Literacy will be in the spotlight during Family Literacy Day events this week in Innisfail and Penhold.
Every year Family Literacy Day is celebrated on Jan. 27 in communities across the country and here in Alberta.
Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in literacy related activities as a family.
The Innisfail Library/Learning Centre will host a full-day event beginning at 11 a.m. and running until 8 p.m.
“Our Family Literacy Day is twofold. The first part is to highlight local authors, publishers, illustrators and local artists,” said Matthew Barabash, library manager. “We're going to highlight the library as a living room for the community. We're not just about books – we have resume writing, we have job help. We have those print resources and computers as well.”
During the event members of the public will have a chance to meet with local authors throughout the day, said Barabash, noting that five to six local authors will participate in a panel discussion and answer questions from area residents.
In addition, there will be a reading by award-winning author and novelist Marina Endicott, a Commonwealth Writers' Prize winner (2009) for best book, entitled Good to a Fault. The book was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize in 2008.
“There's going to be programs for all ages, from children to seniors,” he said, noting a children's Play-Doh session, adult tech classes for social media, and a resume-writing workshop as part of the Family Literacy Day event.
“We want to promote the library to the community,” said Barabash. “This is a great place to come for books and free resources.”
The Penhold Public Library will also be celebrating Family Literacy Day with an hour-long event from 6 to 7 p.m. at the library in the Penhold Regional Multiplex.
“It is a family evening to promote family literacy,” said Myra Binnendyk, library manager. “It has been very well attended in previous years.”
The drop-in event will have a variety of activities for families to enjoy, including a scavenger hunt, a bedtime story, and sing a tune - similar to karaoke with lyrics to songs. Families will also have the chance to build a snack together.
“It will be an hour of fun,” said Binnendyk, noting the partnership with the Town of Penhold. “We're working with the Town of Penhold Community Services in order to promote the importance of literacy within the family.”
In addition, both libraries will join other libraries, schools, and businesses in communities across Alberta in a 15-minute friendly community challenge, where participants are asked to read for 15 minutes and report to their local library.
The ‘Read for 15' challenge is held to promote the importance of literacy in the community.
“Once you read for 15 minutes you let us know,” said Barabash, noting the winning community will have the greatest percentage of its population reading for 15 minutes.
“You can read anything – books, poetry, newspapers, blogs, menus, a grocery list or directions,” added Binnendyk. “You can read everyday things to help bring awareness to literacy.”
Participants in the challenge can drop by their local library, call or email, or use social media, including #Readfor15, followed by the community name (#Readfor15Innisfail) to report their 15-minute reading segment that day.
Also joining the 15-minute reading challenge on Family Literacy Day will be St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School. On Jan. 26, the school is welcoming award-winning author Sigmund Brouwer.
Matthew Barabash
"We're going to highlight the library as a living room for the community. We're not just about books – we have resume writing, we have job help. We have those print resources and computers as well."
