Who is going to be there

 

 

 

Stone Soup

The Nanaimo Children’s Bookfest celebrates its

25th Anniversary

May 7, 2011!

The Nanaimo Children’s Roundtable will move to downtown Nanaimo in the year 2011. It will bring 700 to 800 children and their parents to downtown on May 7th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This is the story of the Nanaimo Bookfest-- organized and run by a volunteer group for families of Nanaimo and district for the past 24 years.

For those who may have forgotten the old folktale “Stone Soup,” or as the clever Canadian story teller Aubrey Davis tells it, “Bone Button Borscht,” a very hungry stranger came upon a village. No one wanted to give him food. He asked if anyone had a big iron pot, he filled it with water and proceeded to boil water. Soon the pot began to boil merrily. The people of the village became curious when he bent down, picked up a stone and threw it into the pot. “I am going to make a wonderful soup – stone soup,” he declared. In a few minutes he tasted the soup and said, “Oh it is very good but it needs a little carrot.” A woman came running with a carrot and dropped it into the pot. The stranger tasted it again and said, “Mmm, that’s very good but perhaps someone has a potato or a turnip.” Soon people were dropping in a little onion, cabbage, celery and little pepper. “Bring what you’ve got, put it in the pot, we’re having stone soup.” Soon the aroma filled the air and everyone had a delicious bowl of stone soup.

This story illustrates in part how Bookfest Came to be:
The Vancouver Island Children’s Book Festival had its beginnings in 1986. A member of the University Women’s Club suggested that there would be many people interested in working on a book festival for children. For several years a group in Nanaimo had talked about how wonderful it would be to have a festival like this but it was impossible to find the time to organize. Suddenly the dream could become a reality and the Nanaimo Children’s Literature Roundtable came into being for the sole purpose of presenting Canadian children’s authors and illustrators to children.
The players were in place:

• Canada Council for the Arts – provided the funding
• School District 68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith) – informed children, teacher-librarians, teachers and principals about the Festival
• A local independent book store (P.B. Cruise) made up kits that volunteers took into the schools to promote the Festival and set up a bookstore on site at the Festival to sell books
• Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina College) – provided the site for the event, advertising and registration, all free of charge
• The Nanaimo Children’s Literatrure Roundtable – provided the crucial planning and organization
• The Book Store on Bastion Street (no longer in business)

The goal of the Vancouver Island Children’s Book Festival has always been to bring the best of Canadian children’s writers and illustrators Central Vancouver Island. Tickets were sold to children, who in turn could bring an adult. The cost was kept low at $5 per child and $15 per family. Each child could attend three sessions, one of which was storytelling. Over the years, the Festival has hosted authors from every part of Canada, including Quebec and the North. We have many talented First Nations presenters as well. Costs are still low. It is now $10.00 per child and $25 for a family of three or more.

The first Festival in 1986 exceeded all expectations. We were aware that if we wanted writers to come to Nanaimo, then we had to treat them very well. We had very little money to spend so, from the beginning, presenters were billeted with families of the Book Festival. Many wonderful friendships developed from those experiences – some of which have been recorded in children’s picture books. We devised a time for the authors and illustrators to get together on their own, and so the Friday Night Dinner the night before the Festival was created so they could talk among themselves. On the day of the Festival, we hold a Wine and Cheese event for presenters, organizers and sponsors. This is followed by a celebration dinner in the evening after the Festival for 75 to 100 people that includes presenters, their spouses, organizers and all other volunteers and their families.

The planning for the Festival begins in June when we meet to de-brief from the Festival and compile a list of Canadian author/illustrators we would like to invite for the following year . The list is carefully balanced by considering many issues such as gender and the age of the children who attend. Once we have contacted authors and illustrators, the Vancouver Island Regional Library prepares a submission for the Canada Council. The grant is our main source of funding and it pays the costs of authors transportation and reading fees. When our grant is approved, the real work begins. More than 20 people meet regularly over the fall and winter to discuss every aspect of the Festival in detail.

The very first Festival set the tone for the following years. The first Saturday in May of 1985 was a gorgeous spring day. The sun shone, delicate pink cherry blossoms waved slightly in the breeze and banks of blooming azaleas lined the walkways at Vancouver Island University. To enhance the feeling of a festival, face painting, bubble blowing, bookmark making and special musical acts were offered over the lunch time. At the end of the last session, hundreds of children lined up to have their books autographed. Each year an illustrator is asked to provide a design for the following year’s t-shirt. These t-shirts are for sale at the Festival and are a very creative way to celebrate and promote our event.

The Festival has evolved over the years. From the beginning members of the Round Table were concerned about children who might not have the money to attend, so a scholarship program was set up and tickets were distributed through the schools. Over the years, the work of the Festival has increased. Magically, committees formed to take over parts of the organization. We began to fund raise locally - there is a list of our sponsors on the Supporters page. Their contributions enable us to pay the costs of reading fees and transportation for authors and illustrators from Alberta and British Columbia as well as our noontime entertainment. Our outreach program is one of our biggest jobs and greatest contributions to the children of Vancouver Island, One of our volunteers organizes and books in advance school readings so that authors and illustrators can stay for a week or two, visit schools and libraries in several school districts, and take home a substantial amount of income. Every year in addition to the 450 - 1000+ people who attend the day of the festival, another 7,000 children hear an author in their schools. Over a 24 year period that amounts to well over 160,000 children on Vancouver Island who have met a Canadian children’s author. Driving presenters up and down Vancouver Island is done completely by volunteers.

In the last few years The Vancouver Island Regional Library has offered a Mother Goose program for parents, babies and toddlers. We are actively reaching out to grandparents, inviting them to bring their grandchildren.

We are looking forward to continuing this great tradition, and continuing to show children how great our Canadian authors and illustrators are, and inspiring them to read, write, draw, and develop their creativity!