Weekend Trip: 50th Birthday Party For To Kill A Mockingbird

July 10, 2010

If you are looking for a short weekend trip, Monroeville, Alabama, would love to have you this weekend as they throw a birthday bash for the literary classic “To Kill a Mockingird”.

Published July 11, 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was an instant success, and would go on to sell over 30 million copies in 40 languages. The plot and characters by Harper Lee were loosely based on the people and places she saw growing up in Monroeville.

This summer, Monroeville has turned into the fictional Maycomb of the novel, with events culminating this weekend.

The schedule on Saturday includes a preview screening of Sandy Jaffe’s upcoming documentary Our Mockingbird. The evening concludes with a giant lawn party of food, drink and conversation on the courthouse lawn. There will also be 1930s-era children’s games on the courthouse lawn and walking tours of downtown Monroeville including the sites where Harper Lee and Truman Capote lived as children. Museum volunteers will assist in these tours sharing their love of the famous novel and how it relates to their hometown.

The schedule for Sunday, the actual publication date of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, includes cake and ice cream on the courthouse lawn from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Pastry Shop in Mobile, Alabama, is creating a special cake for the event.

Throughout the weekend, visitors can participate in a silent auction for a signed, mint-condition, as-new 35th Anniversary Edition of “To Kill a Mockingbird” (all proceeds benefit the Monroe County Heritage Museum’s Education Fund.) The auction ends at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Also, the reading copy of a 50th Anniversary edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird signed by all the readers in the marathon reading will be auctioned.

For more information visit www.tokillamockingbird.com or click here for a pdf schedule.

Pictured top: Monroe County’s world famous courtroom. Picture bottom: The Old Courthouse museum on the square in Monroeville.  Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

2 Responses to “Weekend Trip: 50th Birthday Party For To Kill A Mockingbird”

  1. aubrey king on July 10th, 2010 3:43 pm

    One of the best stories ever.

  2. A Friend of Scout on July 10th, 2010 11:59 am

    “To Kill a Mockingbird,” gave me such a love for reading. It was the first real novel I ever sat down and read and read from cover to cover in one sitting. I have done it every summer since I was 14, I’m 51 now. In fact
    I have it on my nightstand now. It is truly a great read! Oh and have seen the movie just as many times as I’ve read the book.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Archive