By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Parents are invited to bring their young children to downtown St. Joseph Tuesday for the Youth Alliance Children’s Fair.
There is a morning session and an evening session at the Civic Arena.
La’Sherrie Tyes with Youth Alliance says the Children’s Fair is designed for children six-years-old and younger with an emphasis on fostering a love of reading.
“Reading is very fundamental, right? So, we definitely encourage our families to start reading with their little ones, even prenatally, after birth,” Tyes says during a visit to KFEQmmunity. “Those first five years are so vitally important. So, the earlier we can develop a love for reading and just building that vocabulary and language definitely helps that child to enhance later going into school.”
Around 25 area businesses will join with Youth Alliance to set up stations within the Civic Arena.
“Most of the things are geared around a fairy tale-type of experience,” Tyes says. “Each station has a book that they’re doing their theme around for their activity.”
There will be activities build around The Three Little Pigs, Snow White, and others.
The activities are designed for engagement, according to Tyes, inviting parents to interact with their children as well as encouraging children to interact with other children.
La’Sherrie says it’s important for children to get back together.
“Being able to do that also in a way that you have that social aspect that you can connect with other people. Again, like going to our public library, checking out books, parents reading to them at home,” La’Sherrie says. “Fostering that early love and that desire to help build their imagination, that creativity.”
The Children’s Fair is free. There are two sessions; two hours each.
The morning session at the Civic Arena begins at 9 o’clock Tuesday morning with the evening session beginning at 5:30. Each child will leave with a free book.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.