NEW DALLAS CHILDREN’S THEATER ZOOM SERIES FEATURES HEROES AND BOOKS. First Show Spotlights December Celebrations Learn more:
(DALLAS, TX) – Dallas Children’s Theater (DCT), in preparation for the holiday season, will be providing families with a chance to learn more about three December holidays and the children’s book authors who have written about them. In a series of free Zoom shows titled HEROES FOR THE PAGES, DCT will spotlight two of local Dallas author Nancy Churnin’s children’s books: Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing and The Queen and the First Christmas Tree. The theater will also be highlighting author Donna L. Washington’s book L’il Rabbit’s Kwanzaa. The free Zoom shows will be live Sundays at 2 PM on December 13, 20 and 27. Each show will include singalongs, author Q&As and a feature on the hero’s culture. To register, interested persons can go to.
The first Zoom will be Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2PM and be centered around the book Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing by Nancy Churnin. Audiences will have the opportunity to meet and talk with author, learn about Berlin’s Jewish heritage and Hannukah from Mark Kreditor of the Jewish Federation of Dallas. With DCT actress and teaching artist, Alyssa Cavazos, accompanying, everyone will sing three of Berlin’s showstopping tunes. The series is rated for ages 4 – 8, and interested adults.
DCT will feature another Churnin book during Sunday, December 20 at 2PM show: The Queen and the First Christmas Tree: Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England. Special guest Sarah Hambric from Dallas Heritage Village will provide insight on what Christmas would have looked like during the 19th century and Anna Kurian from the North Texas Food Bank will help families understand the many ways they can exhibit kindness during the holidays; just as Queen Charlotte did when she introduced the first Christmas tree. And the singalong segment will feature fun shows about what else…Christmas trees!
In the show on Sunday, December 27 at 2P, author Donna L. Washington’s beautiful children’s book, L’il Rabbits’ Kwanzaa, will help everyone understand the traditions of another December celebration, Kwanzaa. Local griot Afiah Bey will be on hand to guide us through some songs with DCT actress and teaching artist Alyssa Cavazos accompanying.
Families can go to the website to register for each of the Zooms or click here:
Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing by Nancy Churnin
Register for the first HEROES FOR THE PAGES Zoom here.
The Queen and the First Christmas Tree: Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England.
Register for the second HEROES FOR THE PAGES Zoom here.
L’il Rabbit’s Kwanzaa by Donna L. Washington
Register for the third HEROES FOR THE PAGES Zoom here.
About Nancy Churnin
Nancy Churnin is an American author and journalist. A former theater critic for the Dallas Morning News, she has published eight children’s books as of 2020. Her first picture book, The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game was published in 2016. Manjhi Moves a Mountain, another children’s picture book by Churnin, was published in 2017. Three additional children’s books were released in 2018: Charlie Takes His Shot: How Charlie Sifford Broke the Color Barrier in Golf, Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing, and The Queen and the First Christmas Tree: Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England. Churnin’s sixth book, Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank, was released on March 5, 2019. Her most recent books, Beautiful Shades of Brown: The Art of Laura Wheeler Waring and For Spacious Skies: Katharine Lee Bates and the Inspiration for “America the Beautiful” were released in 2020.
About Donna L. Washington
Donna L. Washington is a professional storyteller, multiple-award-winning recording artist, and author. She performs all over the country at festivals, schools, and libraries and gives workshops for parents and educators as well. Her many storytelling recordings have received Gold and Silver Parents’ Choice Awards, Storytelling World Awards, iParenting Awards, Children’s Music Web Awards, National Parenting Publications Awards Honors, and many more. Ms. Washington lives with her husband, two children, and two cats in Durham, North Carolina. You can visit her online at
About Dallas Children’s Theater
Dallas Children’s Theater features professional actors performing for an annual audience of 250,000 young people and their families through mainstage productions, a national touring company, and an arts-in-education program. As the only major organization in Dallas focusing solely on youth and family theater, DCT builds bridges of understanding between generations and cultures, instilling an early appreciation of literature, art, and the performing arts in tomorrow’s artists and patrons.
2020-21 Season Sponsors are: Texas Instruments, City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, The Shubert Foundation, TACA, The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Anonymous Family, The Carlson Foundation, March Family Foundation, and Hoblitzelle Foundation. General Sponsors Include: The Rosewood Corporation, Lisa K Simmons, The Theodore and Beulah Beasley Foundation, Inc., Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation, and Vibeke Jarnum & Niels Anderskouv. Additional Support is Provided By: Capital for Kids, TXU Energy, Frost Bank, Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, The Hersh Foundation, Stephen M. Seay Foundation, Orien Levy Woolf & Dr. Jack Woolf Charitable Trust, The Eugene McDermott Foundation, Perot Foundation, Legacy Texas Bank, Which Wich, Maintenance Inc., and Green Mountain Energy, DCT’s official renewable energy partner. Sensory-Friendly Sponsors Include: The Melinda & Jim Johnson Family Charitable Fund, Fichtenbaum Charitable Trust, and The Sapphire Foundation. In loving memory of Kory Ballard. Building Fund Supported By: The Carlson Foundation, The March Family Foundation, Laurie Sands Harrison, The Rosewood Corporation, Anonymous Family, Elizabeth & Bart Showalter, Karen & Ken Travis, The Hersh Foundation, and Everett & Becky Spaeth. National Touring Sponsor and Brighter Days Sustainability Campaign: Neiman Marcus.
Thank you,
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
