June 2024 News

The annual Granfalloon: A Vonnegut Convergence in Bloomington, Indiana featured music and theatre performances, thematic talks and panels, literary readings and discussions, film screenings, and art exhibitions all to honor the legacy of the Hoosier author. The featured reading this year was Vonnegut's Jailbird, a novel steeped in economic justice. Through the sinookas, Vonnegut's term for intertwining tendrils of peoples' lives, stemming from Charles Bruce Foundation board member, Max Goller, this year's festival included a dedication of a Vonnegut Altar on permanent display at the Indiana University Maxwell Hall; a Jailbird book discussion conducted by Christina Jarvis; a talk on homelessness by Pat LaMarche; and a memorial service for the late author, Dan Wakefield. All of the members of this karass, another Vonnegut term meaning a group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, enjoyed the Bunny Hoover Review drag show; musical numbers from Stephen Sondheim's Assassins; a concert performance by the Young@Heart chorus; an artist talk with Nanette Vonnegut for her Bad Math art exhibition; a stroll through the Bloomington handmade market; and a main stage concert featuring Sleater-Kinney, The Linda Lindas, and My Son the Hurricane. Thanks so much to everyone responsible for bringing this event to Bloomington, Indiana and hosting all of us for this celebration.

As you can see in the article above, Granfalloon: A Vonnegut Convergence featured Jailbird as its themed reading this year. This economic justice message central to the book offered Pat LaMarche an outstanding opportunity to talk to festival attendees about the crisis of the unhoused. In what must have been a zah-mah-ki-bo, another Vonnegut term meaning inevitable destiny, Beacon elected to conduct their annual 14-hour solidarity sleepout on June 7th on the First United Methodist Church of Bloomington grounds. This was the same night as our Dan Wakefield tribute. As their Facebook page explains, "Dedicated adults, teens, and children [slept] out to raise critical funds and awareness for people experiencing homelessness in Monroe County, Indiana."

Several American Roulette co-authors, Carlisle Arts Learning Center, Charles Bruce Foundation and a whole slew of participating artists did a great job at the reception for the American Roulette: A Novel Approach to Conversations About Gun Violence art show held June 4th at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center. The exhibit of twenty art pieces ranging from digital to painting to textile even garnered attention from ABC local affiliate WHTM. You can read their story using the link below. You also have an opportunity to see the exhibition through next Sunday, June 23 at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (HMAC) 1110 N. 3rd Street, Harrisburg, PA.

If you are like me, you have probably thrown your warm winter blankets aside as summer temperatures rise. As challenging as it is to think about snuggling under a warm blanket or quilt this time of the year, it is exactly the best time to begin planning your creative blanket making for the annual Homeless Remembrance Blanket Project. If you need a little more motivation to get you started, you will see in our upcoming events section below that we are again hosting a Blanket-in-a-Day crafting event at the Carlisle Summerfair. Over a period of six hours, you can enjoy the summer warmth with friends while you craft blankets that will help the unhoused enjoy a little more warmth when the temperatures fall. Don't forget to join us at the fair on June 29th!