Hello, fellow dreamers! It’s almost feeling as if spring (and Dream Flags) are finally here. For resources on how to decorate your flags, put them on a line, or anything else (!) please check out the web site where we’ve posted some new resources and news.
This year is our fifth anniversary regional celebration of The Dream Flag Project on Saturday, April 19th in Commonwealth Plaza (atrium) at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. We hope each and every one of you can come and join in the celebration of our students’ work in this fabulous space. There will be improvisational music and percussion, reading by representative student poets from each school or group attending, and our symbolic joining of the Dream Flag Lines across all of the three balcony levels surrounding the Kimmel Center glass atrium. It’s a sight that inspires us year after year.
Who can come? What
will happen?
The Kimmel event is free and open to the public. Everyone may attend. Each
school may select two representative
student poets to read from the Commonwealth Plaza stage. (This is a change to
help make our program more friendly--read “shorter”-- for our younger audience
members.) Schools are also invited to bring as many Dream Flags as they wish
for display around the Kimmel. The formal program runs from 12-1:30. Here’s
what happens:
Setting up the Dream Flags starts at 10:30, so an adult from your school must be there with all of your flags by then to register your school and help set up. Students and other adults need to arrive before 11:30 to get oriented.
New, Optional, Pre-Program
Activities
We also have some special fifth anniversary optional additions
we hope you’ll like. We wanted ways to have more focus on student and their
work, so there will be two new opportunities. Both will happen from 10:45-11:45
before the formal program starts at noon.
School Display Tables
Schools who sign up for it will have display space in the Kimmel lobby to
exhibit materials highlighting the
school and its poets. Things to display could include photos, a binder of all
student poems, copies of poems for students to hand out, information about your
school, etc.—anything that shows how the dreams take off and fly at your
school! Set up will be at 10:30. There has to be at least one adult monitoring
your display from 10:45-11:45.
Space may be limited, so please reply below if you’re interested. We have to allot it on a
“first-come-first-served” basis.
“Open Mike” Poetry Reading
Students who have copies of their poems (and are not reading from the “main
stage”) may read them informally from a podium that will be setup up in the
lobby. We will have as many readers as we can between 10:45 and 11:45. There
will not actually be a mike, but the audience will be able to stand up close
and listen—another great way to hear the dreams.
For even more details (such as directions, parking, etc.), check out our 2008 Dream Flags Calendar and see our Kimmel Center Celebration FAQ below.
Will you be coming?
We would love to see everyone there. For our planning purposes, we need to
hear from every single school or group by
April 1.
If you’re on vacation next week,
please let us know when you come back.
If you’re on vacation the week after,
please let us know before you go (if at all possible).
*Here’s what we need to know. Please tell us as much as you
know at this time.
Please REPLY to this email and write your answers below:
*Do you expect your
school to attend the April 19 event with your Dream Flags?:
*About how many Dream
Flags do you expect to bring?:
*Do you expect to
have 2 student readers? (You don’t have to know who they are at this point.):
Would you like to
have display table space?:
Do you think your students might participate in the “open mike?”:
We’ve got to say once again just what an exciting privilege it is to work with so many dedicated, inspiring, and fun teachers. Thank you for everything you do. We hope you have an awesome spring break whenever it is, and we hope we can see you in person on April 19th.
Yours dreaming,
--Jeff & Sandy
_______________________
The Dream Flag Project
dreamflags@agnesirwin.org
610-525-8400 x1703
www.dreamflags.org
The Agnes Irwin School
Ithan Ave. and Conestoga Rd.
Rosemont, PA 19010
FAQ on Kimmel Center
Celebration
How do you choose the readers?
Why do we have to be there so early?
Who is responsible for the children?
Can students come and participate without adults?
How much time should I allow for parking on a Saturday morning?
Can we take public transportation?
What happens to the flags after the celebration?
Can we see it if we can’t come?
How
do you choose the readers?
