Updates from the GAS Newsletter…Info You Should Know

Carmen Vetter

Just got the new GAS newsletter in the mail so I thought I’d share some of the information they are providing in it in case you haven’t received yours. If you have any important glass information you’d like to share with the newsletter people you need to contact them by December 1st for the March 2010 issue. Email to [email protected]. I’m not listing everything in the newsletter in this post but will try to get it all out throughout the upcoming week or two.

Boyd Sugiki

First thing I’ll let you know about is an upcoming conference…The Midwest Glass Experience that’s being held at the Third Degree Glass Factory, February 12-14, 2010. For info contact [email protected]. I’ve posted about the Third DegreeGlass Factory in the past. This could definitely be a glass good time. There will be lectures and workshops…

Or how about a one or two month apprenticeship in Tuscany? Uh, yeah!! Check out www.glassisland.com to find out more information. This looks very interesting. If any of you do this please let me know so I can write about it!

And finally…for this post, Remarkable Glass is an upcoming show at Broadfield House Glass Museum c/o Contemporary Glass Society in England and they’re looking for artists. For more information on this show contact www.cgs.org.uk.

Hope this info helps inform you…

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

Have you read?