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It's Cherry Blossom Time! We've been spotting more of these colorful blossoms this spring, all over the country, than we have any other year. The custom of celebrating their appearance comes from Japan, so we bring you a Japanese story that is supposed to explain how the tradition got started.

We're back in our old stomping grounds in Northern California, after a long and eventful drive from Arkansas, mostly on (sometimes muddy) backroads- including historic Route 66. Our adventures included horseback riding in Oklahoma, exploring the ruins of a 400-year-old mission in New Mexico, and stopping in the old mining town of Oatman, Arizona where wild burros roam the streets. And in Tehachapi, California, we visited Indian Point Ranch, a prime producer of ostriches, and fed some of Big Bird's distant cousins.

Now we're having the last few performances of our current production, "World Tales", and getting ready for our next show.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Kindly Man, Mean Man, Prince) and Kimberly (Narrator, Kindly Woman, Mean Woman, Dog)

• Act!vated Live on Stage this April: Catch the show in San Leandro, Riverbank, Belevedere-Tiburon and Fairfield in California. And see if you can catch the show at a library near you this summer.
• Stitcher - enter promo code "storytellers" to support A!S and for a chance to win $100