Pinocchio Goes to College To Promote Contest

Sponsored by the Italian American Cultural Society

Clinton Township, MI - He may have had trouble getting to school but Pinocchio is now advancing to college. A bigger-than-life marionette of Pinocchio will be on the campus of Macomb County Community College to spread the word about a contest celebrating the 125 Anniversary of the beloved story of the wooden boy by Carlo Collodi.

The Italian American Cultural Society is sponsoring two contests, one for writers and one for visual artists. Each contest has three divisions: Youngsters in grades 3-8, Youngsters in grades 9-12, and an Adult group for people in college and all other grown-ups.

Writers are invited to create a new short story themed on Pinocchio. Stories are asked to be no longer than 184 words, measured by words with four-or-more letters. Winning entries will be published in a booklet “Pinocchio Stories 2009” with the winning entries being shown in both English and Italian. Visual artists are invited to create a drawing, painting, poster or other work based on Pinocchio. Winning works will be included in a “Pinocchio Art Calendar for 2010.”

For more information on the festival and the contest, members of the public are invited to visit online:  http://www.pinocchiofestival.com. Complete contest rules also are available at the website.

Winners will be recognized at the Collodi Awards Event in December, 2009. Sponsorships and proceeds from the festival will benefit library and archives of the Italian American Cultural Society, a not-for-profit organization based in Clinton Township, Michigan.

Pinocchio tells the story of a lonely woodcutter who one day created a wooden boy. A fairy godmother brings the creation to life and he embarks on a series of adventures on his way to becoming a real boy of flesh and blood. On the way, he discovers his nose grows longer whenever he fails to tell the truth.

The story was written by Carlo Lorenzini, a Tuscan journalist who fought in the struggle to unite Italy. He wrote Pinocchio under the nom de plume, Carlo Collodi. The work was first published in serial form between 1880 and 1883. In 1911, Attilio Mussino brought the story to even greater audiences when he produced a large number of illustrations that captured the humor, pathos and empathy of the characters and story lines.

Volunteers will be on hand to pass out info about the contest

Date : Monday November 9.

Time : 8:00 A.M. To 6:00 P.M

Location : 14500 East12 Mile Road, Warren Michigan, 48088-3896

For more information about the Italian American Cultural Society, please call (586) 228-3030. Members of the press and public also can learn more online at http://www.pinocchiofestival.com