Kathy Wade, CEO and co-founder of LTA, helps announce Cincy Reads! Weekend events. Photo provided
It’s the ice bucket challenge but with books and three days of family focused interactive events that wrap the region in reading. Learning Through Art, Inc. (LTA) announces Cincy Reads! and in partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools, kick off the Cincy Reads! Challenge.
Cincy Reads! takes place September 22- 24. LTA created the signature fundraising event and community wide, interactive series of literacy activities to celebrate their 25th anniversary of building community through art. The organization wants to make Cincinnati the city that reads by engaging the community in a collective action that focuses on families while raising money to provide literacy programming throughout the year in the Cincinnati Metropolitan region.
“Learning Through Art has a history of creating literacy and learning initiatives that build community through art,” said Kathryne Gardette, board chair, Learning Through Art, Inc. “We do this by working with community partners like Cincinnati Public Schools, PowerNet and Head Start.”
Powernet has partnered with the initiative to utilize their Beyond WiFi product in Avondale to engage and promote the Cincy Reads! program via text and email messaging in the neighborhood.
Cincinnati Public School Superintendent Laura Mitchell announced that CPS Elementary schools would participate in Cincy Reads! and challenged districts from around the county to also participate. Adding to that momentum, Head Start/Early Head Start Director at Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency, Verline Dotson, announced that Head Start would Partner with Cincy Reads! and bring the initiative across their more than 125 sites throughout the county.
Kathy Wade, CEO and co-founder of LTA said, “For our 25th anniversary, we wanted to do something different, something bold, something that involves the whole community and that is Cincy Reads! Weekend. We will wrap the region in reading for three solid days!”
“Cincinnati Public Schools has been a proud partner of Learning Through Art’s Books Alive! For Kids program for 19 years,” said Mitchell. “This program has been a tremendous asset to our efforts to ensure that our students not only enhance their reading skills, but also develop a lifelong love of books. That is why we are a Cincy Reads! partner and we challenge other districts to join us in this effort.”
Cincy Reads!™ weekend activities include:
- Friday, September 22 – LTA will lead a public Read-A-Loud of the children’s book Giraffes Can’t Dance on Fountain Square during lunch from Noon-1pm. Local school students, media celebrities, corporate and community leaders, and performance by The Children’s Theater of Cincinnati will be part of the activities during the hour.
- Friday, September 22 – Cincy Reads! Challenge is a fun way for the public to be part of a collective reading action and support family literacy programming throughout Greater Cincinnati. Register to take the challenge, challenge friends, select a story, and post your group reading the story with #LTAcincyreads.
- Saturday, September 23 – Books Alive! For Kids® family fun, food and entertainment celebrating the joy of reading while empowering families in the newly renovated iconic landmark, Ziegler Park. Registration is required and a recommended donation of $5 can be made at learningthroughart.com
- Sunday, September 24 – Families will hunt for clues around Cincinnati to find Paige Turner, Books Alive! For Kids® mascot owl and show their location with a selfie. The 10 best liked photos will receive an anniversary prize from Learning Through Art, Inc.
For more information, visit and register at www.learningthroughart.com