Bookmarked! reading festival begins this weekend

Lucy Daniels Center's reading festival for kids begins this weekend and continues to May 5 with a variety of free storytimes and events for families.

Posted 12:24 a.m. Apr 24, 2012 — Updated 12:24 a.m. Apr 24, 2012

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

I wrote about the Lucy Daniels Center's Bookmarked! 2012 reading festival for kids a few weeks ago. Now it's nearly here!

The event brings attention to the center's Lucy's Book Club, which is designed for babies to six-year-olds and their parents. The goal is to encourage parents to read to their kids by recommending books that approach important developmental themes in a safe and reassuring way. The center is the Triangle’s largest non-profit provider of mental health services for children.

The festival includes a book fair this weekend at Quail Ridge Books & Music. The store will donate 20 percent of the proceeds for any purchase made to benefit the Lucy Daniels Center.

The event also includes a variety of storytimes around Wake County, along with a visit from award-winning children's author Audrey Penn, author of "The Kissing Hand" and many more books. Public readings will feature local "celebrity heroes" such as a firefighter, chef and soldier.

Here's a schedule of some of the storytimes:

10 a.m., Saturday, Audrey Penn at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. Free.
10:30 a.m., May 1, WRAL-TV anchor Gerald Owens, at Storybook Forest, Marbles Kids Museum (free with museum admission)
10:30 a.m., May 3, City of Raleigh Deputy Fire Marshal Ronald Campbell at Barnes and Noble Booksellers at Brier Creek Commons. Free.
10:30 a.m., May 3, Cpt. Scott Matkosky and Cpt. Lorie Doby of the U.S. Army, at Barnes and Noble Booksellers at Crabtree Valley Mall. Free.
11 a.m., May 3, Pastry Chef Daniel Benjamin of The Umstead Hotel and Spa and Herons, at Cary Community Library. Free.

Bookmarked! wraps up on May 5 with a Family Fun Concert featuring the Sandbox band, Carolina Ballet's Elice McKinley, Theatre in the Park's Ira David Wood and Penn at Raleigh's North Hills.

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