SaratogaArtsFest, will be held from June 6-9 this year. Events and activities designed to inspire readers, writers, and poetry lovers will be presented. There is sure to be an ample number of opportunities for young people to engage with literature.
Poetry and jazz will be the focus of Saratoga Literary Arts and Music (SLAM) on Saturday, June 8 at 9 p.m. to midnight, at Sperry’s Restaurant Patio on Caroline Street in Downtown Saratoga Springs. The evening will offer poetry readings and high-energy jazz performances.
The three featured poets, all from the Albany area, will be Miriam Axel-Lute, Jill Crammond, and elizag. Music performances will be given by two dynamic jazz groups, Donna Singer with the Doug Richards Trio and the famed New Orleans‘ own Hot 8 Brass Band.
The ArtsFest’s literary programming for young readers will offer visits by three celebrated author-illustrators and a short-story contest for high school students. The events will kick off with a presentation and book signing by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, creator of the wildly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The seventh, and latest, book in the series, The Third Wheel, had the biggest first printing of any book in 2012, and an eighth volume is expected out this coming fall. I a recent survey of kids, the main character in the story was rated the top favorite!
The youth programming will continue with a presentation and book signing by author-illustrator Annette LeBlanc Cate, who will be at The Hilton Hotel on Sunday, June 9, from 10 a.m. to noon. Cate will discuss her book Look up! Bird Watching in Your Own Back Yard, an illustrated, humorous introduction to bird watching that encourages kids to get outdoors with a sketchbook and look at the world around them. The event is presented by Northshire Bookstore.Sought-after illustrator Michael Chesworth will work with children at the festival’s Kids Do Art program on Sunday, June 9, at Universal Preservation Hall. He will talk about his craft and lead young artists in a brainstorming session on illustrations for a simple, six-page story titled Hank and Sam.
