Reading & Home Runs: Literacy Night at Christian Park

Well, Indiana weather did what Indiana weather does best: threatened to ruin everyone’s plans…and didn’t. Psych!

Indiana Sports Corp’s Literacy Night at Christian Park was originally supposed to be outside, but with rain lurking in the forecast, the whole party moved indoors. Blah. I personally think everything is more fun outside, but apparently we don’t want to live on the edge.

Luckily, Indianapolis families weren’t scared off that easily.

One gym was full of action, including a home run derby and games, while the other was packed with community partners and activities. There were balloon animals, temporary tattoos, vendors, and plenty of kids making the rounds.

And, of course, there was me. Sylvia. Bookseller. Literacy enthusiast. Indoor-event survivor.

With school officially back in session, I did a little informal polling. Reviews were mixed. Some kids were genuinely PUMPED to be back—friends! Teachers! New year! Others gave me a look that could best be described as, “Please don’t make me talk about it.” Fair.

We set up a booth filled with ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) for families to take home, plus a whole rack of books priced under $10 so families could snag an affordable new read.

But one of my favorite parts of the night wasn’t even the books.

We brought our fan favorite, Draw the Book Fairy Community art project, where kids—and plenty of adults—added themselves, their ideas, and their artistic masterpieces to our growing Book Fairy community. There is something pretty great about watching a bunch of people gather around a piece of wood and leave their little mark behind. Some serious artists emerged. Some…very confident artists emerged. And some that stepped out of their comfort zone and let their inner Bob Ross out!

Rain or no rain, the night did exactly what a literacy night should do: brought families together, put books into kids’ hands, and made reading part of the fun instead of another thing on the back-to-school checklist.

Thanks to Indiana Sports Corp, all of the community partners, and every family who ventured out!

Already holiday planning,
XO-Sylvia