All children who attend can choose a brand new theme based book (while supplies last.) Children who complete their Book Fest Passport can enter drawings to win fun and exciting prizes! Book Fest has plenty of activities for kids from preschool-age 12!
Print version of activity times and featured presenters (accessible PDF)
Date: Saturday, March 2, 2019
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Place: Diven Elementary School
1115 Hall Street, Elmira, NY
Map of Diven School
Book Fest 2019 as an image
Dream Big - drawing of two children reading a book
pizza, cookies, and water
SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
Scroll down to see descriptions and photos of featured performers!
Lunch will be available for purchase: pizza slice ($.25), water ($.25), and cookies ($.25)
| Activity | Time |
|---|---|
| Kindermusik with Sue Larson | 10:00 am |
| Readers' Theater with Elmira College | 10:15 am |
| Moreland the Magician | 11:00 am |
| Video Chat with Eileen Collins | 12:00 pm |
| A Pound of Kindness with Doug Cornfield | 12:45 pm - 1:00 pm |
| Author talk with Matt Chandler and Tim O'Shei | 1:00 pm |
| • Community Organizations • Tanglewood Nature Center • Chemung Valley Historical Society • EOP Head Start and New Day • Horseheads Family Resource Center • STEM Academy • Star Lab Planetarium • Therapy Dogs International • Bookmobile |
10:00 am to 2:00 pm |
Alice in Wonderland Rabbit announcing Story Time
Enjoy Story Time
10:15 - 11:00 Police Officer & School Principal
11:00 - 11:45 Chef & PE Teacher
12:30 - 1:10 Firefighter and Scientist
1:10 - 1:50 Dentist and Actor
Kindermusik with Sue Larson for little ones and those who like to wiggle and giggle! Sue enchants children with music and movement.
Kindermusik with Sue Larson
Matt Chandler is the author of more than 35 books for children and thousands of articles published in newspapers and magazines across the country. He writes mostly non-fiction books with a focus on sports, ghosts and haunted places, and graphic novels.
Children’s author Matt Chandler
Tim O’Shei, founder of Live! Starring You!
Tim O’Shei is a children’s author, journalist, teacher, and the founder of Live! Starring ...You!, Tim is the author of 60-plus children’sbooks on topics including sports, spies, princesses, survival, martial arts, creepytales, and more. He’s also a contributing writer for Scholastic Inc.’s middle-school language arts magazine, Scope.
Author Kevin Coolidge
Kevin Coolidge is the author of the series “Totally Ninja Raccoons.” Kevin resides in Wellsboro, just a short hike from the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. When he's not writing, you can find him at the bookstore, My Shelf Books & Gifts, which he could not run without his lovely wife, several helpful employees, and two friendly bookstore cats, Huck & Finn.
David Moreland and his assembly programs for kids
David Moreland of Central New York brings the same comic skills that earned him roles on ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Friends’ into his high-energy assembly programs for kids. He combines magic, comedy, puppetry, storytelling, creative drama, and audience participation into his educationally-significant shows, and all of his shows – regardless of the topic -- celebrate the wonderful world of reading and the magic found in books.
Photo of Doug Cornfield
Doug J. Cornfield is an author, speaker, former college athlete, and the director of Disability, Dream, and Do (D3Day) sports camps, created in partnership with Dave Clark. A Pound of Kindness is the first in a series of books by the Best Burn Enterprises team that will capture true stories of kindness and perseverance to empower and give hope to those with physical and intellectual limitations.
Space commander Col. Eileen Collins
Col. Eileen Collins Elmira Native, former NASA astronaut and the first woman to pilot a space shuttle.
"When I was very young and first started reading about astronauts, there were no women astronauts." However, she was inspired while she was a child by the Mercury astronauts, and by the time she was in high school and college, new opportunities were opening up for women in aviation. "My timing was really great," she said. Collins joined the Air Force, and during her first month of training, her base was visited by the newest astronaut class-the first to include women-and her path was set. "I wanted to be part of our nation's space program. It's the greatest adventure on this planet-or off the planet, for that matter. I wanted to fly the Space Shuttle."
Video chat icon
Video chat at 12 pm
Book Fest welcomes Eileen Collins through a live video chat in the Diven Library. She is eager to speak with Elmira’s children and share the experiences that made her Big Dream come true!