Niles West hosted its first ever literacy fest this past Saturday, Nov. 18. The event was for kids and was held in the Literacy (Lit) Center to promote literacy in the community. Different activities were held for kids ranging from a live poetry reading, escape room or information shared revolving around literacy.

“We didn’t know if we were going to get 10 or 20 or if we [could] get 30 people to show up.. but we know two to three hundred people came through. That is not at all what we were expecting … We want people to understand that literacy touches all parts of our lives and that literacy starts at home, not that everybody already knows,” English department director Michael Kucera said.

Throughout the event, attendees had a passport needing stamps to earn a prize. To attain the stamps, they had to complete the various activities around the room. Many Niles West clubs hosted activities displaying different forms of literature, with Niles West students volunteering to run the stations.

“We wanted to put together an event that really speaks to the fact that we interact with literacy in different ways which we didn’t even recognize as opportunities to practice literacy and be literate. And that’s why it was so awesome to have all these clubs and organizations. We had German club say yes right away; we had Expressions club and Culinary club. Everybody brought their own ideas to say this is what it [literacy] means or this is how they want to talk about it,” Kucera said.

One of the main goals of the fest was to provide outreach to feeder elementary and middle schools to get future Niles West students excited. Though many kids attended the event because teachers offered extra credit, they also gained an insight on what their future high school could offer.

“I came for extra credit, and so I could get a lot of books, and now it tells me that Niles West is great and hosts a lot of good events … I am excited to come to Niles West,” Fairview South sixth grader Jino Villanueva said.

Surrounding libraries were in attendance as well. The Lincolnwood, Morton Grove and Skokie Public Libraries all had their own tables to promote ways kids could get in touch with literacy.

“I have been trying to promote winter reading programs and asking if anyone needs a library card, because we really support early literacy and a library card can give you a lot of bang for your buck,” Early Literacy Coordinator at Morton Grove Public Library Debbie Weidman said.

With the success of the first-ever Lit Fest, Kucera is pushing Niles North to host a Literacy Fest in the Spring, and it will eventually become a bi-annual event.