National Reading Campaign and Calgary Reads to celebrate Reading Town Canada with over 50 events

The National Reading Campaign and Calgary Reads will host a celebration of reading in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Calgary, Alberta May 2 – 9. “Charlottetown is an ideal place to rediscover the joy of reading and bring us back to this important pastime. Reading Town Canada will include over 50 events and activities for all ages guaranteed to provide fun and excitement to all who participate,” said James Roy of the National Reading Campaign (pictured previously). “We’re looking forward to implementing this exceptional initiative simultaneously in Calgary,” added Steacy Collyer, Executive Director of Calgary Reads.
Sponsored by TD Bank Group and partnering with PEI Literacy Alliance and the Confederation Centre Public Library, Charlottetown’s Reading Town will host this week-long celebration that will bring reading into every aspect of community life. Featured authors include: Charlottetown’s David Weale; award-winning children’s book writers Linda Granfield and Bill Swan; and creator of the Little Mosque on the Prairie Zarqa Nawaz, who will read from her new book Laughing All The Way to the Mosque. Other activities include the installation of 10 Tiny Lending Libraries, Bookmark Bookstore’s Authors for Indies Day, a Pizza Pie Poem delivered with every pizza, and Read and Relax with Dogs at the PEI Humane Society. The Robertson Library at the University of PEI will also be reprinting an historical issue of The Guardian newspaper in memory of author, L.M. Montgomery, while making the copies freely available across Charlottetown. For further event details go to: http://www.nationalreadingcampaign.ca/reading-town-events/.
As a result of national interest in Reading Town Canada, the National Reading Campaign is also partnering with Calgary Reads to hold a concurrent Reading Town in the Calgary neighbourhoods of Inglewood and Ramsay. “We’re so fortunate to leverage the tremendous community spirit of these two dynamic urban villages,” said Collyer. “The community energy, coupled with an enthusiasm for reading, has helped us create a line-up of amazingly creative, interactive, fun, informative and inspiring events. There’s something for everyone.”
Some of the “gems” in Calgary include: a Reading Between the Wines event for (adult) book-wormish oenophiles; a family-friendly, self-guided secret ‘story’ walk; a Little Free Library building workshop; ‘Read Alouds’ in the Park; free books drops; author presentations; parent CAFEs and much more. Visit Reading Town Canada at www.readingtowncanada.ca for more information on the Charlottetown event and www.calgaryreads.com/readingtown for intormation on the Calgary events.
The National Reading Campaign is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the principle that reading is essential to the well-being and happiness of an individual, and to that person’s capacity to act as a citizen in a democracy. It’s a coalition of publishers, librarians, educators, parents and readers from across the country, all of whom have a passionate belief in the goals of the movement.