The Junior League of Greater Lakeland (JLGL) will hold its Fourth Annual World of Reading Festival at Barnett Park by the Lake Mirror Promenade in downtown Lakeland on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is free to the general public and provides an opportunity for children to learn through participation.

Upon arrival, each child will receive a passport. The attendees will then visit five countries and take part in an arts and crafts activity related to that particular region of the world. As the children exit each country, their passports will be stamped. After receiving all five stamps, the children will select a free Scholastic book to take home.

Last year, more than 650 children attended, and the JLGL anticipates a crowd of 800 children this year. In addition, the JLGL is excited to announce a guest performance by popular children’s singer/songwriter Jack Hartmann who will take the stage at 9:30 and 11 a.m.

“We are thrilled to have children’s musical sensation Jack Hartmann join us this year,” JLGL President Stacey McLaughlin said. “His music is educational and research-based, and equally important, kids love him!”

Other participants include the Lakeland Police Department, Lakeland Fire Department, Boys & Girls Club, Learning Resource Center, Huntington Learning Center, Success by Six and Parkland Puppets. Throughout the day, attendees will experience guest readers and performances, as well as inflatable activities for entertainment.

Families and children of all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, please contact Kimberly Cassidy at 863-370-0054 or visit the JLGL Web site at http://www.jlgl.com.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Announcements, Member Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.