The El Dorado Arts Council, Libraries and County Office of Education will launch The Big Read in celebration of “The Call of the Wild” with a proclamation by the county Board of Supervisors followed by a reception at the Main Library in Placerville on Feb. 2.

The kick-off event will feature the Board of Supervisors reading a proclamation announcing the start of The Big Read:WILD in El Dorado County. Become enchanted with the words of Jack London by listening to dramatic readings from the book. Then, cross the street to the Main Library for a program on wolves, featuring live wolves, book giveaways and snacks.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.

El Dorado County is one of 268 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read through June.

During February and March the county will celebrate “The Call of the Wild” with a full calendar of events including “Jack London’s Alive and Well and Visiting El Dorado County,” dynamic portrayals by actor/scholar Michael Oakes in El Dorado Hills, Placerville, and South Lake Tahoe; Iditarod racer Jeanne Ashcraft; and The Battle of the Gold Rushes at the El Dorado County Museum.

For more information on this event, contact El Dorado Arts Council at edac@eldoradartscouncil.org or  go to www.eldoradocountybigread.org.