For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD – A “March to End Sexual Assault” will take place on March 10, beginning and ending at the Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library, 105 S. Maple Ave., Marshfield.

Marshfield’s National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): Big Read Kickoff and Party will follow the march. Participants are encouraged to congregate in the Felker Family Genealogy & Local History Room at 3 p.m. for sign making and organizing. Marchers will leave the library at 4 p.m., weather permitting, and walk a round trip to Thimbleberry Books, returning to the library around 5 p.m.

Upon the marchers’ return, a gathering will be held in the Everett & Delores Roehl Atrium where Library Director Lori Belongia will explain the Big Read project concept. Dr. Julie Tharp, a professor of English and American Indian Studies at UW-Marshfield/Wood County, will then introduce and discuss Native American author Louise Erdrich’s novel, The Round House, a book centralized around the impact of sexual assault.

The gathering will end with a sampling of Native American recipes and time for open conversation.

For more information on the Big Read, please visit http://wisconsinreads.org or contact Lori Belongia at 715-389-2745.