DJJD Committee Responds to Inquiries About Absence of Spanish Interpretation for This Year's Re-enactments
The committee says performing the re-enactment in two languages at the same time caused logistical issues.
Editor's note: The following is a statement from the Defeat of Jesse James Days Committee concerning inquiries it received after a Spanish interpretation for the bank raid re-enactment was left out of this year's celebration after being added in 2010. Look for a full story from Northfield Patch soon.
We have received some inquiries regarding a Spanish Interpretation for the DJJD Raid Re-enactment.
In 2010, we attempted to deliver two special interpreted raids; one for the hearing impaired and one in Spanish. The ASL interpretation for the hearing impaired went so well we were able to expand it for more re-enactments in 2011. The Spanish raid did not go well because presenting in both languages ended up with a long, drawn out introduction that was untenable for the audience and the performers. We believe we have come up with a better Spanish version but we were unable to organize it in time for this year’s event. We are encouraged that so many in the community agree with us on the need for a Spanish interpretation of the raid and hope they may even want to join our committee to help with the organization!
Jane Moline, the volunteer committee member in charge of the re-enactments, invites everyone interested in the Northfield community and this historic event to join us to help make the 2012 Defeat of Jesse James Days the best ever! We are a group of volunteers who want the people of Northfield and our visitors who attend DJJD to enjoy and understand the outstanding history behind this celebration.
Sincerely,
The Defeat of Jesse James Days Committee
Daniel Hernandez
2:05 pm on Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Many thanks to the DJJD committee for responding to this issue and making the reenactment accessible to all residents and visitors.
Daniel Groll
7:05 pm on Wednesday, September 21, 2011
I second Dan Hernandez's comment: thanks to the committee for responding to our enquiries. It is encouraging to hear that the committee has "come up with a better Spanish version" of the reenactment and I look forward to seeing it next year!
Martha Davies
5:45 pm on Thursday, September 22, 2011
The DJJD Committee is spread fairly thin to begin with. That they can pull off such a wonderful event each year is remarkable, and my hat is off to those hard-working volunteers. Although I did not see the reenactment featuring the Spanish translation, I imagine that it would cause difficulties for both audience and participants. The narrative by Dan Freeman is long, the timing has to be precise, and they are working with horses, for goodness sakes. From my experience with volunteer groups, if I complain about an issue, I am prepared to pitch in and work to resolve it. For my good neighbor Daniel and all the others who feel strongly about this, have you thought about volunteering to make it happen, as the DJJD Committee suggested? I bet the committee would love to have all of you help out.
Daniel Groll
9:09 pm on Thursday, September 22, 2011
Couldn't agree with you more Martha: I was in touch with them yesterday about helping out.