Celebrate Hispanic heritage at library

Submitted by Gail Borden Library

The fourth annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 at Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin.

The free celebration is open to the community and will feature performances by Projecto 7 playing Latin jazz, folkloric dance by Ballet Girasol and Somos Colombia, a mariachi band from Elgin Area School District U-46, “One-Man Mariachi” Miguel Nuño and professional salsa dancers.

The event also will feature children’s crafts, stories and puppet show, information tables and empanadas from Elgin Community College.

This year’s theme, “The Cultures We Carry,” is based on The Big Read project created around Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam War novel, “The Things They Carried.” To follow the theme, Hispanic veterans will be recognized at a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. A photo exhibit titled “The Objects We Carry” will be on display. It will showcase local residents with objects they brought, or were passed down to them, from their country of origin.

Another component of Hispanic Heritage Month at the library is “The Recipes We Carry Swap.” The community is invited to share a recipe with others by filling in a recipe card available in the main library’s lobby. All recipes will be posted at the Oct. 12 celebration.

Other programs will take place at the library as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. A program featuring recipes from Hispanic cultures and cooking demonstrations, called “The Recipes We Carry,” will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Meadows Community Rooms. The program is free but participants must register by calling (847) 429-4597, online at www.gailborden.info or in person.