By Holly Dayton, ’13, Contributor
The winter season is just around the corner. And with it, this Friday, Dec. 4, comes the annual CCDS Book Fair. A highly anticipated event every year, this year, with Kathy Briggs and Heather Recker as the event chairs, it promises to be just a success. The fair is being held at the usual location, the Barnes & Noble in Kenwood. The main part of the fair spans from 4 to 9pm, but there is also a Parent Tea from 9 to 11am. Special events that appeal to every member of the family are planned for throughout the fair.
During the second annual Parent Tea, Loren Long, a children’s book author, will be signing books. Director of College Counseling Sarah Beyreis will talk about raising a college applicant up from first grade. This also gives the parents a time to socialize in the morning, and purchase books without the prying eyes of their children.
The social aspect of the event appeals to many parents, such as Ann Lazarus-Barnes, mother of Allison Lazarus, ’10, and Meg Lazarus ’13. “The Book Fair is a time to catch up with families we haven’t seen in a while and get some great Christmas shopping done. It really is the start of the holiday season for our family,” she said.
The main portion of the function begins at 4, when CCDS students have gotten out of school. The usual panoply of events happens then, with piano, vocal and violin performances. For the younger children there are also book readings from some of the teachers as well as face painters and a clown balloon artist.
Teachers will be volunteering to read to young ones from 4 to 7pm. At 7pm, Ully Marin, an art teacher, will be doing a special reading of The Polar Express, accompanied with a craft. Piano students will perform in the Children’s section of the bookstores will perform from 4 to 6pm. In the Poetry Section, Middle School and Upper School student performers and Violin students will play from 4 to 6:30.
Andi Mapes, Upper School Administrative Assistant and mother of Kat Mapes, ’14, said that she is “looking forward to hearing from the littlest of Indians to the biggest of Indians, in piano and in song. Not just to hear from my own child, but to see all age ranges of the community contribute.”
Twenty percent of anything bought with a voucher at the Barnes & Noble this weekend, the 3rd through the 5th of December, will go to the Parents Association. Therefore the money spent this weekend for holiday shopping will help the school community.
Ben Willingham, father of Claire, ’10, and Jack, ’13, was fully in support of where the proceeds of this year’s Book Fair will go. “It is important that we aide the parents association in their tireless effort and contribution of both time and resources by supporting them in their goals,” he said.
This year, the Book Fair will also have an online aspect. The teacher’s wish list, a system where teachers make a list of the books they would like in their classroom, has gone online. The books can now be bought through PayPal at ccdsbookfair.net in addition to at the Barnes & Noble store in Kenwood. The previously mentioned voucher is also available at that site.
CCDS also receives benefits on Friday night from restaurants around the Barnes & Noble. Twenty-five percent of the profits of dinner at either Noodles and Company or Potbelly will also go the Parent’s Association.
Students, parents, and teachers alike praise the Book Fair. Becky Hartle, ‘10, said that “It’s a really great way for the school to reach out to the community. As a fundraiser, it’s fun and educational. It also helps to add pride in the talents that are also showcased there.”
“It’s always a fun time,” Mapes said.
Photo courtesy of guardian.co.uk.