NEWPORT, R.I. – The 10th annual March Into Reading, a festival that brings together local families and authors in a celebration of children’s books, will be held Saturday, March 2 at Salve Regina University.
Free and open to children of all ages and their families, the annual event has become an Aquidneck Island tradition featuring readings, workshops, book signings, children’s discovery rooms and a book sale. No reservations are required to attend the event, which will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at O’Hare Academic Center on Ochre Point Avenue.
Presented by the Aquidneck Collaborative for Education and Salve Regina University, this year’s reading festival will feature participation from eight local authors, including: Ann Hood, Laura Backman, Laura Gates Galvin, Lucinda Landon, David Biedrzycki, Marc Tyler Nobleman, Mark Peter Huges and David Macaulay.
Macaulay, recipient of the Caldecott Medal and the MacArthur Fellowship, will give a presentation at 10 a.m. Galvin and Backman will serve as guest readers in a reading room for young children, and all authors will host book signings.
Each year, March Into Reading impacts thousands of K-5th grade students, their families, teachers and librarians by inspiring an increased interest in reading while reinforcing the importance of literacy skills.
The program is made possible this year with the support of the Hamilton Family Foundation, People’s Credit Union, United Way of Rhode Island, Middletown Education Collaborative, Portsmouth Public Education Foundation, The Newport Daily News, Island Books, Newport Hotel Group and Newport Public Education Foundation.
The Aquidneck Collaborative for Education (ACE) is a unique partnership of educational institutions spearheaded and coordinated by Salve Regina’s department of education. It is a non-profit association of Aquidneck Island educational institutions that was incorporated in 1993 and includes early childhood centers, independent, parochial, private and public elementary and secondary schools, the James L. Maher Center, Salve Regina University, Newport Campus of the Community College of Rhode Island and the U.S. Naval War College.
The ACE mission is to strengthen existing relations among the educational institutions, to promote education as a community value, to provide opportunities for professional development and instructional advancement, to share facilities and resources and to foster communication among the educational institutions and within the community.
For more information, call (401) 341-3157 or visit ace.salvereginablogs.com