Rachel Kappel, Rob Bujan, Literacy Fund co-founders Susan Simon and Chris Jones, Lisa Dolan and Hudson Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton.
By Amy Krzanik of Rural Intelligence
Most of us know what it’s like to get lost in a book, having spent many childhood hours escaping into, learning from and being befriended by stories both real and imagined. The large crowd of teachers, authors and community members who gathered in support of the Hudson Children’s Book Festival Literacy Fund on Saturday, March 19 at Stair Galleries also have experienced this feeling and seen it first hand in the city’s schoolchildren. Created by Lisa Dolan and Susan Simon in 2009, the Festival (this year occurring on Saturday, May 7) is the largest book festival in NY State, and the festival’s Literacy Fund helps some of the state’s neediest students. Proceeds from this 4th annual cocktail party will allow Hudson City School District students (70 percent of whom live at poverty level) to attend the Festival and purchase a book of their choice directly from an author, all free of charge. At the event, board members announced a new feature of the Fest. In addition to the free book vouchers (300 given away last year), scholarship money for the textbook purchases of graduating high school seniors, and financial support for summer reading books, the organization recently launched the “Thumb’s Up” award, which has students reading, reviewing and voting on their favorite books by authors coming to the summertime event. The winning author will be presented with an award from the children at the Festival.
Lisa Dolan and Pooky Amsterdam
Wendy Schmalz, author Seymour Simon and Liz Nealon.
Laurence Paverd, board member Brigitte Gfeller and Valerie Gross, Esq.
Major sponsors Paula and Charles Millar with Lisa Dolan
https://ruralintelligence.com/parties/hudson-childrens-book-festival-cocktail-party
