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Fairfax County Public Library will mark 250 years of American immigrant stories this May with author talks, crafts, history programs, film screenings and community storytelling events.
Programs across the county will explore the challenges immigrants have faced, the traditions they have preserved and their contributions to American life.
Cuban American children’s author Terry Catasús Jennings will visit Centreville Regional Library on Saturday, May 2, to read from The Little House of Hope. The semi-autobiographical book follows immigrants helping one another establish new lives in a new country.
John Marshall Library will host a mini hope chest craft on Monday, May 4. Participants can fill their chests with messages about their hopes for the future and traditions they want to carry forward.
Community members will discuss their experiences coming to the United States during “Immigrant Journeys: Stories & Inspiration” at Chantilly Regional Library on Wednesday, May 6. The speakers will address both the difficulties they encountered and the successes they achieved.
Herndon Fortnightly Library’s Young at Heart Book Club will discuss Shifa Saltagi Safadi’s Kareem Between on Thursday, May 7. The novel centers on a seventh-grade Syrian American boy navigating the everyday pressures of middle school.
A Genealogy 101 program at Sherwood Regional Library on Saturday, May 16, will introduce participants to the records, documents and research skills used to trace family histories.
On Saturday, May 23, John Marshall Library will examine the Heurich House Museum and the immigrants—including Christian Heurich—whose work helped build what was then Washington, D.C.’s largest brewery.
Several branches will also screen the 1986 animated film An American Tail on various dates. The movie follows a family of Russian-Jewish mice emigrating from the Russian Empire to the United States in search of freedom, reflecting journeys undertaken by real immigrants from the late 1880s into the early 1900s.
Kings Park Library will close out the month’s featured programs on Saturday, May 30, with “Story Swap: Immigrant Voices and the American Dream.” Members of the immigrant community can tell their own stories or listen to the experiences of others.
Event dates and times may change, so attendees should confirm program details before visiting.
Student Art Contest Opens May 15
Fairfax County students can also explore immigrant experiences through the annual Where We Belong Student Art Contest.
The competition is open to children and teenagers in kindergarten through 12th grade who live or attend school in Fairfax County. Entrants may create artwork responding to one of four prompts celebrating the area’s diverse community.
Submissions will be accepted from May 15 through June 15. Winning pieces will be displayed in an exhibition at the Fairfax County Government Center.