Milk + Bookies 7th Annual Story Time Celebration!
Milk + Bookies is a non-profit organization that brings local families and celebrities together to promote literacy in under served communities. Milk + Bookies held their popular annual "book-raiser" at California Market Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 17th. The Story Time Celebration included a day of family fun, featuring celebrity readers, arts & crafts, costumed characters and of course milk & cookies!
Milk + Bookies founder Meredith Alexander, Julie Bowen, David Koechner, BJ Novak, Lena Headey, Tamera Mowry, Jay Mohr, Molly Sims, Selma Blair and Miranda Cosgrove, among others were on hand to celebrate this auspicious occasion. Books were collected and inscribed with special messages, these books will be donated to local students and organizations that do not have access to books of their own. Since its launch in 2004, Milk + Bookies has reached over 76,000 children and raised over 285,000 books in more than 520 cities nationwide.
The event by far was amazing, not only did it captivate the children but mesmerized us parents. The kids were able to sit front row and center in big black comfy bean bag chairs, which a majority of the mums including myself, sat on with our kids. Captain Hook our master of ceremonies entertained the kids with delightful jokes and over the top gestures that had everyone in stitches. The stage setting was whimsical with a giant bear, peacock, bull, owl, dog, Tepee, imagine if you will a menagerie of all your favorite animals you'd find in your stories propped up on stage. The site was astonishing, looking at the props made you reminisce about your own childhood and the stories that were read to you that had been forgotten.
The room was grand in every aspect, from the stage, to the sitting areas and in each corner of the room there were activities set up for the children. The kids could choose from coloring, making crowns, scavenger hunt, anything to get their imagination and creativity engaged was on hand. The best corner of all was the treasure chest that the kids could fill up with books. Children were encouraged to donate books from the bookstore that was provided by Discover Books. Kids could write a message and then donate the book of their choice. What an amazing site to see, the chest empty and by the end of the show the chest wouldn't close, it was PACKED!
Talk about hitting a home run, it was a day filled with excitement, imaginative play with all our favorite characters that had come to life. Thank you to Magic Characters for bringing to life Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Captain Hook, Where's Waldo, Harry Potter, Willy Wonka, Robin Hood, Little Red Riding Hood, and more.
No only was our imagination expanded but our bellies were expanded as well. California Pizza Kitchen treated us to their delicious food, Krispy Kremes mini donuts, the most scrumptious cookies by Cookie Good and dessert time isn't completed if you're not having ice cream by McConnells! The food was out of this world, imagine if you will Pizza and Mac N Cheese on the same plate, every childs dream and to top it off, dessert.
I'm grateful that Milk + Bookies opened this wonderful event to the public this year, it was truly a sight to see, not only is this organization important to our local children, the mission to get everyday books into the hands of kids that need to read is paramount. Milk + Bookies not only helps children in need but in the process of helping others they helped expand our own childrens creativity and engage our kids in a moment of pretend play. If for just one moment our kids can believe that a favorite character has come to life, than we've given them hope that anything is possible. Our kids need imaginative play to expand their minds and creativity. Today, this day, this beautiful event did just that, help create memories and most of all make us believe that all is possible.
Milk + Bookies fundraiser wouldn't have been made possible without its generous sponsors. Thank you for believing in this beautiful project, for supporting our community and most of all the children, who are the future of tomorrow.
*Disclosure, I was not paid to write a review regarding this event.