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September 18, 2012

Gala celebrates launch of bicentennial book

Numbered special edition books to include author’s signature

By DANIEL SUDDEATH daniel.suddeath@newsandtribune.com

NEW ALBANY — The first 200 copies of the bicentennial celebration book “Historic New Albany, Indiana: By the River’s Edge” are limited editions, and a special night has been planned to commemorate the launch of the work.

A gala is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Oct. 4 at The Grand in downtown New Albany that will feature a dinner, entertainment and a book review by Pulitzer Prize-wining photographer Robin Hood.

Hood’s photos are featured in the book, which was authored by fellow Pulitzer Prize winner James A. Crutchfield and Floyd County Historian David Barksdale. While 5,000 books will be sold, the first 200 editions have special significance.

“We will have many, many more books, but this is the only book that will be signed by the author and numbered,” said Rosalie Dowell, who along with Connie Sipes headed a bicentennial committee effort to organize the gala and book launch.

Couples that pay $200 will receive one of the special edition books, dinner at the gala and a night of entertainment. The evening will serve as an introduction to the book as well as a fundraiser for the New Albany Bicentennial Commission, Dowell said.

The 150-page hardbound book fulfills one of the commission’s goals of having a concise and entertaining history of New Albany published for the 2013 bicentennial, City Councilman and commission member Bob Caesar said.

“This book will have interesting stories about New Albany’s history, as well as some of the most magnificent photography that you will ever see,” Caesar said.

The book will include some archival photos as well as a timeline detailing some of New Albany’s more historical moments, he continued.

“It’s something that should be displayed in countless homes and businesses throughout New Albany,” Caesar said.

Regular copies of the book will be available for $40 following the gala and Caesar said the plan is to have them for sale at area businesses as well as during harvest Homecoming in October.

He said the work is a “first-class asset to the city of New Albany and something that the bicentennial commission and New Albany can be very proud of.”

The gala begins with a social hour at 6 p.m., and will be followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and then a program at 8 p.m. It’s a business-formal event, and seating is limited.

For information on tickets, contact Dowell by e-mail at grdowell@insightbb.com, or by phone at 812-949-1049.

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