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News Release

04/07/08
Kite Exhibit to Complement Ben Franklin Exhibition | all related events

Renowned local kite-maker Tom Casselman will install a number of kites, including a large kite depicting the history of kites, in Providence Public Library’s (PPL) Central Library Lippitt Exhibit Hall and adjacent atrium on the first floor in conjunction with the coming “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of Better World” exhibition to open this weekend (Sunday, April 13). Casselman is a renowned international kite maker and designer. As the founder of the Black Ships Kite Festival, he brought teams of kit flyers from Japan to Newport, RI. He serves as vice chair of the International Kite Federation based in Weifang, China. Tom has flown the world’s largest kite, measuring 60 feet wide, 180 fee long, and 40 feet tall out of the parking lot of Epcot Center in Orlando, FL.

Casselman is one of a number of program presenters coming to Providence Public Library as part of free programs and events offered in conjunction with the national traveling exhibit, which will be at PPL through May 23. Casselman will present two free Family Kite-Making Workshops on Sunday, May 13 (registration required).

The Exhibit will open on Sunday, April 13 at 2:00 PM at PPL, 150 Empire Street. The Library’s 225 Washington Street entrance will also be open from 1:00 – 5:00 PM on this day to commemorate the Exhibit’s official Opening. In addition to opening remarks by Brown University’s Gordon Wood in Lippitt Hall at 2:00 PM, Franklin portrayer Bill Ochester, of Philadelphia, will present “Ben Franklin” A 300-Year-Old Man Speaks at 3:00 PM. Guest members of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment will also be on hand dressed in 18th century garb.

The Benjamin Franklin Exhibit tells the remarkable story of the man who began his life as a poor printer’s apprentice and ended it as a revered elder statesmen known throughout the world for his wisdom, wit, and resourcefulness. Benjamin Franklin’s achievements in diplomacy, science, philanthropy and other fields profoundly influenced the path of a new nation and continue to inspire us more than 300 years after his birth.

Organized by the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, Philadelphia, in cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World” was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Special free programs and events planned in conjunction with the exhibition’s visit to Rhode Island are presented by National Grid and also sponsored by the Rhode Island Freemasons and WJAR-10.

Ben Franklin Exhibit Programs & Events at Providence Public Library

Providence Public Library is committed to providing quality programming on a variety of educational topics. The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the individual presenters and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Library. We welcome community members to work with us to provide free, thought-provoking events of interest.