Music, books and hot dogs, does it get any better?
This Saturday, the event, “¡Día de los niños! ¡Día de los libros!” will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Edinburg City Hall Courtyard.
The UTRGV Office of Public Art, Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library and the South Texas Literacy Coalition are the sponsors of the event.
“We would hope that the community gets excited about this event, and the fact that we are collaborating with the local library,” said Dahlia Guerra, who is the assistant vice president for Public Art and Special Projects.
The purpose of the event is to promote literacy and appreciation of early childhood reading.
“We are targeting children because that’s the future. We need to get them when they are very, very young,” Guerra said. “We want to stress to the community how important it is for parents to read to their children.”
It was scheduled to take place at the Performing Arts Complex on the Edinburg campus, but the organizers said a bigger space would be more suitable.
“The space that we have is big enough to where any size of a crowd can fit well,” said computer science senior Maria Romero, who is a student assistant helping with the event.
Last year’s event drew 300 people, and hundred of free books were given to attendees.
“Last year, we didn’t have as much time to plan for it, and it just came out of nowhere. So this year, we are expecting a lot more people,” Romero said. “It’s going to be at a bigger area. There’s going to be a more lot people to help. Hopefully, a lot more book donations [as well], and it’s going to be bigger.”
She said she remembers events like this at the university when she was younger, and that it impacted not only her life, but her friend’s life, too.
“When I was younger … my mom [would] drive me to events [like these] at the university all the time and we still have all those books at home,” Romero said. “So, I know [it has] impacted a lot of my peers and my family as well. … Kids remember little things like that.”
Guerra sees the creation of the event as a response to the community.
“Engaging our community. … It’s also a mission of UTRGV, in general, [responding to the] community, and what our community needs,” she said.
Her main goal is for parents to start reading to their children at a young age.
The event will have different activities, such as dance and musical presentations, games, local authors reading to children, free face-painting and crafts, as well as book giveaways, according to an event flyer. Special appearances will include Ferdinand the Bull, based on the children’s book of the same name, and Diana Seitz, an assistant professor of music and violinist. Seitz and Guerra will read to children, while performing live music.
“It is a wonderful event for the family. It’s in an afternoon [and] it would be a beautiful day outdoors and they can even bring their puppy dogs!” Guerra said.
The event is free to the public.
