Community Day Celebration
Campus Instructional Facility
Champaign-Urbana and surrounding area families and community members are invited to celebrate youth literature at the Festival's Community Day Celebration, a free event, open to the public. Author readings, book signings, puppet shows, live music, art displays, and a variety of hands-on activities for children will all be part of the fun!
Parking Information
Free Saturday parking will be available in Lot B1 or at the Campus Center Public Parking Deck. Both are nearby within walking distance to the Campus Instructional Facility.
Community Day Schedule of Events
The 2024 Community Day schedule at the Campus Instructional Facility will be released closer to the event.
Entertainment
Details on the 2024 event entertainment will be available soon. See below for details on last event's entertainment!
Dan Wild
Dan Wild is a published illustrator, award winning designer, and caricaturist with 15 years of experience in the fields of advertising, marketing and commercial art. Come to the Youth Literature Festival on Saturday, March 30th, Dan Wild would love to do your caricature!
For more information about the Dan Wild, visit the website.
Banks Bridgewater Lewis (BBL) Fine Arts Academy Performance
This group started in 2005 as "Mo' Betta Music After School Academy," a faith-based collaboration between two community leaders from Bethel A.M.E. Church, Salem Baptist Church, and several University of Illinois programming units.
Now, Banks Bridgewater Lewis Fine Arts Academy (BBL Fine Arts Academy). The name change reflects a vision for an expanded arts academy that is inclusive of drama, dance, and visual arts. The names also honors members of the community who have supported this group from the early stages: Carrie Banks, Erma Bridgewater, and Rosalind Lewis.
The objective is to offer jazz and popular music enrichment activities that encourage school age, low-income students in upper elementary through high school of all races, genders, and economic statuses to strive for excellence so they can participate and compete in their local school bands and choirs.
For more information about the BBL Fine Arts Academy, visit their website.
Centro LCV Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art developed by Africans in Brazil during the period of slavery. Unique fighting styles from various regions of Africa merged in Brazil and became Capoeira. Because the enslaved people were not allowed to openly practice combat techniques, they concealed the fight as a dance or game by incorporating musical instruments and call and response songs. In Urbana-Champaign, this cultural experience can be found at the Capoeira Angola Center of Mestre João Grande Study Group led by Denis Chiaramonte. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, Chiaramonte has more than 25 years of experience training with a series of esteemed Brazilian masters.
For more information about the Centro LCV Capoeira, visit their website.
Papashoy Klezmer Band
Papashoy (corn) plays old-time Jewish klezmer music in the style of the village bands of Yiddish Eastern Europe’s own corn country. Bring your dancing shoes for their assortment of lively tunes and your hankies for some sweet, sad melodies. Surprises at every turn! Members are Frances Harris and Amanda Ramey (fiddles), Rob Sweedler (accordion), Rob Krumm (guitar), Charlie Harris (bass), and Cody Jensen (mandolin, xylophone).
For more information about the Papashoy Klezmer Band, visit their Facebook group.
Edison Middle School Jazz Band
The music program at Edison Middle School has over 180 student participants. There are three concert bands, one concert honor band, three jazz combos, orchestra, and choir. The EMS Jazz Ensemble has participated in many festivals including the New Trier Jazz Festival, IGSMA district festival, and the Purdue Jazz Festival. Edison has performed in numerous locations, including the Krannert Center and the Champaign Public Library.
For more information about the Edison Middle School Jazz Band, visit their website.
Portable Poppets Playhouse
Elizabeth Goldsmith-Conley is a puppeteer with a long career in education. She has taught at all levels from nursery school through college and has worked with both gifted and struggling students in inner city schools as well in exclusive private schools. She is a talented performer who has used her special expertise in reading and literacy to enrich her performances and workshops.
Elizabeth Goldsmith-Conley’s Portable Poppets Playhouse will present The Three Wishes, an amusing update of a classic folktale. Come see the show to find out why Hedwig has sausages hanging from her nose and what Ludwig plans to do with his axe.
For more information about the Portable Poppets Playhouse, visit their website.
Kim Sheahan, Storyteller
Sheahan has been a central Illinois educator since 1991, incorporating oral traditions into her multicultural programs at the University of Illinois' Spurlock Museum. She is a storyteller for about ten years and has performed folktales and one-woman shows at storytelling festivals, school assemblies, city-wide celebrations, personal parties, and gatherings of all kinds ever since.
Her enthusiasm is both unmistakable and contagious. Come to the Youth Literature Festival and let Kim Sheahan share the joy and power of the tale with you!
THANK YOU to all our Activity Room Partners!
If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in the Youth Literature Festival, please contact Mackenzie Gillespie at dankle@illinois.edu or call (217) 300-1774. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your accessibility needs.