Children’s Book Fest gratitude

To the Editor:

On Saturday, October 8th, young readers and their families turned out in droves to celebrate children’s literature and literacy at the Warwick Children’s Book Festival. Seventy-three authors and illustrators of children’s books attended to talk with families, autograph and sell their books. The atmosphere was effervescent.

An event of this size calls upon the generosity, goodwill, talent and sheer hard work of many people throughout the year. I’d like to highlight those whose efforts made the day possible.

Through a gift to the Albert Wisner Public Library Foundation, Glenn P. and Susan D. Dickes once again demonstrated their commitment to children’s literacy by underwriting the costs of the festival. Their belief in the importance of this event, and their generosity in helping us develop it fully, has been unwavering. Please join the Library’s Board, me and the staff in thanking them for their extraordinary, ongoing generosity.

The Village of Warwick committed funding to the Festival, too, which helped defray costs. DPW Supervisor Mike Moser and his team contributed much time and labor preparing Stanley-Deming Park, from planning and configuring a new parking area, to planting new grass seed and much more. They did a wonderful job both for the event and for the community.

Warwick Valley Telephone donated the time and expertise of Pete Luciano, who set up, tested and secured the dedicated internet access required for the bookseller to process transactions. This is a critical part of the puzzle, and as always, Pete did a wonderful job. Thank you, Pete and WVT!

ShopRite of Warwick donated snacks and beverages to help us support the authors and illustrators, who put in a long, busy day and needed refreshment. We greatly appreciate ShopRite’s ready generosity.

Wadeson’s donated hay for us to create a space for children to read their new books aloud to Branson the therapy dog, who brought with him his family, Polly and Ernie Vanderkruik. Many thanks to Wadeson’s, Branson, Polly and Ernie.

Cheryl Rogowski kindly permitted us to promote the Festival at the Warwick Valley Farmers’ Market. It’s an ideal venue to meet people from other communities, and we are thankful for the opportunity.

We offer extravagant thanks to a tireless group of 27 (!) teen volunteers who showed up in the chilly morning hours and stayed all day helping with a multitude of tasks. Many authors and illustrators singled out the teens for high praise, remarking on their enthusiasm and attentiveness. We’re proud to relay the accolades to them, their families and to the community.

Likewise, a stalwart crew of adult volunteers turned out to add both brain and brawn to our set-up and clean-up. Lugging heavy tables, preparing the tables for the authors’ arrival, carrying heavy boxes of books at the beginning of the day and re-packing books at the end were just some of the tiring, unglamorous jobs they handled. We are most appreciative, and hope they’ve recovered by now.

And finally, closest to home: the Friends of the Library -- the ultimate library ambassadors -- and library staff were involved in numerous Festival details. The Friends raised money through doughnut, water and tote bag sales, and the library staff good-naturedly added Festival tasks to their regular responsibilities. Together, they are the lifeblood of the Festival and of the Library itself. To them, I offer my greatest thanks and appreciation.

Sincerely,

Lisa Laico

Library Director