April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 25, 2010
Friends: On Friday and Saturday, April 24-25, 2010, I was a featured storyteller at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. I flew into Wichita and Downs is a 3-hour drive from Wichita. Gary and Glennys Doane, who are festival organizers, picked me up. I stayed with Margaret Bellmaier, a 95 year old woman who [...]
April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 23, 2010
On Wednesday, I performed at the Bay St. Louis Library in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina destroyed the library and it was rebuilt. The children’s section was breathtaking. It is designed in a fairytale theme complete with Rapunzel in the tower, Peter Rabbit, and a gingerbread house that children can enter and play or [...]
April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 20, 2010
Friends: On Monday, April 19, 2010, I visited Zachary Elementary in Zachary, Louisiana and performed for the entire school of second and third graders. My illustrator for Mama’s Bayou, Holly Stone-Barker, is the artist-in-residence at the school. Her sister, Heather Stone, a second grade teacher, arranged my visit. I started with telling The Cajun Cornbread [...]
April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 18, 2010
Friends: On Saturday, I was the keynote speaker for the Zachary Area Reading Council (ZARC) in Zachary, Louisiana. They are a chapter of the International Reading Association. I spoke and gave two break-out sessions, “Handmade Tales,” and “Story Fest.” In my “Handmade Tales” workshop, I taught the teachers several make and take tales that they [...]
April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 18, 2010
Friends: What a busy week it’s been! I attended the Texas Library Association Conference in San Antonio, Texas with my two illustrators, Marita Gentry and Holly Stone-Barker. My days were non-stop, running from book signing to book signing. I signed at both of my publishers, ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited and Pelican Publishing Company. The only time [...]
April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 13, 2010
Friends: I attended the Get Motivated! Seminar at the New Orleans Arena on Monday, April 12, 2010. I hung out with my husband, Antonio, and my friend, Liz Reyes, a media consultant and lifestyles expert. It was a great day and I received many nuggets of wisdom from the fabulous lineup of speakers that included [...]
April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 13, 2010
Friends: On Sunday, April 11, 2010, Holly Stone-Barker and I signed copies of our book, Mama’s Bayou at A Tisket A Tasket on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. It was French Quarter Fest and business was brisk! We moved a lot of books. We met the nicest people from all over the United States [...]
April 2010
by Dianne de Las Casas on April 13, 2010
Friends: This past Saturday, I had a Mama’s Bayou BIG BASH book event at Barnes & Noble in Harvey, Louisiana with Illustrator Holly Stone-Barker. We had a wonderful crowd and performed Mama’s Bayou with children from the audience participating. Afterward, Holly demonstrated her cut paper and collage technique, creating a beautiful dragonfly. We gave away [...]