The 2010 Summer Literacy Festival Wrap Up

A young boy shows off his creation (with help from his mom) at Alphabet Soup

YWCA of Queens' 2010 Summer Literacy Festival brought together over 300 children, youth and family members from all over Queens on Saturday, August 7th, to raise awareness and interest in reading and writing. The day kicked off with a special greeting from Councilmember Peter Koo, who emphasized the importance of staying engaged in books, especially during the summer months. The festival was jam-packed with different activities for youth to participate. For the Alphabet Soup activity, kids used different crafts to construct their name in a creative way. The puppet show entertained children with stories like "Little Red Riding Hood" and Senator Toby Ann Stavisky captivated eager listeners with her rendition of "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs."

Story time with Senator Toby Ann Stavisky

During the popular Spelling Bee event, contestants came prepared and determined to win. In fact, contestants knew words so well that the moderator nearly ran out of words! The brand new competition Teen Jeopardy allowed youth to imagine being on the famous game show and answer trivia questions pertaining to categories such as geography, science, famous people and U.S. history. For Speak Easy, another new contest, participants tapped their creative sides to express what women empowerment or environmental sustainability meant to them. Performances ranged from speeches to poems to even a rap! Needless to say... the judges had an extremely difficult time selecting the winners.

Summer Literacy Festival Winners with attorney Carolym Im and NY1 reporter Michelle Park

"It is always so encouraging to see our community's youth come out and share with us in the celebration of literacy and the joy of reading," said Moo Young Kim, coordinator of the Summer Literacy Festival. "We look forward to our event next summer with even more activities and exciting games!"

The Summer Literacy Festival was made possible by the generous contributions of HSBC Bank.

Staff and volunteers show off their Y pride!