Stories in Action

Making the film festival circuit is Kevin Bender’s “Thinking Grande!,” his California Documentary Project film about one man’s efforts to re-create a Mexican village in rural Santa Barbara County. Be sure to catch the documentary on the closing day of the San Diego Latino Film Festival, Sun. March 16 at 3 pm.

The California Council for the Humanities is pleased to announce that Ralph Lewin has been named the new executive director. Lewin replaces James Quay, who is retiring in March. More…

More than 40 California libraries applied to participate in the Council’s new “How I See It: My Place” teen photography program, to take place this summer and fall. Decisions will be announced by Feb. 22. The project, directed by CCH’s Felicia Kelley, aims to engage young people in thinking in a new way about the world around them. It is based on the ideas of John R. Stilgoe, professor of landscape history at Harvard University. For more about Stilgoe, visit his website, or better yet, read one of his books. A good one to start with is “Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places,” which aims to turn readers into explorers of the things and places they typically overlook, from lawns and fences to malls and main streets. It may transform the way you see everything.