The 7th Annual Telling Tales Festival:
An Awesome Celebration of Literacy
Canada’s FREE children’s literary festival happened on Sunday, September 20th at Westfield Heritage Village in Rockton, Ontario – and it was AWESOME! A crowd of over 7,000 children and their families were entertained by over 25 of Canada’s best children’s authors, illustrators, storytellers and musicians. The Book of Awesome author Neil Pasricha launched his brand new children’s book Awesome is Everywhere to the world during the Telling Tales Festival. In fact, only those attending had a chance to buy an advance copy before it hits bookshelves next week!
David Bouchard shared stories about his Metis culture and treated the crowd to his flute playing. Poet Sheree Fitch mesmerized the crowds with her tongue twisting rhymes. Werner Zimmermann offered illustration lessons to fans young and old. Richard Scrimger shared writing tips and advice to fans. TVOKids’ Ranger Kara kicked off the Reading Rangers Book Club Tour with a special reading. It was an exciting day of sharing and experiencing stories.
The Telling Tales Festival is really a celebration of literacy. "Our goal is to foster a love of reading by exposing kids to authors and illustrators," explains Susan Jasper, Telling Tales Founder and Chair. "The presenters on our stages are literary stars – kids have a chance to ask them questions, listen to advice and even get their autographs."
This year’s theme was "Let your imagination soar". During the Telling Tales Festival books and stories jump off the page; you can travel into a story, meet characters and even step back in time. It’s all about creating fond memories around storytelling – whether it’s a story told in a book, through pictures, in music, or through movement.
The Telling Tales Festival is a day where kids can talk to authors, get drawing tips from illustrators, and sing and dance along with musicians. It’s also a fun family day to simply play and explore. There were so many fun family activities including costumed characters, a giant Book Swap and Shop, Bryan Prince Bookseller onsite book shop, children’s activity centre, contests and prizes. Plus, in the large meadow there were special birthday crafts to celebrate Hamilton Best Start’s 10th anniversary, an opportunity to try different musical instruments, and fun activities to get the kids moving with the YMCA.
To see a complete list of all the presenters and for more information, please visit the Telling Tales website at www.tellingtales.org.
