Dreams Fly High in Philadelphia

5/9/11 We had a wonderful Dream Flag Celebration here in Philadelphia on Saturday thanks to the efforts of dozens of volunteer staff (about 40), teachers and students from all over our region, and flags and poems sent in from around the U.S. and as far away as Romania, Belize, Madagascar, Nicaragua, and Haiti. It was a gorgeous sprig day in May.  Some highlights were that:

1. Dozens of students from around our region read beautifully, with grace and passion--from 1st grade to 12th grade. They represented the 12,000 Dreamers from across the project, and we were all very proud of them. We had a surprise delivery of Dream Flags from the Khumjung School in Nepal!
2. They were trekked down from the school, flown from Kathmandu to a friend at Yale University, and delivered to Phurba Sherpa in Washington, DC who presented them to us on Saturday!! Phurba was accompanied by another special guest, Anne Keiser of the Greater Himalayas Foundation.
3. We got to hang French Dream Flag from Madagascar from the 80-foot hight model fo the Eifel Tower right in the middle of the Kimmel Center!
4. The musicians were up on stage with the readers and we had wonderful improv behind the poetry reading with the brand new sound and stage at the Kimmel Center.

Thanks to so many people who made all of this possible, and especially the dreamers!
Here are a few pictures from the event.

Dreams on the Steps of Langston Hughes!

4/28/11 These students from Storefront for Children in Harlem, New York, are standing on the steps of the Langston Hughes House! Guided by their teacher, Steve Bergen, they have created wonderful Dream Flag poems. . . AND . . .they stood on the steps of Hughes to read them for us.

Check out their Dream Flag web page HERE and don't miss the "click" links because you'll see video of the students reading their work right on those famous steps. Thank you, Storefront for Children and Steve for taking these dreams to a place where Mr. Hughes started it all . . .

School in Austin, TX Takes Dream Flags to Haiti and Nicaragua!

Students at St. Etienne in Salmadere, Haiti.

4/19/11 St. Stephens' School in Austin, Texas brought The Dream Flag Project to students at a Haitian orphanage and to their sister schools in Haiti and Nicaragua this year. Thanks to teachers Vicki Woodruff, Cindy Morriss, and the work of the school's service program, they made this leap and connected the dreams. Do check out the great article on their web site that tells the whole story and has many more great pictures. Fly On Dreams!!
St. Stephen's Dream Flag Article and Pictures
Video of Service Project in Haiti Including Dream Flags

Dreaming Big in Belize

Dawn Flowers at Burrell Bloom Methodist School in Belize is helping all of us spread the dreams! This Wednesday, April 14th, she will be a guest speaker at the Belize National Library Service Book  Fair.  She's been invited to teach other educators about The Dream Flag Project and how to connect. This year 300 students from Burrel Bloom Methodist have made Dream Flags, and they're going to be exhibited at the Book Fair, as well as a local hospital and bank! Talk about dreaming big! Thanks to you, Dawn, from all of us. Please keep dreaming!

Philly Library's After School Learning Starts Dreaming!

3/22/11 Last Saturday, some of the teen and adult leaders of the after school learning programs in Philadelphia's 54 branch libraries learned about Dream Flags and made their own. We look forward to seeing the dreams come together, especially since there will be a terrific exhibition of Dream Flags flanking both sides of the main entrance to the Main Branch of the library come mid-May. We'll post updates and a flag or two from Saturday soon. . . .

One-Stop Dream Flag Shopping!

3/10/11 Here's a link for your must-have-it all-in-one Dream Flags document for 2011. It's a total list of what to do when with links that get you there! CLICK HERE

Looking Ahead to Dreams!

2011 DREAM FLAG PROJECT DATES

2/7/11 Looking ahead to dreaming together takes vision (and planning)! Since The Dream Flag Project is not only about dreaming, but about dreaming together, we try to coordinate our activities so that we have the best chance of connecting each year in April and May. Each year,we ask participant groups to complete the Dream Flags by April, National Poetry Month. Then the connections begin. Many schools do their own local exhibitions and displays of Dream Flags. We have a large gathering here in Philadelphia and invite everyone who can to come, and for others to send Dream Flags. This year we've also got a wonderful connection to Nepal, and on May 19, our Dream Flags will start a trek up to 12,500 feet where they'll be connected at the Khumjung School. (Much more detail on that later.) For now, here's a list of dates and events that may help as you look ahead to a dream-filled spring. And if we can post your Dream Dates, let us know. We'd love to. 2010-11 DREAM FLAG PROJECT DATES