Thank you!
The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival team sends their thanks to the New Castle community for its amazing support of the Festival – demonstrating, once again, the community’s unwavering dedication to education and children’s literacy.
For those of you wondering exactly how it all turned out, read below.
Thousands of Book Lovers Flock to Chappaqua for Inaugural Children’s Book Festival
Story by: Dori Busell
Photos by: Lindsay Hand
Deemed a huge success by organizers, attendees, authors and sponsors, the first annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival, held on October 5, drew close to 4,000 people from Westchester, New York City, Rockland, and Connecticut to downtown Chappaqua. For some attendees, this was the first time they had been to Chappaqua, and the Festival provided a great opportunity for the town to show its unique flavor and its love of, and dedication to, education and literacy.
Approximately 65 children’s and middle-grade authors and illustrators were on hand throughout the day to meet with fans, sign copies of their books, and even read excerpts. Organizers report that the authors sold about 80 percent of the available books, with many authors selling out just hours into the festival.
Over 30 local area businesses and organizations sponsored the Festival and offered crafts and activities for children. For a complete list of sponsors, click HERE.
As part of its Shop Local campaign, the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce coordinated a successful merchant promotional booklet to publicize the town’s local merchants and encourage Festival attendees to go shopping. Approximately 950 booklets were distributed to Festival attendees that purchased books on site.
In addition, The Great Chappaqua Bake Sale, which partnered with the Festival to sell desserts and treats throughout the day, also marked the day a success – raising $20,000 for Share Our Strength.
“I can’t say thank you enough times,” added Dawn Greenberg, Executive Director of the Festival and owner of Aurora. ” Thank you to our volunteers, our 30 sponsors, the authors who gave us a shot and mostly to the parents and children of Chappaqua and Westchester who love to read. We can’t wait to see what the 2014 Festival will bring next September.”
If you are interested in getting involved with the Festival next year, please contact: Dawn Greenberg (dgreenx@yahoo.com), Madeline Finesmith (madeline.finesmith@verizon.net) or Solveig McShea (mcsheas1@verizon.net).
Thank you to these Chamber members for being sponsors of the Festival:
Aurora, Jodi’s Gym, Kiwi Country Day Camp, Ann Herrero, CFP (Edward Jones Investments), Auntie Penny, Breeze – Chappaqua and Katonah, Center for Aligned Healing, DDR Public Relations, Inc., Desires by Mikolay, Houlihan Lawrence – Chappaqua, ICD Contemporary Jewelry, Inside Chappaqua, It’s From Me, LLC, Korth & Shannahan Painting, NewCastleNOW.org, Pets a Go Go, Play Care Nursery & Preschool, Steps Forward, Tactile Tote, The Camp Connection/The Teen Connection, Wells Fargo, and World Cup Schools
