What do Batman, Superman, Flash and Captain America all have in common? Like every superhero, they know the importance of literacy.
Local superheroes of all ages are being called upon to dust off their capes, and fly, swing, or run over to this year's Festival of Words.
The annual event, which is celebrating its 15th year running, is being held Saturday, Jan. 28 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Cold Lake Seniors' Centre. This year's theme is Superheroes Read, Too.
“The (Festival of Words) is our celebration of National Family Literacy Day, which is on Jan. 27 every year,” explained Debbie Cardinal, executive director of the Cold Lake Community Learning Council, who hosts the event. “Everything is free. We have some of our community partners, such as Portage College, the library, the RCMP, and VSU, all come together. We give them a table and they'll do an activity of some type that has to do with literacy.”
The afternoon event has continued to grow in popularity since its inception. With a wide rage of themes from Literacy Luau to Little Party of the Prairie, and last year's, Winnie the Pooh, it has become a winter staple for many local families.
“We have some families that have been coming for 15 years… People look forward to the Festival of Words. I had one mother tell me one year that her kids get up at 5 o'clock in the morning to go to the ‘word party.' They knew it was that day and they were all set,” Cardinal recalled.
She added, “We have so much fun at this event, it's like a labour of love.”
The Festival of Words is hosted by the Cold Lake Community Learning Council, in partnership with Portage College and the Cold Lake Public Library. In addition to the activities set up by each organization, there will also be the annual spelling bee, pizza, and lots of prizes.
Attendees are encouraged to dress up like superheroes to earn an extra chance at winning a door prize. If donning a costume isn't appealing, new this year, anyone who brings in a non-perishable item for the food bank will also get an extra ticket to be entered in for prizes.
Cardinal expressed she's been blown away at the amount of support they've received from local companies. Despite the economy, most of the local oil producers are on board, as well as Friends of the Library, donating over $3,000 altogether.
“It's incredible; because of our sponsors we have $1,000 worth of books to give away. We're hoping to be able to give away a tablet or two, amongst the 30 other prizes.”
While the afternoon is literally all fun and games, it also brings awareness to a deeper message of the importance of childhood literacy.
“When you think about it, could anyone go 24 hours without reading anything anywhere? Unless you're out in the bush some place, even a stop sign is reading, a sign on a building is literacy. The more we can encourage that type of behaviour in our children, the better.”
