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EVERY CHILD READY DULUTH COALITION TO HOST “FAMILY FEST” AT THE DEPOT 
Free Activities for Kids & Resources for Caregivers 
 
DULUTH, Minn. – Families of young children ages zero to five are invited to the Every Child Ready Duluth Family Fest at The St. Louis County Depot Saturday, April 27th, from 10am to 2pm. Family Fest will feature free entertainment for children and resources for caregivers to help children build the skills they need to be school-ready.
The event has been organized by Every Child Ready Duluth: a collaborative led by the Duluth Public Library, aimed at ensuring that every Duluth child is prepared to be a successful learner. This is the event’s third year. It is hosted in partnership with the Depot and funded in part by the All of Us Research Program.
 
Every Child Ready Duluth Family Fest Lineup:
•    10:30am Ojibwe drummers
•    11:15am Brodini comedy and magic
•    12:00pm Dan the Monkey Man music
•    1:00pm Brodini comedy and magic
•    Available from 10:00am-2:00pm 
o    Duluth Children’s Museum play area
o    Free Train Museum admission
o    Face painting
o    Sensory Friendly play area with the Minnesota Masonic Children’s Clinic
o    Baby play and nursing room
o    Prize drawings (starting at 11:30am) for Super One Gift Cards, Children’s Museum membership, early learning gift baskets, and more.
           
 Parking for Family Fest attendees will be free in the Depot lot (west of the building).
Free taxi cab rides are available by SK Taxi! Call 218-221-1604 and let them know you want a ride to/from Family Fest at the Depot. They’ll be providing rides until 3pm.
In addition, the following community organizations will be offering free children’s activities and resources to support families and children with play-based learning: 
 All of Us Research Program, Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA) Early Head Start, