One Book kickoff brings people, pooches to Henderson Pavilion

By Jeremy Twitchell

Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008 | midnight

Hundreds of dogs treated their owners to a day of activities and fun Saturday at the kickoff carnival for the 2008 One Book Henderson at the Henderson Pavilion.

For the second annual event, the Henderson District Public Libraries is encouraging residents to read best-seller "Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog" by John Grogan during October.

The idea is to encourage interaction among residents by getting them to read the same book and then participate in discussion groups and events like the kickoff carnival and other activities. The highlight will be a talk by Grogan Oct. 26 at the Paseo Verde Library.

Henderson libraries prepared by stocking extra copies of the book in both print and audio versions and by giving out free copies at the kickoff carnival with a note that encourages people to read it and pass it on to a friend.

Henderson resident April Siercks said she was impressed by the concept and, after attending the carnival, she was interested in reading the book.

"It's a great way to strike up conversation and meet people," she said. "This is a great idea."

Siercks and her husband, Ken, said they were taking their daughter to a dance class at the Henderson Multigenerational Center next door when they saw the carnival and decided to go back and pick up their dog, Harley, and check it out.

The carnival offered entertainment, a dog costume contest, dog demonstrations and a variety of booths representing everything from traditional pet stores to dog yoga classes and all-natural dog food producers.

The event offered something for everyone, Ken Siercks said.

"I think it's pretty awesome," he said. "The show was great for the kids and it's great for the dogs to get out and do something as well. Like they were saying here earlier, there's a lot of small houses and small yards here, so it's nice for the dogs to get out and have some fun and socialize."

Library Executive Director Thomas Fay, taking in the event with his own family and dog, said he was impressed by the turnout. By noon, he estimated that at least a thousand people had passed through — a much larger participation than last year's inaugural One Book.

"To us, this is the best way to get the word out," he said. "Last year, we did a lot of stuff in house and with some outside advertising help, but it was nothing like this."

While a number of people at the event had already read the book or decided to do so that day, others were there just to enjoy a day out with their dogs.

Silverado Ranch resident Karin Fastow, a member of the club Las Vegas Dogs in Competition Events — LVDICE — was on hand to do an agility demonstration with her trained Shetland sheep dogs, Kiwi and Krash.

"It's good to get people out and see what's out there, to see the different clubs here and see that there are so many things that you can do with your dog," she said. "You just see too many dogs that people think are just throw-away items that they don't have to do anything with and it's sad to see."

The library district will host several discussion groups and other events throughout October, including dog movie nights and dog clothing knitting classes.

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].