The Big Read in Middle Georgia begins its second year with a weekend filled with activities for the middle Georgia area.

•On Thursday, Oct. 1, Bring your own music and dance the afternoon away on front campus for the

Silent Disco

This event is the campus kickoff and will be held Thursday, Oct. 1, on the Georgia College Front Campus. The event will give college students and community members the opportunity to escape from reality by dancing to their own music. The idea for the event comes from visualization from the characters of the book using “shells” as a sound system to block out reality and be at rest. The event will be held from noon to 6 p.m., and in the event of rain the dancing will be moved to the front porch of Atkinson Hall.

First Friday in Macon

•The Big Read will have its Macon debut Friday night during First Friday. Please drop by if you're in town! The Macon Kick Off will be held Friday, Oct. 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in The Thomas Jefferson Building in Macon as part of “First Friday” in Macon. Free paperback copies of "Fahrenheit 451” and its companion Reader’s Guide will be provided in both English and Spanish.

Saturday at The Milledgeville Mall and Southside Piggly Wiggly

• The Parent University Kick Off will be held Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Milledgeville Mall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again at the Southside Piggly-Wiggly grocery store in Milledgeville from 1:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Parent University is partnering with The Big Read, Communities in Schools and the Milledgeville and Baldwin County Fire Departments to promote the book and provide free paperback books, Reader’s Guides, Audio Guides, and other materials.

For more information, contact Elaine Whitaker at elaine.whitaker@gcsu.edu or Shannon Morris at shannon.morris@gcsu.edu.