Hollywood Romance Revisited at Baylor's Ultimate Valentine's Celebration

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Baylor University's Armstrong Browning Library will be filled with its special kind of romance during the 2nd Annual Valentine Extravaganza at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at the library's McLean Foyer of Meditation on the Baylor campus.

The celebration will include a serenade by singer/pianist Dave Tanner, who will perform a medley of Hollywood love songs. Afternoon tea and gourmet desserts will be served after Tanner highlights the deep love that Victorian poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning had for each other.

"We wanted to provide an entertaining afternoon in the beautiful meditation room to celebrate everyone who has helped us throughout the year," said Rita S. Patteson, library director. "It is especially romantic because of the Browning love story that is very unique and special."

The Extravaganza will be connected to the Baylor Libraries newest exhibit Baylor Love Stories: A Celebration of Romance which is on display in the Allbritton Foyer of Moody Memorial Library on the Baylor campus. The exhibit consists of photos, stories and mementos of Baylor Bears who met at Baylor, fell in love and lived happily ever after. Some couples featured in the exhibit will be present at the Extravaganza.

The treasured handwritten manuscript of How Do I Love Thee? written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning can be found at the library, which houses the world's largest collection of artifacts relating to the Brownings. Baylor's manuscript of the poem, which is contained in Sonnets from the Portuguese is one of only three copies in existence today. The two other copies are at the British Library in London and the Pierpoint Morgan Library in New York.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning died at age 55 in 1861, while her husband, Robert Browning, was 77 when he died in 1889. The two were married for only 15 years when Elizabeth died in Browning's arms at their home in Florence, Italy. Their union was considered one of the greatest literary romances ever known.

Tanner has performed for more than 300 radio and television commercials, including ones for American Airlines, Pizza Hut, Mountain Dew and Radio Shack. Children know him as "Farmer Dooley" on the PBS television show, Barney The Dinosaur. Tanner has performed for European royalty, five Texas governors and three Presidents of the United States.

Tickets are $50 for couples and $30 for individuals. Proceeds will benefit the library collection development.

Contact the library at (254) 710-4968 for more information.

by Lillyan Baker, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805