Evanston Township High School will host its second annual E-Town Community Literacy Fest this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will feature local restaurants, raffles and book giveaways.
Beyond the event’s literary-themed activities, organizers from the ETHS literacy team — a group of school officials that work on literacy initiatives — said they want to encourage reading and representation through the celebration.
Jerry Succes emphasized that literacy is especially important to ETHS educators and community members, because it is “not only one of (the) four pillars … at ETHS,” but also the foundation for “every discipline.”
While the ETHS literacy team throws the event, many of the stations and booths are run by high school student volunteers completing community service hours.
The literacy team plans to hold the event at school tennis courts located at the corner of Dodge and Church Street. In the event of rain, it will move into the ETHS cafeteria.
ETHS is collaborating on this event with Young, Black & Lit. The non-profit organization was co-founded in 2018 by Krenice Ramsey after she had struggled to find children’s books with Black representation.
Young, Black & Lit will give away more than 150 inclusive children’s books on Saturday. When children consume this literature they can “look at and read stories and see their culture — their family, their lifestyle, their hair,” Ramsey said.
“It gives them confidence and makes them feel like they and their families matter,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said diverse depictions in children’s books also contribute to what he referred to as the “mirrors and windows” theory. Children not only see themselves represented, but they get to learn more about those with different identities.
The event will also feature several community organizations. Evanston Public Library will bring its bookmobile, a van that is a movable subset of the library. EPL representatives will also attend to answer families’ questions and set up new library cards.
Youth & Opportunity United plans to pitch in to promote literacy in the community. YOU is an Evanston non-profit organization that strives to support youth and their families in their paths to success, according to its website.
Various family-oriented events will take place, including a DIY book bag station, a poetry writing station, face painting and a create your own meme booth. Those looking to indulge in complementary cuisine can choose from tamales, Jamaican food and more, which three local vendors will provide free of charge.
There will be a bevy of book giveaways, including bilingual texts and works written by local authors. Evanston based authors Karla Valenti and Zachary Glick will hand out books and sign autographs.
The Literacy Fest will continue working to create a passionate community of readers who are “interested in sharing the books they have, and talking about them with their friends and their families,” Succes said.
ETHS reading specialist Liz Bramley said this passion to gain and spread knowledge will give the students “something to hold onto” and can be a “fun and welcoming and social and enjoyable” activity.
“(Literacy) is a part of life — and it’s a beautiful part of life,” Bramley said.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
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