The Brewster Bears Book Bash was a big success, with 130 book lovers attending the second annual event.
The Book Bash centers on literacy and community building. Local authors were invited to share their stories, meet the community, and sell their books in both English and Spanish. The authors who attended this year were: Franco Aureliani, Gail Carson Levine, Maria Chinchilla, Alicia Dal Pra, Michael Garland, Alan Katz, Jason Klein, Sarah Luby, Alex Lulgjuraj, Bernadette Rossetti Shustak, Inger Stapelton, and Lauren Tapinekis. All kids who went to the Bash received a free book.
“This event is great for the community because it brings everyone together,” said K-12 ELL and Bilingual Specialist Jaimie Dini, “It focuses on the importance of reading while showing students the paths they could take in the future if they like reading or writing. We were able to showcase multiple opportunities this year such as comics, sports broadcasting, podcasting as well as how to get published at a young age.”
Author and BHS 2020 alum Alexander Lulgjuraj loved being at the Book Bash, “I had such a great time attending this event and not only getting to meet other authors, but also see so many eager people who enjoy reading. I had a great time signing my novels Preservation and An Eternity from the Past and selling them to fans.
Community organizations were there as well to share their resources including: Putnam CAP, Open Door, Brewster Rotary, Brewster's Teachers Association, Brewster Library, Patterson Library, Southeast Rec, and Cove Care. The Putnam County Sheriff's Department was also in attendance conducting Project Safe Child in which they made ID's for kids.
“We are able to connect families with valuable resources in their community that can support them such as Open Door, which provides help for medical needs, and Southeast Rec, which plans local events,” explained Community Outreach Specialist Maider Solores. “We also created an inclusive environment for all of our families by including Spanish and English throughout the event.”
There were also crafts, activities, and food. Brewster High School's Language Honor Society ran a room full of crafts such as making bookmarks and decorating bracelets. Next door, teachers volunteered to hold read aloud sessions in English and Spanish. Kids were transfixed by the beautiful stories. For those who were hungry, the Brewster Varsity Basketball team sold snacks.
This event brings together the many different people of Brewster who books close to their hearts.
