Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

DITCH THE SCREENS

ABC Family Literacy Day kicks off Unplug and Play Week in Kamloops

Jan 27, 2020 | 3:01 PM

KAMLOOPS — ABC Family Literacy Day has been kicking off Interior Savings Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week in Kamloops for the past nine years. On Saturday, the theme of this year’s Family Literacy day was Bugging’ Out. The event featured community dignitaries reading stories and singing songs, not to mention a whole pile of fun and educational activities in which families to take part.

It was likely one of the most attentive audiences Grandpa Bill O’Donovan has had in some time. Hundreds of children brought their moms and dads down to the Henry Grube Centre on Saturday for the 14th edition of ABC Family Literacy Day, which kicks off the 9th annual Interior Savings Unplug and Play Literacy Week.

“Unplug and Play, this is our ninth year,” Literacy in Kamloops Outreach Coordinator Fiona Clare explained. “It started with the one day, and when Literacy in Kamloops came into being, we decided to extend it into a whole week of activities.”

There were fun art projects, science experiments, and places for kids to dig around in a tub full of beans, as well as the always popular physical literacy area. Once the little ones played themselves out, they could grab a book to take home, courtesy of Literacy in Kamloops. For event organizer Maureen Doll, it’s all about the families.

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“Just the gratitude of families to be able to come and have a place to meet their friends, to see some new activities, to engage with each other, and just to make some memories,” Doll explained. “I just love watching the smiles of the parents and the children. It’s nice to see smiles on parent’s faces, too.”

The event is geared towards the early years, so for kids under six. That means a whole new group of families will take part, or that families with multiple kids will have come back for a number of years. It’s also the same agencies that put on the event every year, which adds to family feel.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

“it’s bee a lot of the same – if not the same people, then the same agencies,” Doll told CFJC Today. “The School Board has been on board since day one, as well s Literacy in Kamloops, who donates the books every single child gets to have, and the Y and the [TNRD] Library.”

Interior Savings Unplug and Play Family Literacy week continue all through this week, with events running every day throughout the city. For the full schedule, you can visit Unplug and Play on Facebook, or you can go to the Literacy in Kamloops website.