Author to Share Her 'Chopstick-Fork Principle'

At 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, author Cathy Bao Bean will present “Living and Laughing by the Chopstick-Fork Principle” at the Warrenbrook Senior Center.

The educational program will incorporate humor to help shatter stereotypes and explain generalizations about cultures.  By sharing personal stories, extraordinary cultural questions can be raised, such as “Can the Tooth Fairy survive the Melting Pot?”  and “Can you fail or succeed simultaneously in two cultures?”  The chopsticks-fork answers are embedded in being a Chinese-American who raised an American-Chinese.

This program is funded by the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Two other special programs are planned at the center this month:

Professional Storyteller Kathryn Weidener will provide entertainment at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, when she talks about the magical & medicinal properties of Herbs and Gingerly Spices.

The center will host a Gingerbread House Decorating Contest at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 28.  The deadline to register for the event is Nov. 21. Space is limited to 40 entries.

Participants will be divided into teams and given 45 minutes to decorate a gingerbread house.  Each team will start out with the same candy, but additional “candy points” can be earned at trivia and sing-a-song stations. A panel of judges will award a prize to the winning team.  The gingerbread houses will be donated to area nursing homes.

The Warrenbrook Senior Center, one of seven centers operated by the Somerset County Office on Aging and Disability Services, is accessible to individuals with disabilities.  The center offers a variety of educational, recreational and entertaining activities for seniors, including wellness programs and health screenings.

If you wish to make a lunch reservation, please contact the senior center by 10 a.m. at least one business day in advance.  The menu includes a meatless option at each meal.  A suggested lunch donation of $1.50 is recommended for individuals age 60 and above.  The cost of lunch for those under age 60 is $5.35.

For more information or to register, contact Manager Gwen Chalker, Warrenbrook Senior Center, at (908) 753-9440.