St. Paul is saying aloha to its Literacy Luau, which has stalled before it began due to “a lack of community support,” according to a member on the Festival of Words committee.
“We sent out letters to 131 businesses and organizations and we only got three donations,” said Diana Tyler-Moon, executive director for the Community Learning Association, one of several community organizations represented on the committee. Members wanted organizations and/or individuals to help set up activity stations, to sponsor stations by supplying resources, or to donate prizes for children and families taking part in the Literacy Luau. A beach theme for the event might have seen kids reeling in paper fish with special words on them or making jewelry out of sea shells, or other literacy and learning-themed activities.
However, there will still be family literacy activities taking place at the St. Paul Municipal Library on Feb. 5 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pamela Amyotte, programmer at the library, says that games, such as a limbo contest, prizes, crafts, story time and snacks are all among the ideas for a low-key celebration of Family Literacy Day, which falls on Jan. 27. “We think that Family Literacy Day’s really important and we just want to participate in doing something for that,” Amyotte said of the event that encourages adults and children to read and learn together.
Leis and grass skirts will be handed out to the first 30 people that come through the doors for the event.
“It’s still going to be an Hawaiian theme, it’s just not going to be the big event we had planned,” said Tyler-Moon.
She was disappointed to see the lack of support for the event, adding that Cold Lake’s Festival of Words demonstrates just how successful a literacy event can be. “It’s so exciting,” she said. For instance, last year’s theme was A Bunch of Munsch, and children dressed up as characters from Canadian author Robert Munsch books, with little paper bag princesses and other Munsch characters running around, said Tyler-Moon.
The committee is still ironing out the details for the events of Feb. 5, and perhaps staging more literacy activities for later in the year, she added.
“We’re going to regroup and we’re thinking of planning something for the night of Community Awareness,” she said, adding further discussions will take place in March.