SANTA MONICA—The city of Santa Monica will hold its Arts & Literacy @ Home festival on Saturday, May 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The city reported on its website that participants can register online for a morning of family-friendly activities hosted by community organizations with book author readings and activities.
The Arts & Literacy Festival promotes the Santa Monica Cradle to Career Building Blocks for Kindergarten campaign, which helps parents, educators, early childcare providers, and other community partners work collaboratively to make sure all Santa Monica children start kindergarten ready to learn, inside and outside the classroom. The campaign launched in 2015 in response to findings from the Youth Wellbeing Report Card that showed only 65 percent of Santa Monica public school children are on track when Kindergarten starts.
This year’s theme “Wild Animal Adventure” will be showcased throughout the virtual event where children and adults are encouraged to dress as their favorite animals.
Arts & Literacy @ Home schedule:
-10:00 – 10:15 am Interactive Activities & Author Readings
-10:20 – 10:35 am Storytime with Librarian Vanessa Alvarado
-10:40 – 10:55 am Interactive Activities & Author Readings
-11:00 – 11:10 am Kids Animal Yoga
-11:10 – 11:25 am Interactive Activities & Author Readings
-11:30 – 12:00 noon Walk on the Wild Side Live Animal Show
Sessions will be available for participants to learn about virtual exhibitors showcasing their child services and community resources to support families. The virtual event will be done via the Hopin platform and participants can register in advance via the event link bit.ly/ArtsLit.
Event bags containing craft supplies to go along with the activities presented during the event and information from participating agencies will be available to participants before the event. They can be picked up starting Monday, April 26 during curbside pick-up hours at Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch, Montana Branch and Pico Branch. Supplies are on a first come first serve basis. Visit smpl.org for details on library hours.
To obtain more details about Virginia Avenue Park, visit smgov.net/vapark. For more details about the Santa Monica Cradle to Career Building Blocks to Kindergarten campaign, visit santamonicacradletocareer.org/kindergarten.
