There is something for everyone at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library‘s Centennial Celebration:

When: Saturday, February 11, 11am to 5pm
Where: Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Avenue (south of Alameda)
Who: All ages!
Learn more about the Arizona Centennial at AZ 100 Years.

Children will enjoy the family storytime at 11am followed by a craft and Happy Birthday Arizona cake. Don’t forget to take the opportunity to check out books on Arizona’s history, famous people, sports teams, and so on!
Teens will be interested in the games available in the teen room and in the display of the art, essays, letters and scrap book pages that teens have contributed to a time capsule to be sealed and not reopened again until 2062!
Adults will have an opportunity to see the debut of 18 pictures of historical Tucson barrios that will go on permanent display in the Joel D. Valdez Main Library. There will be talks by local historians on the history of Tucson and Arizona place names. Enjoy a reception between the talks with refreshments provided by local barrio businesses such as El Charro and La Caves.

On Saturdays parking is free on the streets and in the city garage beneath the library, accessed via Alameda Street.

As part of the celebration, we will also be unveiling a new photo exhibit honoring the history and heritage of Tucson’s barrios. This exhibit has been made possible through a collaboration with the Arizona Historical Society and this program is made possible by the Arizona Humanities Council.

Saturday, February 11, 2012
11:00am – 1:00pm
In celebration of the Centennial, we will have a Family Storytime beginning at 11 am with Happy Birthday Arizona cake afterwards!

1:00pm – 2:15pm
Dr. Lydia Otero of The University of Arizona’s Department of Mexican American Studies will discuss Tucson’s barrios and her book La Calle. A book signing will follow.

2:15pm – 3:30pm
Enjoy a gala reception with refreshments from local business such as El Charro and Le Caves.
3:30pm – 5:00pm
Place names are like fossil poetry – they afford a kind of folk history, a snapshot in time that enables us to read them and reconstruct how members of a culture in the past assigned names to the places they saw. The U.S. has over 3.5 million place names, and there is no part of the world where nomenclature is so rich, poetic, humorous, and picturesque – a tradition to which Arizona has had more than its share of contributions. In this presentation, Gregory McNamee examines the history of Arizona place names, from Ali Shonak to Zephyr, using lively anecdotes to discuss the little-known stories behind names on the land.
A Second Saturdays Event. An Arizona Centennial Event.

For more events downtown on February 11 (plus 2nd Saturday Downtown) and February 12, read my blog from yesterday (click here).

Happy Early Birthday Arizona on February 14, 2012.