by Roger Hannon, Coordinator, Georgian Literacy

Special-event funding is an emerging trend in Collingwood, Ontario. Not only does this community host a plethora of Elvis tribute artists each summer, but a full roster of special events is featured throughout the year ranging from a world-class equestrian event to a gruelling triathlon for people of all ages.

Georgian Literacy, a community- based literacy organization in Collingwood, decided to join the parade of special events during the spring of 1998 with its first-ever Spread the Word Literacy Festival. The mission was to provide a fun, family-oriented festival to celebrate the joys of literacy. The organizing committee wanted to inspire an awareness about the importance of literacy at home, in the community and at work.

The vision was clear: to unite a family of readers and potential readers through author readings, literacy information, book selling, family-fun activities and live entertainment. The result was an event that increased literacy awareness and much-needed funding to expand existing literacy programming in order to touch the lives of more potential readers.

Less than one year later, the National Literacy Secretariat approved Georgian Literacy’s application to fund a project to develop a how-to guide on implementing a community literacy festival. Cathy Rogers Stahr was hired to research and write this informative and in-depth guide, which totals 70 pages and is available through literacy networks, AlphaPlus Centre, NALD and provincial literacy organizations.

The contents include a back-grounder on literacy, important informa-tion about planning a festival for your area, as well as details about committee development, volunteer job descriptions and lists of vital contacts within - and beyond - the literacy field.

There are precise descriptions for the tasks involved in developing various aspects of a festival, including: author readings; children’s activities and entertainment; exhibits and displays; fundraising; food services; marketing; volunteers; hospitality; festival book store; used book sales; and celebrity book auction. In addition, the guide explores the various funding mechanisms available to community groups, from national organizations such as The Canada Council for the Arts to local service clubs.

Involvement by a broad cross-section of the community will help to promote a young festival. Schools, clubs, and youth groups are encouraged to take part in the festival through contests and volunteer participation.

There are copies of «Spread the Word: How to Implement a Community Literacy Festival» available at Georgian Literacy. For further information, contact Georgian Literacy, 180 Ontario Street, Collingwood ON, L9Y 1M6, Tel. (705) 444-2250,
E-mail: geolite@georgian.net
WWW: http://www.georgian.net/gtl/

The author of “Spread the Word: How to Implement a Community Literacy Festival”, Cathy Rogers Stahr (pictured at right) is currently employed as a literacy instructor with the Simcoe County District School Board. She has also worked as an English instructor teaching ESL. Cathy obtained her Masters Degree in Public History, and Bachelor’s Degree in History. She was a volunteer with the Dryden Literacy Association before moving to Collingwood, where she volunteers with Georgian literacy and the Spread the Word Literacy Festival.

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