While people are usually sedentary when reading, the City of Nanaimo parks, recreation and environment department and Vancouver Island Regional Library want to get people active.
The two organizations are partnering for StoryWalk, a free interactive reading event on April 30 at Maffeo Sutton Park between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., featuring Laura Numeroff’s book If You Give a Pig a Pancake.
Stations will be set up with a book page on a sign board. Parents and children will get fresh air, while walking from station to station reading. Each display will be numbered and will correlate with questions, such as “What is on page 2, in the window?” said Tracy Stuart, organizer and City of Nanaimo recreation coordinator.
StoryWalk will take place on the hill, adjacent to the playground area and next to Swy-a-lana Lagoon, which is ideal, said Stuart.
“Part of it, too, is interacting with nature and the park and getting families in the park that may not be there regularly, that we wanted them to be able to enjoy a few different components to the park,” said Stuart.
This is the first time a StoryWalk is taking place in Nanaimo, but Julie Carter, a librarian at Nanaimo Wellington library and organizer, said she has arranged similar events at her branch.
“I’ve seen how much the kids have enjoyed doing those ones inside the branch and I just know it could be so much better and so much more exciting for them in Nanaimo’s beautiful parks,” said Carter.
She said there will be pig and pancake-centric activities, too.
“We’ve got a little craft the kids are going to do,” said Carter. “We also are going to set up a (foam) pancake relay for the kids to weave around, try to hold them on their spatulas and a pancake toss.”
There are many reasons why If You Give a Pig a Pancake, was selected, including the fact that the pig is cute, Carter said.
“We also like the fact that it’s a circular story,” said Carter. “You start out with a pancake and syrup and it leads back to the pancake, so from that point of view, I’m hopeful that the kids, once they finish the story, will be so excited that they’ve read the story ... that they’ll want to go around a second time.”