Georgia Shakespeare Festival celebrates Shakespeare's birthday

Internationally acclaimed storyteller and author Carmen Agra Deedy will be on hand to help Georgia Shakespeare Festival celebrate Shakespeare's birthday (his 437th, or thereabouts).

Festivities take place Saturday, April 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Conant Performing Arts Center on the campus of Oglethorpe University (4484 Peachtree Rd. NE). This free, family-oriented event features story-telling by Carmen Agra Deedy, arts and crafts, games, a Maypole and an appearance by "Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I," who ruled in Shakespeare's day. Birthday cake will be served.

For more information on Shakespeare's birthday, call 404-264-0020 or visit www.gashakespeare.org.

"Shakespeare's birthday is a fun way for families to spend a Saturday afternoon," said Festival education director Kathleen McManus. "Children have the opportunity to build their own Globe Theater, dress up in Elizabethan costumes, dance around the Maypole and learn a little bit about Shakespeare, while still having fun. Both adults and children will delight in the storytelling of Carmen Agra Deedy, a local artist heard regularly on National Public Radio, who will interpret one of Shakespeare's great plays at 1 p.m."

The author of "The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark," Carmen Agra Deedy has received critical acclaim for this children's book which focuses on issues surrounding the Holocaust. USA Today called the book "a graceful and moving exploration of moral courage" and it was recently selected as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People for 2001. Her book "Growing Up Cuban In Decatur, Georgia" was a 1996 Parents' Choice Gold Award winner. "The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark" is available through Peachtree Publishers.

Georgia Shakespeare Festival is the professional theater in residence at Oglethorpe University, and performs in the state-of-the-art Conant Performing Arts Center, 4484 Peachtree Rd. NE, Atlanta.

The Festival's 2001 season runs from June through November, and includes Peter Shaffer's "Amadeus" as well as Shakespeare's "As You Like It," "The Winter's Tale" and "Julius Caesar." Subscriptions are available for as low as $40. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early and picnic on the landscaped grounds. For information call 404-264-0020 or visit www.gashakespeare.org.

Alembik, Fine and Callner is Georgia Shakespeare Festival's 2001 season sponsor and sustaining patron. Shakespeare's birthday is sponsored by The Junior League of Atlanta.