We hear the call of our Gentle Readers for the Janeite Awards (and Laurel Ann actually suggested the same thing several months ago). We were too busy at the time to consider it, but since everyone is so enthusiastic, let’s figure out how to do it. We want this to be something reader-directed and not so much forced upon you by your Editrix. Use this as an open thread–post your ideas!

With the hiatus of The Complete Jane Austen for three weeks while PBS raises money, we’ve found lots of local Jane Austen events to fill the time, so let’s get to it!

Camden (New Jersey) County College will host a series of lectures on Jane Austen to celebrate Women’s History Month in March. The first lecture will be tomorrow, Thursday, February 28, at 7 p.m. in Madison Hall 210 on the Blackwood Campus. Elizabeth Steele, Regional Coordinator of JASNA’s Eastern Pennsylvania Region, will speak on “Becoming Janeites.” The full lecture schedule is at the link (they all are on Thursday nights at the same time through April 3), and we’ll post a reminder each week.

PEERS (Period Events & Entertainments Re-Creation Society) will hold a Pride and Prejudice Ball on March 1, 2008, at the Masonic Lodge of San Mateo, California. From Emily, one of the organizers, who sent us a note about the event:

Everyone in the San Francisco Bay Area is welcome to attend. Come and see Mr. Bingley falling in love with Jane, and Mr. Darcy trying not to fall in love with Lizzy, and the rest of the Bennet clan being very silly as only they know how to do. Costumes are admired, not required, and be prepared to be asked to dance!

According to the website, they also support attending in character! What fun!

A Jane Austen Study Group meets every Wednesday at the Temecula, California Library. Thanks to Alert Baja Janeite for the link.

Also in California, the Imperial Public Library will have a series of free screenings of Jane Austen adaptations on every Saturday afternoon in March. The series starts off with Pride and Prejudice and ends with Becoming Jane.

Baja Janeite also let us know that Historic Fort Snelling in St. Paul, Minnesota, will sponsor a Jane Austen-themed children’s party for your kids!

Join the party and learn the manners, etiquette, and dance of the early 1800’s during this one-hour program. Participants will make a fashionable hat to wear for the party (and take home), learn a period dance, and receive a lesson on manners from a costumed guide.

* Cost: $125 for up to 12 participants, $5/each additional person

Not a bad deal for a kids’ party these days.

The Washington Post has a 33-mile “In Step With Jane Austen: A Novel Tour” for the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia area. Some of the stops are a bit of a stretch, but check it out if you’re in the area.

And finally, the University of the Pacific will offer a weekend course on “Jane Austen and the Silver Screen” on April 5 and 6. The course is open to students and the public and costs $150.

Alert Janeite Mari Carmen let us know that Spanish-language commentaries on Pride and Prejudice are available on Radio Programas del Perú (scroll down to “Orgullo Y Prejudicio”).

Mari Carmen also let us know that an abridged version of the novel was broadcast over the weekend, but we missed it and will be more alert next time. *blush*

Payson High School will present Pride and Prejudice on February 28 and 29 and March 1 at 7:30 p.m. each night. Tickets are $3-5.

We don’t think they are responsible for the “Austin” and the “merry olde Victorian-era England.”

Thanks to Alert Janeite Lisa for the link!