APRIL 16, 2014

Festival of Tales

PVCC students reach out to children in the community through the Art of Storytelling
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PHOENIX – Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) students are bringing books to life through the art of storytelling during the Spring Festival of Tales, on Saturday, April 26, 2014, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Kranitz Student Center (KSC).

PVCC’s Art of Storytelling classes and Club Ed present this free event for children in the community. Storytelling sessions are at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. In addition, PVCC’s Partners in Art Club will provide demonstrations of pottery making and clay sculpting, and science faculty will lead a walking tour of a scale model solar system, with brief stories at each stop.

In its 12th semester at PVCC, the Festival of Tales is a fun day of reading, literacy and cultural activities for local children that includes arts and crafts, games, face painting and music. More than 2,000 new books will be given away to participating children.

The Festival of Tales engages community college students in the teaching and learning process through storytelling. Since its inception, the festival has grown from just 250 participants to more than 900, with more than 100 volunteers at each event. In the past five years, more than 25,000 new books have been given away to children, many of whom come from low-income families.

"Storytelling is beneficial for everyone involved because it helps develop an awareness, understanding and respect for other cultures and new ideas. For children, storytelling is especially beneficial because it enhances literacy skills and sparks the imagination," said PVCC education faculty Meggin Kirk. "Students in the Art of Storytelling class are pursuing a number of different careers, such as education, business or nursing. Everyone can connect to a story. It's wired within us as humans. The skills learned in this class and at the festival will carry over into many aspects of PVCC students' lives, and it's a lot of fun too!"

Paradise Valley Community College is located at 18401 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. Parking for the KSC is at 34th Street and Union Hills Drive. Please RSVP for this event by emailing [email protected]. Be sure to include the number of the children who will be attending and their ages.