Love of literacy brings community of Colusa together

While the roar of the 1920s may have quieted nearly a century ago, the spirit of the decade was alive and well in Colusa last week as the Virginia Yerxa Community Read Committee (VYCRC) hosted its annual community read event Thursday through Saturday to honor F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great

Gatsby.”

Each year since 2010, the VYCRC has chosen a literary work and organized a series of community events based on the piece to promote literacy within Colusa and honor longtime resident Virginia Yerxa, whose long-standing mission was to promote literacy to the community’s youth.

“The idea behind the Virginia

Read has always been to encourage a community-wide celebration, which has historically included a lot of fun events around the book selection,” said Stacey Costello, Virginia Yerxa Community Read Day committee member and organizer of the event.

This year’s event was expanded to feature activities over the course of three days, starting with a director’s talk and viewing of the documentary “Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story” at the main branch of the Colusa County Free Library on Thursday evening.

“We know the book, we know the films and series, but do we know the truth?,” read a statement by organizers. “Told by Sam Waterston, this 72-minute documentary tracks down the mystery millionaire who threw extravagant parties, uncovers new evidence of the location and players and digs deep to discover the untold story of the real-life Jay Gatsby himself.”

On Friday, a “Book Club with a twist” event was held at Rocco’s Bar and Grill. The first-of-its-kind event to be hosted during the community read day festivities, the event guided attendees through a series of book discussion prompts while learning to make and enjoy a cocktail worthy of a Gatsby party.

“It was really a fun event, where we encouraged the participants to not sit with who they came with and then made them switch tables and discussion groups every 1015 minutes,” said Costello. “The conversations were lively and a lot of fun.”

On Saturday, the grand culmination of events began with a musical journey back to the 1920s performed by the Pierce High School Jazz Ensemble followed by “A Glimpse of Gatsby,” performed by The Stagehands.

“The actors were incredible and we really hope that the 10-minute performance encourages others to participate in the community theater group,” said Costello. “Between the Pierce High School Jazz Ensemble and the Stagehands performance, the tone was really set for a fantastic day.”

Each year, the committee also brings in a scholar whose work relates to that year’s literature, so UC Davis English professor Dr. Matthew Stratton led a lecture using notes from the late Dr. Peter Hays, who was scheduled to speak prior to his death.

“Dr. Stratton read the lecture and inserted really interesting perspectives and notes as he went along,” said Costello. “The audience was really engaged and asked really great questions. Dr. Hays’ widow Mrs. Myrna Hays attended as well, and we felt very honored to have had her with us at the event and cannot thank her enough for allowing Dr. Stratton to read her husband’s lecture.”

After the lecture, about 30 people set out on the “Walk With Gatsby” walking tour, which was organized by the Heritage Preservation Commission.

According to event organizers, the tour was created by the

Heritage Preservation Commission and VYCRC using images and information from Jane Foster Carter’s award winning book “If the walls could talk: Colusa’s architectural heritage,” which was published in 1988.

According to Costello, stops on the tour included discussion questions and interesting architectural history culled from the book.

“The book is being reprinted this fall. Those interested in pre-ordering a copy can come by the library to obtain the order form,” said Costello. “The walking tour also stopped in at the Friends Around the Block Quilt Shop to view the incredible Quilt Challenge entries.”

Saturday’s festivities ended at Friendship Hall in Colusa where the Garden Club of Colusa County hosted an art deco floral design class led by nationally acclaimed flower show judge and award winning arranger Susi Gillum.

Costello said around 50 people came and made beautiful arrangements from flowers purchased by the Garden Club and many more that were culled from local gardens.

“Each event more than met the committee’s expectation, and I am not sure if one was more popular than others,” said Costello. “They were all really well attended and the right size. People felt really engaged and delighted by the variety.”

The annual Virginia Yerxa Community Read Day is traditionally held on the last Saturday in April.

The annual community read book selections are announced each December and the committee accepts recommendations from the community.

For more information or to make a recommendation, visit www. virginiaread.net.