The following is a press release from the City of Santa Monica.
The City of Santa Monica, in collaboration with SMMUSD and YMCA Healthy Kids Day, welcomes families to Virginia Avenue Park on Saturday, April 29, 2023, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for the free annual Arts & Literacy Festival.
This year’s theme is “Ready, Set, Build,” and the event will host over thirty different community organizations offering games and activities that align with Santa Monica Cradle to Career Building Blocks for Kindergarten campaign. The campaign promotes social and emotional development, self-care, physical well-being and motor skills, language development, and early learning to help parents, educators, early childcare providers, and other community partners work together to make sure all Santa Monica children start kindergarten ready to learn, inside and outside the classroom.
Event activities include:
- reDiscover Center’s Tool Petting Zoo and Carboard Construction Zone.
- Cayton Children’s Museum’s Recycled City activity.
- The Santa Monica Public Library Storytime Stage, featuring construction-themed books read by Public Works staff in hardhats.
- The Under Construction Game Area, featuring tool relay races, building blocks, truck obstacle courses, and more.
- Roaming stilt walkers and Bob the Builder.
- Stamp collecting from activity booths on the event’s Explorer Card, redeemable for a free book at the Santa Monica Public Library booth.
Main Stage performance schedule:
- Emcee Sean Hill
- Santa Monica Youth Orchestra’s Mariachi Ensemble and Balkan Ensemble
- Bollypop Interactive Dance Performance
- Elemental Music’s Prelude Program
- Santa Monica Ballet Folklorico
- Psychic Buster Magic and More Show
For more information, visit santamonica.gov/places/parks/virginia-avenue-park. For more information about the Santa Monica Cradle to Career Building Blocks to Kindergarten campaign, visit santamonicacradletocareer.org/kindergarten.
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