Last modified: Sunday, August 12, 2007 1:03 AM EDT NEA boosts city reading BY SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - Attleboro's 1 ABC program has received a $16,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support its Big Read program. The Big Read, launched nationally in 2006 by the NEA in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest encourages reading by asking communities to come together to read and discuss a single book. Attleboro's 1 ABC program has selected Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" as its book. An official kickoff event is being planned for Sept. 8 at the Balfour Riverwalk. Details for the kickoff event, will be publicized in the next few weeks, organizers said. Co-chairs Victor Bonneville and Joan Pilkington-Smyth were both surprised and delighted upon receiving the grant. "Since we were only in our first year with a community-wide reading effort, and since we are from a smaller type community, we thought a more experienced and larger community might get the grants. However, with strong support from city officials and our strong efforts to involve students from the Attleboro school system, Bishop Feehan, The Literacy Center, and Bristol Community College, the finance committee was able to put together a grant proposal which apparently had some merit," they said in a prepared statement. To encourage community-wide participation in the project, each Big Read lead organization will collaborate with public and private partners within its community to develop a program of activities related to the selected novel. Attleboro's 1 ABC is partnered with the Attleboro Arts Museum, the Attleboro Council on Aging, the Attleboro Public Library, the Attleboro public schools, Bishop Feehan High School, Bristol Community College, Friends of the Attleboro Public Library, the Attleboro YMCA, The Literacy Center, and The Sun Chronicle. Big Read events in Attleboro will include the initial Balfour Riverwalk Festival on Sept. 8, book group discussions, panel discussions and films. The events will culminate on Nov. 10 and 11, with events at the Attleboro Arts Museum and the Attleboro Public Library's Centennial Celebration. The project has received strong local financial support from Bristol County Savings Bank, as well as from the Attleboro Cultural Council, the L.G.Balfour Foundation, Bank of America, Trustee, the South Attleboro Lions Club, the South Attleboro Village Lions and Building 19. "By joining the Big Read, these cities and towns are showing that reading is necessary to the cultural, civic, even economic fabric of their communities. They understand the benefit of having people from different generations and walks of life reading and discussing a great book," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "Yes, this is about reading, but it's also about getting people to leave their homes and offices, unplug themselves for a few hours, and enjoy the pleasures of literature with their neighbors." The NEA also provides participating communities with a library of free materials, including reader's and teacher's guides for each of the Big Read novels, an audio guide for each novel featuring distinguished actors and writers, an online organizer's guide for hosting a Big Read program, Big Read publicity materials, and a comprehensive program Web site. Interested readers may visit www.neabigread.org for additional information.