The next One Book Bradford event is just the ticket for an enjoyable afternoon for area readers.
The OBB committee is conducting “A Place at the Table Luncheon” starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
Tickets to the luncheon are now available and can be purchased at the Bradford Area Public Library or from a member of the One Book Bradford committee. The cost is $15; all of the proceeds will to go to the One Book Bradford project.
The luncheon includes chicken caesar salad, Italian wedding soup, a roll, beverages and cream puffs.
The program for the afternoon consists of two parts.
Members of the Bradford Little Theatre will do dramatic readings of letters from children who rode the orphan trains.
“We are very pleased to join forces with Bradford Little Theatre again for one of our activities,” said Sandy Rhodes, a member of the OBB committee. “These are a group of talented local thespians who will enhance our luncheon tremendously.”
Also, John Policastro from Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems will offer insight into the plight of orphans as it related to and impacted the Bradford community during the time of the orphan trains.
“Beacon Light has been an important part of our local history,” Rhodes said. “The information John will share will surely be interesting and impactful.”
OBB is a community-wide reading initiative where one book is selected each season.
This year’s selection – “Orphan Train” – is an award-winning novel that deals with orphaned, abandoned or homeless children who were sent from the East Coast to the rural Midwest to be raised by foster families between 1854 and 1929.
“A Place at the Table Luncheon” is the second event in the OBB season, which will culminate in a visit to Bradford by the author.
Christina Baker Kline will speak in Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall on the Pitt-Bradford campus on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
Her visit is funded by the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Spectrum Arts Series and freshman seminar.
Tickets for the luncheon will remain on sale until Wednesday, Oct. 14.