Dia de Los Niños Dia de los Libros
(Children's Day/Book Day)
Celebrating 10 Years of Bringing Children,
Families and Books together in San Francisco.

Community celebration honoring children, families, and reading. Free and open to the public, “Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros, San Francisco” offers interactive art activities and live multicultural music, dance, and storytelling. A book give-away providing each child with his or her own book.

WHEN:
Sunday, April 26, 2009      1:00-4:00 pm

WHERE:
Mission Dolores Park (Dolores St. @ 20th), San Francisco, CA
For general information or in case of rain call, 1-800-723-ELMO (3566) for alternate location.

PERFORMERS:
MC: Dr. Marisol Munoz-Kiehne, Host of “Nuestros Niños,” La Kalle 100.7-105.7FM/KLOK 1170AM
MC: Rona Renner, RN, Executive Director & “Childhood Matters” Host on Green 960 AM

• Eth-Noh-Tec presents selections from Asian Treasure Bag
• Loco Bloco  Stilting, drum and dance ensemble
• Magical Moonshine Theatre presents a Spanish Bi-Lingual show from their Animal Folktales of the Americas.
• Never Stop Learning Crew presented by Chris McAllister and McAllister Music

ACTIVITIES
Interactive art activities such as 3D animation, book making, Loteria game, and Dictionary of the Imagination will be provided by: Childhood Matters/ Nuestros Niños, KQED Early Learning, Poetry Inside Out, Precita Eyes , SCRAP(Scroungers’ Center for Reusable Art Parts), SF Children’s Art Center, SF Public Library, SFSU Jump Start, Young Audiences Northern CA and ZEUM.

ABOUT DIA
“Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros” (Children’s Day/Book Day) is celebrated in cities and towns across the country, and emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. San Francisco’s annual Día began in 1999, after the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring April 30th as “El Día de los Niños—Celebrating Young Americans.” Since then, Día has grown dramatically, with close to 1,000 participants in San Francisco alone.

HOSTS & SPONSORS
Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros is a collaboration of Childhood Matters/Nuestros Niños, Children’s Book Press; Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, KQED Education Network; Mayor’s Office of Community Development; Mission Learning Center; Mission YMCA; San Francisco Public Library; San Francisco Recreation and Park Department; and San Francisco State University’s Jumpstart Program

Here's what community members have had to say about past years' events:

"I come to this event every year. My family and I moved to San Jose two years ago, but we come back every year, because I really have fun doing the activities and like seeing the children perform".
11-year-old participant.

"There is no event like this in San Francisco, for us parents it's perfect because we get to do art projects without having to set up or clean up, plus we get all kinds of ideas for projects we can do at home with recycled materials".
Cristina Bodasaw, Nurse and Mother.

"This is the best way for us to spend a Sunday. We can use the playground, watch children perform and then go from activity to activity and you are giving away multilingual and multicultural books! -The passports to literacy are a great idea!"
Estela Hassan, Social Worker and Mother.

"I don't know how you are able to put together such a huge event! We really enjoy and appreciate it. For us it is important to celebrate our children and reinforce our cultural ways, so being able to have them dance for other children, helps them see that the community appreciates all of their hard work and dedication!"
Maria Sanchez, Aztec Dancer Grupo Xitlalli.

"For me as a father, the thing I enjoy the most is the great location, diverse activities and entertainment as well as a great opportunity to spend time with other families from the community".
Mateo Cordova, Community Leader and Father.

"I liked the African Queens the best and doing all of the fun activities. I liked playing with some of my friends from school".
Na'yani Thurman, 11-year-old Buena Vista Elementary Student  top^