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# Read between the lines and connect with kids
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/read-between-the-lines-and-connect-with-kids/
- Published: 2005-03-29T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T06:27:59.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Community, Pico, #archive-import

*By Daiily Press staff*

Adults are connecting with children this weekend through literacy. Connections For Children presents Raising Readers — A Literacy Festival, a celebration of commitment to early education and school readiness. The family festival is sponsored by Santa Monica College in collaboration with the North Bay Association for the Education of Young Children. Raising Readers — A Literacy Festival focuses on the importance of children’s early literacy and language development as the foundation for all children’s learning.

The festival takes place Saturday, April 2, from noon to 4 p.m., at the clock tower quad at Santa Monica College, 1900 Pico Blvd. Raising Readers — A Literacy Festival is free and open to the public. Free parking will be available.

Entertainment emphasizes the joys of reading and storytelling. Performers will include Dan Crow and the Thunderwear Band, Parker Bent, Flights of Fantasy Story Theatre and Rhythm Child.

An entertainer who rivets the attention of audiences from age 2 to 92, Crow serves up a fast-paced non-stop show of inspired zaniness, organizers said. Bent is a local favorite among the preschool set. A former preschool teacher, Parker now teaches music in the Beverly Hills School District, incorporating preschool curriculum into his original songs. Flights of Fantasy Story Theatre invites children and their families to join in their storytelling. Clifford The Big Red Dog will be in attendance, greeting children at a book fair sponsored by Scholastic Books. Local early childhood education programs will offer the opportunity for young children to explore a variety of creative, literacy-based activities. In addition, there will be numerous storytellers and theatre productions which enhance language arts and promote cultural awareness.

Connections For Children, a child care resource and referral agency, focuses on child development, advocacy for quality early learning experiences for children, and providing community resources for families, teachers and caregivers. For more information, call (310) 452-3325, ext. 237\. Boys and Girls Club leading the way

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 29, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032905.pdf?ref=smdp.com)