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THURSDAY DECEMBER 3, 2015 H B O C AG E • C O U N T RY C LU B • H I G H L A N D • J E F F E R S O N T E R R AC E • K E N I LW O R T H • P E R K I N S • U N I V E R S I T Y C LU B THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff
ON THE SOUTHSIDE
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Sign up for holiday camps Registration for BREC’s winter holiday camps ends Dec. 11. Camp for ages 6 to 12 will be held at Mayfair Park from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 21-31, with halfdays on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. There will be no camp Dec. 25. Cost is $98 per child or $14 per day. Call (225) 272-9200 or visit brec.org/holidaycamps for details.
musical moments Donated iPods can soothe
Alzheimer’s, dementia patients Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH
Kaden Perrault, right, 12, Brusly Middle School student, and East Baton Rouge Parish Library staff member Elaine Boudreaux work on Perrault’s hex nut bracelet at the teen programs workshop on making jewelry from hardware on Nov. 24 at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Main Branch.
Festival of Lights
Baton Rouge’s oldest holiday tradition brightens up North Boulevard from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday with the annual Christmas lighting, a 35-foot Christmas tree in Town Square, Bethlehem Village where children can craft ornaments and decorations and a train ride on the Mansion Express at the Old Governor’s Mansion. The evening of visual, culinary and performing arts also features Santa’s Gift Shoppe and holiday music.
ORDINARY OBJECTS TURN
EXTRAORDINARY
Workshop puts youths’ bling fingers to the test
BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Handprint reindeer
A story and craft time for children ages 5 to 8 will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library. Listen to a reading of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Robert L. May, then create a handprint reindeer. Registration is required. Call (225) 763-2240 to sign up.
A Rural Life Christmas
The LSU Rural Life Museum, 4560 Essen Lane, will host its 19th-century Louisiana Christmas celebration from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, featuring musical groups, demonstrating artisans, storytellers and costumed re-enactors. The celebration will wrap up with a bonfire and a visit from Papa Noel. Regular admission fees apply. Children age 10 and younger admitted free.
Teen Council to meet
Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library’s Teen Council meets from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday. Teens are welcome to stop by and pitch their ideas for future programs. Refreshments will be served.
Zoo & Me Mornings
“Reindeer Games” is the theme of this month’s Zoo & Me Mornings at Baton Rouge Zoo, slated for 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The program is designed by zoo staff for children ages 3 to 5, accompanied by a parent or guardian. Activities include a train ride, animal encounters, art projects and snacks. Cost is $18 per child with one parent or guardian or $30 for two children with one parent or guardian. Space is limited and preregistration is required; call (225) 757-3877.
Nintendo tournament
A Nintendo tournament äSee AROUND, page 3E
Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH
Bridget Sonnier-Hillis, psychology instructor at Baton Rouge Community College, counts the iPods donated to the school’s Music and Memory drive. Student and teachers in the Social Sciences department at BRCC collected 37 iPods and $550 in iTunes gift cards.
BY C.J. FUTCH
homes across the United States. Sonnier-Hillis, psychology instructor at Baton Rouge Community College, learned of the program Bridget Sonnier-Hillis began pulling iPods of near- when, as part of a series of events on campus to recly every generation out of a box on her desk, one of ognize Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, the school hosted a screening of the documentary “Alive Inthem still in its original packaging, never opened. The donated iPods were part of a nearly month- side: A story of Music and Memory,” about how long drive to collect technology destined for a land- people with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related fill, and redirect them to Music & Memory, a nonprofit group that distributes the players to nursing äSee MUSIC, page 4G cfutch@theadvocate.com
Special workshop in the works DSAG to host two days of programs BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Coming off the success of their 15th annual Buddy Walk last month, the Down Syndrome Awareness Group of Baton Rouge’s membership is busy again, planning a unique workshop for people of all ages with Down syndrome, their families, teachers, therapists and friends, said Duane Lee with DSAG. “This is our third year to present the workshop, and we think it keeps getting better ev-
ery year,” Lee said. Lee said he and Veronica Crow, who chairs the workshop committee, try to choose topics and speakers that its membership wants, needs, and may not otherwise get a chance to hear. “We try to offer a wide variety of programs for different age groups with Down syndrome, for parents and caregivers, for educators and professionals,” Crow said. This year’s speakers are Brian Skotko and Sue Levine, co-authors of the book “Fasten Your Seatbelt: A Crash Course on Down Syndrome for Brothers and Sisters,” Crow said. “They’re nationally known, so we’re really excited to get
them here,” she said. The workshop, set for Jan. 22 and 23 at Pennington Biomedical Center, will also include a self-advocacy track for participants with Down syndrome including self-defense, art and dance, she said. Other tracks will be for siblings of those with Down syndrome and parents. Skotko and Levine will speak to siblings ages 7 and up, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 22. The remainder of the workshop will resume at 8 a.m. Jan. 23. For more information on exhibiting, sponsoring or attending, contact veronica.crow@ dsagbr.org or cheriseknapp@ gmail.com.
Brusly Middle School student Kaden Perrault, 12, sat quietly at a table in the East Baton Rouge Library Main branch teen room Nov. 24, trying to line a series of hex nuts up perfectly in a braid of leather string. “You really need a third thumb, don’t you, to keep everything tight,” said Elaine Boudreaux, library staff member conducting the workshop on creating jewelry from hardware. Perrault and Boudreaux kept running into the same issue with the project: If the braid wasn’t held tight as the hex nuts were incorporated on alternating sides, the hardware didn’t line up, and the bracelet became a jumbled mess. After a couple of false starts, the two got into the rhythm of the project, and soon, Perrault had a shiny metal line that resembled a perfect backbone. It was difficult, Perrault said, but ultimately worth the finished product, as he put the bracelet on, adjusted the length, and tied it off. Boudreaux moved on to the next participant, Olivia Zachary, 11, a homeschool student, who was working on the same project. This is the most difficult of the planned projects, Boudreaux said, but she encouraged all the students who participated to use the materials donated by Goodwood Hardware to be creative, and come up with their own projects, too. Alexis San Miguel, 13, a Westdale Middle student, did just that, playing around with different hex nut and washer configurations on a braided string of her own. Perrault used the remainder of his time to work on a backpack zipper pull he braided out of brown leather string, while a few other students wandered in to peruse the craft supplies. The goal of the workshop, and all workshops like these, Boudreaux said, is to foster creative expression and ingenuity, and to teach teen patrons how to look at ordinary objects in new ways. For more information on library programming for the holidays at the main branch at Goodwood, and all other branches, visit the library’s website, www.ebrpl. com.
Santa to visit St. George in Fire Dept.’s parade Advocate staff report St. George Fire Department’s annual Santa Claus parades will leave the fire stations to roll down Airline Highway at 10 a.m. Dec. 5 and Dec 12 and at noon Dec. 6 and Dec. 13. For a listing and schedule of which neighborhoods will be visited by Santa and the fire trucks, visit stgeorgefire.com. All units are on-duty fire engines and subject to emergency calls, a news release said. The fire department once again will partner with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and Christmas for Challenged Children to collect food
for those in need and new, unwrapped toys for the physically challenged children served by Christmas for Challenged Children. Parents are urged not to allow children to approach the fire engine with Santa and don’t run alongside or between the vehicles. All donations should be handed to the volunteers in the vehicles behind Santa’s fire truck. Collection barrels also will be set up at each St. George Fire Station. Monetary donations will be accepted, as well. Checks should be made out to the charities.