This year’s theme for the day, overseen in Canada by ABC Life Literacy, is ‘let’s have a family party.’
Usually family literacy day doesn’t fall on a weekend.
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But with Jan. 27 on a Saturday this year, Lambton Library decided to go bigger, said the library’s Vanitia Campbell.
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Along with crafts, face painting, henna art and a craft using the laser cutter from the library’s makerspace, Dan the Music Man concerts, a movie, video games, community mural making, visits from Sarnia Sting mascots Buzz and Honey, a photo booth, balance and agility exercises for physical literacy by Lambton public health, and dreamcatcher-related crafts and drumming organized by Ska:na Family Learning Center are all part of a free festival at the downtown library branch, she said.
This year’s theme for the day, overseen in Canada by ABC Life Literacy, is ‘let’s have a family party,’ Campbell said.
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“So, we decided to take that theme and just essentially throw a big party at the Sarnia Library for families,” she said.
On top of the library activities, tours, a scavenger hunt and art activities are part of the day at the nearby Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery, she said.
It’s the first time the library and art gallery, both county-funded, have partnered on an initiative like this, she said.
“We really want to make sure the focus of the day is … to let people have fun, but also kind of educate people on what family literacy is,” she said.
And while things like video games might not seem like an obvious fit for literacy, many games involve a lot of reading and complex storylines, Campbell said.
“There are different facets of literacy,” she added, like physical literacy when it comes to balance and motor skills.
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“All of these different types of literacy work together to help a child, and an adult for that matter, have a well-rounded base for lifelong learning.
“It doesn’t always look like sitting down and reading a book together,” she said.
Snacks and door prizes are included at the event, she said.
Other groups participating include Literacy Lambton, Lambton Learns, the county’s children’s services department, and Boys and Girls Club of Sarnia-Lambton.
The day starts at 9 am and details are at lclibrary.ca/family-literacy-day.
Family literacy day has been celebrated annually in Canada since 1999, Campbell said.
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