Schools choose readers in different ways, depending on the age of the students
and other factors. First, you have to know which students definitely can
attend. From those, some schools pick names from a hat; some have students vote
to elect their two poet representatives; some award the chance to students who
seem most deserving; and some have teachers read nominated poems “blind”
(without names), and select those they consider the best.
Should we invite parents?
Yes. This is a great event for parents and families to attend. The Kimmel Center atrium is very large.
Seating, however, is limited, so parents should know they may have to stand.
Those for whom seating is a priority should try to arrive early. We will send a
sample letter for inviting parents and students soon.
How should we pack the
flags?
The best way is to accordion fold the flags and then clip them. Put them in
paper bags with your school’s name on each bag. Try to keep lines less than 20
feet or so to make packing (and displaying) easier. Leave a foot at either end
for easy tying. See our sheet of Making a Dream Flag Line for more information.
Can
we bring food?
Yes, you can bring food, and it’s definitely a good idea since your children
(and you) will be there at least from 11:30 to 1:30 or 2:00. There is some food
for sale at the Kimmel Center, but it is expensive.
Why
do we have to be there so early?
A teacher needs to be at the Kimmel with your flags by 10:30 because we
have to carefully lay out all of the flag lines in order along the balcony
floors before 12:00. We will have between 2,000 and 3,000 flags to lay out in
an hour and a half. We have an event
staff of about 20 to help schools lay out their flags in time for the start.
Students need to be there by 11:30 so they will know where to go when it’s time
to connect the flags and so they will know what to do if they are readers.
Also, being there early allows students to see and appreciate each other’s
work.
Who
is responsible for the children?
This is not a school field trip; it
is a public event. Each school is
responsible for its own students. Most schools require the parents or other
responsible adults accompany and look after each child or small group of
children. The Dream Flag Project is not responsible for any supervision of
students, and The Kimmel Center requires that students behave appropriately—no
running, loud behavior, etc.
Can
students come and participate without adults?
No. No student may participate unless he or she is accompanied by a
responsible adult. This is for safety
and to comply with Kimmel Center requirements.
Can
schools bring busses?
Yes, schools can, and they have done so in the past. Drop off is easiest
along Broad Street since it’s wider. than Spruce. Busses have to find their own
parking during the celebration. Pick-up can also be along Broad Street.
Why
is this on a Saturday?
The Kimmel Center allows us to use their space at no cost. The time they
can offer us is always a Saturday. It is part of the “Free in the Commons”
program, offering free community events each Saturday in the Commonwealth Plaza
of the Kimmel Center. This year, we
regret that we are scheduled for the first night of Passover, but hope that
families can attend evening events since our program concludes at 1:30. It was
the only available date in April, National Poetry Month.
How
much time should I allow for parking on a Saturday morning?
Allow at least 15 minutes to park, get your ticket, and comfortably walk to
the Kimmel Center. If you’re driving from the west, allow at least 20 minutes
to get from I-76 to the Kimmel Center. Traffic can be dense on Saturday
morning. There are several lots in the
area. Please see the Kimmel Center site for details.
Can
we take public transportation?
Yes,
you can. If you’re coming from the suburbs, you can take SEPTA or PATCO. You
get off at SEPTA’s Suburban Station or from PATCO station on Locust St. It is a
ten to fifteen-minute walk. If you’re in the city, you can use the Broad Street
line and get off at the Walnut-Locust stop. It’s a two-minute walk from there.
If you take the Market Street line (the El), get off at City Hall. It’s a
ten-minute walk.
What
happens to the flags after the celebration?
After the celebration concludes at 1:30, schools collect up their flags and
repack them. Schools who wish to have their flags in Dream Flag Project
exhibitions will deliver them to the registration desk. (More details on exhibitions
coming soon.) Others will take them home and exhibit them in their schools and
local communities.
Can
we see it if we can’t come?
Yes. We will video the celebration and post clips on our web site. We also
plan to make a DVD of it available on request for a nominal fee to cover cost.