Nearly 1,000 Attend Literacy Night In Banning

BANNING, CA — Nearly 1,000 students, families, staff and community partners gathered at Hoffer Elementary School on March 4 for Lit-A-Palooza: Literacy Night & Community Fair hosted by the Banning Unified School District.

The event featured more than 50 booths hosted by community organizations, local authors, district departments and school programs. There, families took part in fun and games, focused on literacy activities, visited booths and connected with community resources.

Nearly 10 authors attended the event to read books and meet students. Students carried Literacy Cards while visiting booths, participating in activities and collecting stamps and prizes.

Author Meet-and-Greets with opportunities to sign and sell books. Participating authors included

• Brenda Ponnay-Peg
• Maria Victoria Castillo: FieldWork Through the Eyes of a Child Let’s Count With Maria, Calling Carlos, The Powerful Accent Mark, We Are Bilingual, and Alliteration Is Fun!
• Mark Miller: Scotty Go And Other Small Tales and Galirkadori (English & Spanish
• K. Frances Carson: Sir Dogoody Buttons and Flebins the Great…Troublemaker (Book 1) and SirDogoody Buttons and Fleabins the Great…Flying Troublemaker (Book 2)
• Authors Pang Guerrero and Liz Scofield: Harper Learns Body Boundaries
• Alexus Mozell: Amir The Affirmation King series: I Know I Can and I Know I Can Too
• Charlie Ervin: Tu-Tu & the Lizard’s Great Escape
• Steve Simpson: Lightning Fastbreak That No One is Teaching

A local IE Indigenous-owned bookstore, Quiet Quail Books, was also on hand during the night, promoting their mission is to sell and create a community around Indigenous authored books and reads. The bookstore is located in San Bernardino, CA.

Eight student and cultural performances were also featured, including the Banning High School Color Guard and Drumline, Nicolet Middle School Cadets and Mariachi Palominos, Central Elementary Folklórico dancers, Florida Street Discovery Center Dual Language Immersion students, Fancy Shawl dancers and Folklórico dancers from Banning Parks & Recreation.

Superintendent Terrance Davis discussed the turnout, which reflected community support for literacy.

“When we help students discover a love of reading early, it can truly change their lives,” Davis said.

Community partners included the Banning Library District, Cabazon Community Library, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Banning Police Department, CAL FIRE and Blue Zones Project Banning.

Angel Mead, District & Community Relations Coordinator, noted that the event reflects the District’s commitment to strengthening connections with families through its Community Engagement Initiative, saying:

“Lit-A-Palooza is a reflection of what our Community Engagement Initiative is all about—bringing families, schools, and community partners together around opportunities that support our students."