the least. There is a purity and innocence in children’s Christmas pageants that brings meaning and perspective to an always hectic month, and with some theatrical whimsy to spare, there’s little reason to resist the Playhouse’s holiday offering. Come for the Herdmans, stay for a cameo appearance by Lampchop and a dog masquerading as a sheep, not to mention excellent performances from Ingrid Gessert as Gladys, and Emily Jobson and Matthew Hakel as Beth and Charley Bradley.

In the magic and mystery of the holiday season, even the hardest of hearts, no matter what their age or criminal record, find personal redemption in the Christmas story. As the Herdmans prove, the birth of Christ was hardly an ordinary event, but the best ever.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever runs through December 18th with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thurs. – Fri., 2:00 p.m. Sat.-Sun. with an added 5:00 p.m. show on Sat, Dec. 17^th. TIckets are $10 general admission and can be purchased by calling the box office at 402-489-7529 or order online at www.lincolnplayhouse.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science Odyssey: Astronomers Discover the Biggest Black Holes Ever

By Clay Farris Naff

Black holes are the most exotic objects in the universe, and until recently their very existence was a matter of debate. Now, a team of astronomers reports finding a pair of them weighing in at 10 billion solar masses each. If you take their event horizons -- the boundary past which nothing that falls in can ever re-emerge -- these are by far the biggest black holes ever found.

In Part 1, we talk with astronomy graduate student Nicholas McConnell of the University of California - Berkeley, who is the lead author of the paper announcing the discovery. In Part 2, we hear from Professor of Astronomy and Physics Priya Natarajan of Yale University. She's a cosmological theorist who predicted the discovery and whose calculations suggest that these are the biggest that will ever be found.

Black Holes, Part 1
Black Holes, Part 2

Clay Farris Naff is (claynaff.com) is a science author and blogger whose weekly radio program, Science Odyssey, airs Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 9 a.m. CST on KZUM, Lincoln's community radio station. You can hear it over the air at 89.3 FM or on the web live at kzum.org. Clay's science and religion blog on the Huffington Post can be seen here.

MOVIE REVIEW: “Into the Abyss” of Life on Death Row

by Justin Senkbile

Werner Herzog, cinematic adventurer and all-around eccentric, continues his exploration of the American psyche in his latest film, “Into the Abyss”. And the title is fitting. With a subject as contentious and multi-layered as capital punishment, what else can one do but simply dive in and start searching around?

The film follows the case of Michael Perry and Jason Burkett, two young men convicted of murder ten years ago in a small Texas town. And the crime were particularly senseless: in the perpetrators' attempt to steal a car, three lives were taken.

As a result, the state of Texas has demanded one life in return. When we meet them, Perry is set to be executed in little over a week, and Burkett isn't up for parole until he nears 60. Both deny guilt and blame the other. Herzog talks to both of them, along with members of the victims' families, the prisoner's friends and members of local law enforcement. He also takes us, by way of a haunting bit of video from police files, on a tour through the scenes of the crime.

Herzog focuses on his subjects while he tosses up all the moral, political and existential thorns involved to let them fall where they may. What we get is a film that, by fixing its gaze on the people, complicates the capital punishment question even while elucidating all the details. Questions don't get answered here, they become compounded.

How can we mentally process a condemned man's calm insistence of innocence? And what is implied if we ignore it? What moral obligations do the victims' families have, as witnesses to the execution? Or the officers trained to strap down the prisoner in his final moments?

And what does Herzog think about all this? A fascinating figure himself, he's been as an essential character in his non-fiction work throughout the years. This is mostly because of his legendary narration: he delivers some very unusual, cryptic phrases with that melancholic German accent. These narrations are the spaces in his films where he ties together and underlines his ideas and themes.

But here, he only peripherally comments on who and what we're seeing, and takes the role of interviewer as his main one. Which, even while a few of his questions indicate his stance on the issue, makes for a striking sense of objectivity. So when we finally emerge from Herzog's “Abyss”, the thoughts and questions we're left wrestling with are our own.

