Día de los Niños, 2004.
September 2004
Rain Doesn't Dampen the Spirit of Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros
More than 1,500 children, parents and extended family came to enjoy the literacy activities and the performances at this festive event. Every child who attended the event left with the treasures they had made (such as a Clifford puppet and a homemade book), goodie bag filled with bookmaking supplies and at least two new books, courtesy of RIF, KLRU-PBS, and the Mexican Consulate of Austin. HEB donated a 4 ft X 4 ft. cake that miraculously disappeared after lunch.
One of the benefits of being indoors was that the stage and the activities were in the gym together, so everyone could see each group as they performed. Performers in the 2004 event included Pan American Recreation Center Ballet Folklorico; St. John Recreation Center Cheerleaders; Salsa Tropical; Los Pollitos from Graham Elementary; Lone Star Girl Scouts; Palm Elementary School Choir and the St. John Seniors Gospel Choir. Each group enjoyed an enthusiastic audience!
Celebrating Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros started in 1997 with author Pat Mora as a way to bridge cultures and instill new traditions of family learning. This special day emphasizes books, reading, and the vital role of the public library in the community. Since 1999, over 40 community groups and over a dozen public schools have worked together to make Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros a model collaborative partnership promoting books, reading, and family literacy. The event has been honored for its success as an innovative, collaborative literacy outreach project with awards from the American Library Association and Texas Library Association. ACEE has been a strong partner with Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros since 1998, and has co-chaired the event since 2000. ACEE members coordinate over 70 volunteers at the event. The members enjoyed the event, but found that there was a lot more to clean up inside than outside! Kudos to our members who stayed and mopped the cafeteria and the gym!
This year's participating organizations include AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education; Aquarena Center in San Marcos; Austin Children's Museum with underwriting provided by American Association for the Advancement of Science, Partnership for Science Literacy Initiative, the National Science Foundation; Austin Nature and Science Center City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department; Austin Public Library; Child, Inc.; El Consulado General de México; Girl Scouts - Lone Star Council; KLRU-PBS; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; Pickle Elementary (AISD); Reading is Fundamental; Texas Education Agency; Texas Memorial Museum; Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, and others. For more information, contact Elva Garza, Austin Public Library-St. John Branch, 974-7570, or visit www.main.org/ninos.