Book Fiesta will be held Saturday from 1-4 p.m. at East Lake Park. Book Fiesta is powered by a team of moms under the name of Ella Chattanooga who want to help the East Lake Community connect, make, and learn.
Book Fiesta is a literacy event celebrating Children’s Day/World Book Day, and is based on the picture book, ‘Book Fiesta’ written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael Lopez.
In this book, children celebrate Children’s day by reading stories with their friends and families in a series of magical settings painted by Mr. Lopez. Ella Chattanooga wants kids to experience this book in tactile ways, so it has created larger than life decorations based on the book’s illustrations, having read alouds with some favorite picture books, and facilitating activities based on book selection.
These activities are designed to engage whole families across various cultural backgrounds, and the hope is to see families all joining in to play and read together, getting to know their neighbors, and creating habits of play that bring their families together and help little ones learn and grow, said officials.
Book Fiesta came to life out of the response to and grant awarded from Causeway’s Challenge III question of How can more opportunities to play make Chattanooga a stronger city?
The community has rallied together to support Book Fiesta. More than 1,200 new English and Spanish books will be given away to the East Lake community at the event thanks to a donation from Read20. The books being read aloud at Book Fiesta as part of the literacy lineup will be donated to the East Lake Elementary library thanks to Chattanooga’s local independent bookstore Star Line Books. Book Fiesta has only been possible thanks to Chattanooga’s community with volunteers and donations from GreenSpaces, Orange Grove, and many other local organizations.
For more information visit ellachattanooga.com or call Jazmine LeBlanc at 299-5299.