LATROBE, PA – Saint Vincent College and the Fred Rogers Center will launch a second installment of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Again?,” a programming series in partnership with Latrobe Art Center. The series is made possible by the Council of Independent Colleges’ Humanities Research for the Public Good grant awarded to Saint Vincent College. The programming, which is based upon the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, aims to increase public access and awareness of the important cultural and intellectual legacy of one of the most beloved American spokespersons for children and humanity.
After an engaging first installment, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Again?” will return to Latrobe Art Center for a second installment on love and arts in the Neighborhood and the natural world. The first installment of this programming included events on “The Boy and the Neighborhood: The History of Fred Rogers and the Town of Latrobe” and “Feeling Neighborly: Fred Rogers and Being a Good Neighbor.” Saint Vincent College students in the Fred Rogers Scholars Program will now integrate their research from the Fred Rogers Archive and the history of Latrobe into an exhibit that exemplifies the importance of love and arts in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and the natural world. This exhibit installment will be open during Latrobe Art Center business hours from April 23 to May 21.
The opening event for this exhibit will be on April 23 from 3:00–5:00 p.m. and is entitled “Arts in the Neighborhood and the Natural World.” Artifacts on display will highlight the presence and importance of art in the lives of children and adults alike, as well as environmental messages prevalent in Fred Rogers’ work. Students will demonstrate artifacts that emphasize Fred Rogers’ motivation for communicating themes of art and the natural world to his neighbors and the relevance of these themes in the neighborhood of Latrobe.
The closing event for this exhibit will take place on May 21 from 3:00–5:00 p.m. and is entitled “Neighbor, 143 (I Love You).” The number 143 illustrates the legacy of Fred Rogers in that it was his code for “I love you.” Each number references the number of letters in each word of the phrase. Students will explain the significance of the number, and artifacts will display Fred Rogers’ connection to the number in the context of the broader topic of love. Fred Rogers’ connection to 143 lives on as neighbors of Latrobe celebrate the 143rd day of the year (May 23, 2022) as a day of kindness, designated by Gov. Tom Wolfe of Pennsylvania.
Saint Vincent College is one of just 24 institutions across the U.S. to be awarded the Humanities Research for the Public Good grant from The Council of Independent Colleges. This grant, generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, promotes undergraduate student research that showcases institutional library, museum and archival collections relevant to the local community.
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