“Into the Abyss” is playing at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13^th and R streets, through December 15^t

 

In Short – Week of Dec. 5th – Dec. 10th

MONDAY - DECEMBER 5^th : OPEN STAGE AT BOURBON THEATRE

Formed in 2004, Saviours are the end product of a “vision-quest” by guitarist/vocalist Austin Barber and drummer Scott Batiste. An ipecac reaction to the sorry state of heavy music, they aimed to assemble an epically heavy, crushingly loud band that would reinvigorate their love for excessive volume.

The band’s home base of Oakland, long since a hotbed for landmark metal and crust bands such as El Dopa, Neurosis, and High on Fire, provided the decay and terror necessary to fuel such an effort. Inspired by ’70s doom, NWOBHM, power metal and ’90s black metal, as well as that which informed West Coast hardcore punk and skate culture (think Black Flag and groups like BL’AST! and Poison Idea), Saviours fortify the positions originally suggested on their debut EPWarship and first album Crucifire with Into Abaddon, its punishing riffage and Barber’s venomous lyrics leading the charge. Rounded out by former Watch Them Die guitarist Sonny Reinhardt and bassist Carson Binks , Saviours provoke a violent response to all in metal that does not ring true.

They will be playing at the Bourbon Theatre at 8:00pm. Cover is only $7.00 so don’t miss out.

TUESDAY – DECEMBER 6th: THE NEBRASKA POWER FARMING SHOW

The fastest growing farming show in the U.S. revs up its tractors at the Lancaster Event Center. It features 144 new exhibitors and over 1700 booths dedicated to improving the agricultural welfare of Nebraska. The show lasts all day (9:00am – 4:00pm) and you can take a look at their event prospectus at http://www.nebraskapowershow.com/

WEDNESDAY – DECEMBER 7^th: BOBBY LAYNE ORCHESTRA

Bobby Layne & his Orchestra perform about 200 nights every year, traveling throughout the U.S. (including Hawaii), Canada and the Caribbean.

Their music bridges the generations from the 1930's to the present: swing, tangos, sambas, waltzes, show tunes and a bit of rock. For dancers and listeners alike, the Bobby Layne Orchestra with featured vocalist Trudy DuMay delivers an entertainment experience you won't forget.

They will be performing at Pla More Ballroom (6600 West O St.) from 7:00-10:00, so don’t miss out!

THURSDAY – DECEMBER 8^th:  LEAGUE OF WOMAN VOTERS LUNCH & LEARN

Margaret Jacobs is Nebraska’s foremost expert on Gender Studies. She teaches at the university and will be holding an in-depth discussion on the forced removal of indigenous children from their families and their assimilation into white society. The talk will be from her new book on the subject, “White Mother to a Dark Race”.

Margaret Jacobs will discuss Treatment of Indigenous Peoples at 12:00 pm at the Holiday Inn Downtown, 141 9th Street. Cost is $13 members, $15 non-members: includes speaker, buffet lunch, tax, and gratuity. Binding reservations are due noon, Monday, December 5th and may be made by emailing lwv-@inebraska.com or by calling 402- 475-1411, leaving name, number of reservations R, and contact information (phone and email). Reservations must be honored.

FRIDAY – DECEMBER 9^th : A FAMILY SHOW WITH RYAN AND FRIENDS

Ryan Bomgardner is a full time ventriloquist and comedian. Each year, he performs over 130 shows across the United States. Ryan’s performances range from corporate banquets and churches to concerts, cruises, and TV appearances. When he is not performing live, Ryan contributes humorous articles for an East Coast Magazine and has most recently been asked to create a TV show for national syndication. Please get ready to laugh as we welcome… Ryan & Friends, 6:30pm at the Rococo Theatre!

All ages welcome!

SATURDAY – DECEMBER 10^th : SAM THE TENREC

Monthly interactive storytime that allows children to connect with animals. This month, IndiZOO will present a tenrec named Sam from the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Tenrecs are native to the island of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa. Some tenrec species resemble hedgehogs with a coat that is a mix of hair, spines and bristles. Tenrecs are nocturnal and eat mainly insects.

Children will learn about Sam's life through three tenrec-related stories. Children can ask questions and interact with Sam. After the presentation, children will make a tenrec-themed craft they can take home to remember their experience.

Indigo Books and Café at 701 P St.

Storytime starts at 10:00am