New Library Opens Saturday: 15 Year Dream Finally Comes True

  • Sierra Kerr and a team of Hometown Publishing interns were given a sneak preview of the new library. Squeals and wide eyes expressed their delight at what they saw inside.

    Image 1 of 5
    Sierra Kerr and a team of Hometown Publishing interns were given a sneak preview of the new library. Squeals and wide eyes expressed their delight at what they saw inside.

  • This expressionistic golden eagle sculpture at the entryway greets visitors to the new Frazier Park library with a dramatic elegance.

    Image 2 of 5
    This expressionistic golden eagle sculpture at the entryway greets visitors to the new Frazier Park library with a dramatic elegance.

  • The American Craftsman style architecture features rockwork inside and on the exterior. It is 10,000 square feet of interior space, capable of maintaining a collection of 35,000 items. It is also a lovely public building for meetings, filled with art inspired by the natural beauty of the mountain.

    Image 3 of 5
    The American Craftsman style architecture features rockwork inside and on the exterior. It is 10,000 square feet of interior space, capable of maintaining a collection of 35,000 items. It is also a lovely public building for meetings, filled with art inspired by the natural beauty of the mountain.

  • Photos by respected wildflower photographer Richard Dickey and others are featured in the design of the building.

    Image 4 of 5
    Photos by respected wildflower photographer Richard Dickey and others are featured in the design of the building.

  • UPDATE: A terrific crowd arrived to celebrate the opening of the new Frazier Park branch library. An estimated 300 people attended the ribbon cutting, with 100 to 150 more coming through the building throughout the day. It was a genuine celebration. [photos by Gary Meyer for The Mountain Enterprise]

    Image 5 of 5
    UPDATE: A terrific crowd arrived to celebrate the opening of the new Frazier Park branch library. An estimated 300 people attended the ribbon cutting, with 100 to 150 more coming through the building throughout the day. It was a genuine celebration. [photos by Gary Meyer for The Mountain Enterprise]

UPDATE, FRAZIER PARK, CA (Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 at 1 p.m)—The turnout for the ribbon cutting for the new library was enthusiastic and sizable. See photo 5 in the photos attached to this story. For the full report, see The Mountain Enterprise this Thursday and a special issue of The New Mountain Pioneer out at the end of this week.
UPDATE: Friday afternoon, a program for Saturday’s opening was released. See it below this article.

By Patric Hedlund

If it is true that a library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas,we can expect a creative tsunami in the Mountain Communities after the opening of the new Kern County Frazier Park Branch Library Saturday, Oct. 22 at 10 a.m.

The American Craftsman style building sits in what was once an oak grove across Park Drive from Frazier Mountain Park with its delightful fishing pond and venerable community center.

Inside is a collection of art and amenities based on local natural themes—wildflowers, river rocks, condors, monarch butterflies and images from the Chumash heritage of these mountains. The impact is a festival of imagination rooted in the aesthetic of these mountains.

The mixture of the new and the old thrilled a team of Hometown Publishing interns during a preview tour with Kern County Director of Libraries Diane Duquette who has worked on this project for 15 years.

Amid squeals of discovery by Sierra Kerr and wide-eyed appreciative grins by Joseph Chavez, they called it “that new library smell,” then angled to schedule a group sleepover in this treasure of a public building.

RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY Saturday, Oct. 22 at 10 a.m.

10 a.m. Welcome

Color Guard and Flag Salute VFW Post 9791

Bethel Bilesbach: America the Beautiful accompanied by Brian Leonard, Violinist

Introduction of dignitaries and Frazier Park Branch staff
Ben McFarland Congressman McCArthy’s Field Representative
Katie Kleier, Supt, El Tejon Unified School District
John Fleming President ETUSD
Teresa Thompson (Branch Superisor), Theresa Becker, David Yonaki, Christina Kearns-Brown (Branch Staff)

Speakers:
Ray Watson , Kern County 4th District Supervisor
Gerry Maginnity, Bureau Chief, California State Library, representing State Librarian, Stacy Aldrich
Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, 32nd Assembly District
Diane Duquette , Kern County Director of Libraries

Chumash Blessing with Alan “Spirit Hawk” Salazar and Sarah Jane “SunJay” Owen, and Frazier Mountain High School Drum Line

Ribbon Cutting, Library Cheer by Frazier Mountain High School Cheerleaders

Refreshments:
Starbuck’s Coffees, Jeff Mowry’s Homemade Donuts, Nancy C. Hurst’s Apple Cider and Chocolate Chip Cookies, Mixed Nuts – Charlene Ohlrich and other baked goods*
Servers: Starbucks Coffee, Charlene and Paul Kalamen, Nancy C. Hurst., Candy Posson and Girl Scout Troop 257 juniors: Mikayla Tondreau, Jesse Husbands, Isabella Sanchez and Jennifer Ramirez, Troop Leader.

GRAND OPENING PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Classical Music
Classical music with Brian Leonard, Violinist and Renee Vanasse,* Pianist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra to play a repertoire of classical music.
1 p.m. Christine Kearns-Brown, poem: If You Build It, They Will Come"
1:10 p.m. Jane Prather, PhD Emeritus Professor of Sociology CSUN "The Importance of Libraries in our Society"

2-3:30 p.m. Family storytelling with local community volunteer storytellers and actors Robin Holmes, Pam McGee and David Stenstrom and Alan “Spirit Hawk” Salazer

Acknowledgments

 

A special thanks to our event speakers, performers, participants, and sponsors including

library support groups, government agencies, businesses, groups, individuals, and volunteers

Kern County Board of Supervisors
Kern County Library

Friends of the Frazier Park Branch Library

Kern County Library Foundation

Jane Prather, Ph.D.

Christine Kearns-Brown

Robin Holmes, Pam McGee and David Stenstrom

Starbucks

Nancy C. Hurst, Charlene Ohlrich, Paul Kalamen, and Candy Posson

Girl Scout Troop #257 “Juniors” Mikayla Tondreau, Jesse Husbands,

Isabella Sanchez and Jennifer Ramirez, Troop Leader

El Tejon Unified School District

Frazier Mountain High School Drumline and Cheerleaders

VFW Post #9791 A.J. Durocher, Wilford Bummer, Don Turner

Bethel Billesbach

Brian Leonard, Violinist and Renee Vanasse, Pianist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

Jeff Mowry, Broker/Owner Jennings Realty

Michelle Maga

CalNeva Broadband

The Mountain Enterprise

Photographers – David Schindler, Charles D. Noble, Paul D. Dean, Barry Allen Ailetcher, Katy Penland,

Richard A. Walter, and Russell Orrell

*(partially sponsored by Frazier Park Friends of the Library)

 

This is part of the October 21, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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