Bright Stars Events
Since 2011 we have hosted events featuring a special guest who is an accomplished public individual with dyslexia. See photos and details from some of our prior events below.
Naturalist, Musician and Author Douglas Wood
Douglas Wood - 2018
Douglas Wood was our special guest at our 2018 event hosted at Quarry Hill Nature Center in Rochester. Mr. Wood shared stories and songs, and inspired the audience with his story of going from the “worst reader in the class”, a painfully shy kid with ADHD and dyslexia, to a best-selling author and speaker. In his books and music, frequent speaking engagements, and far-flung wilderness expeditions, Douglas Wood continues to explore the relationship between the natural world and the human spirit.
Filmmakers Mark Brecke and Tamara Rosenfeld
Dyslexia film festival, 2017
We welcomed guests to the Wehrenberg Theater in Rochester for our first dyslexia film festival. Our guest directors, Tamara Rosenfeld and Mark Brecke, participated in a panel before the films and discussed their struggles with dyslexia and how they used their creative sides to make careers in filmmaking.
The films we chose to feature were all written and/or directed by someone with dyslexia. Film festival attendees chose from the just released American Assassin, Story by Vince Flynn; They Turned Our Desert Into Fire, Directed by Mark Brecke; Episodes from Chef’s Table and Wonder Women, Directed by Tamara Rosenfeld; and E.T., Directed by Steven Spielberg.
65th Anniversary with guest jerry pinkney
Jerry Pinkney was our guest at the 2016 Bright Stars event celebrating our 65 years of service. Jerry worked with kids at a family friendly event hosted by the Rochester Public Library. We still have the lion drawing the kids worked on with Jerry hanging in our building.
That evening Jerry gave the keynote address at our dinner to celebrate The Reading Center’s 65 years of service to the community.
In 2016 alone, Jerry Pinkney was awarded 4 lifetime achievement awards. He won the prestigious Hans Christian Anderson in 2018. This award is likened to the Nobel Prize of Children’s Literature. Since he was 25, Jerry has illustrated more than 100 children’s books and received more than 100 awards. Many of his books celebrate African American and multicultural themes.
Jerry Pinkney, Caldecott Medal winning illustrator
Jack Horner, Paleontologist and Jurassic Park contributor
2015 Event featuring jack horner
In 2015 we welcomed rock-star famous paleontologist Jack Horner. Jack has made major contributions through his out of the box thinking, fueled by his brilliant dyslexic brain. Jack served as technical adviser to the Jurassic Park films, even boasting a cameo appearance. Jack talked about how dyslexia has helped him to be a better paleontologist. Hands-on activities for children were provided by Quarry Hill Nature Center staff, including photo ops with Stan the T-Rex dinosaur skull onsite.