Event Date: October 25, 2011

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Reading is FUNdamental.  It's more than a slogan.  It's an established fact.  Success in school and success in life demands that children acquire solid reading skills.  The role of teachers is crucial, but the late Moline teacher and children's author David R. Collins hoped to help teachers inspire a love of reading and writing among children by exposing them to the writers and illustrators behind the books they read.  Thus was born the Children's Literature Festival.  Now, 30 years later, the Children's Literature Festival is still reaching out to area schools and their students.  The latest—and we hope greatest—chapter of the Festival unfolds on Tuesday, October 25, from 8:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the RiverCenter in Davenport.

Quad City children in grades 3rd through 6th are invited to the Children’s Literature Festival to learn from an all-star lineup of authors, illustrators, and storytellers. Included in this year’s cast of presenters are: Claire Vanderpool, 2011 Newbery Award-winning author of Moon Over Manifest; Belinda Holbrook,  a Davenport author who tells stories with string figures; local poet Ryan Collins; illustrator David Houk; Chris Turnipseed, a Davenport teacher-librarian and member of the Riverbend Storytelling Guild; Pavane Gorrepati and Ramya Prabhu, author and illustrator, respectively, of A Buzzy Bee Tale; Ann Hailey, author of the Fishscale Girl series; Lisa Riebe, author of the Pond Punkies series; Cara Fonteyne and Suzy Sanchez, writer and illustrator, respectively, of Cooper Moves In; and Ann Boaden and Karin Youngberg, Augustana College professors who write novels for young readers under the penname Ann Young. These festival authors, illustrators, and storytellers will meet with assigned groups to discuss their work, share ideas, and answer questions.

Adults would find such a lineup of talent impressive.  Children should find it educational and inspirational.  Each elementary school in the Mississippi Valley community is invited to share in the excitement! Homeschooled children are also encouraged to participate.

Registration forms are available through the Midwest Writing Center and Davenport Public Library. An “Adult Supervisor” (parent, teacher, librarian, or friend) must accompany every five students. Cost for each person is $5. Students should bring a box lunch.

Books and artwork by our lineup of authors and illustrators will be available for purchase and autographing. Proceeds from these sales will be used for future festivals.

Also included in the day is an interactive voyage on the ill-fated passenger liner Titanic with Captain Rick Sundin.

The David R. Collins Children’s Literature Festival is made possible by grants from the Riverboat Development Authority, Scott County Regional Authority, Moline Foundation, and Bi-State Literacy Council. Other partners include the Midwest Writing Center and Davenport Public Library.

For more information about the festival, contact Tom Miller, Children’s Literature Festival Board President, at 563-332-8967.

DAVENPORT, IOWA – Austin-based singer-songwriter and recording artist Darden Smith will be a guest of the Rock Island Arsenal chapter of the Association of the United States Army in Davenport October 18-20. The three-day event will conclude with a concert fundraiser October 20 at Adler Theatre to benefit soldier support programs.

A luncheon in the RiverCenter, 136 E. Third Street, will kick off Smith’s visit on Tuesday, October 18 at 11:30 a.m. Smith will discuss his recent songwriting work with Wounded Warriors and will play his song “Angel Flight” before heading to visit the Rock Island Arsenal Youth Center at 3 p.m. Twenty military youth will engage in Smith’s established “Be An Artist Program,” which has used personalized and innovative songwriting sessions to encourage student and communal creativity since 2003. Smith has presented the program across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France.

“We want to emphasize the benefits of unlocking creativity across the board,” says RIA AUSA Executive Vice President Kerry Skinner. “We’re excited to be able to utilize all that Darden has to offer in several different areas.”

Presentation of the “Be An Artist Program” will continue Wednesday, October 19 with three 50-minute sessions at the Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, at 10 a.m. Groups of students in grades 4, 5 and 6 will gather to engage in and songwriting and music education activities, sponsored by the River Music Experience, the HAVLife Foundation and the Quad Cities Optimist & Rotary Clubs.

The finale concert fundraiser will begin at 7 p.m. at the Adler Theatre, 136 E. Third Street, on Thursday, October 20. All proceeds will benefit soldier support programs funded through AUSA, the voice of the U.S. Army on Capitol Hill and at the grassroots level. The organization’s role as a conduit in aligning resources and needs for soldiers and their families continues to benefit servicemen and women nationwide.

“The finale concert will be a chance to celebrate those who serve and those supporting those who serve,” says Skinner.

For more information, visit www.ria-ausa.org, www.dardensmith.com, www.be-an-artist.com.

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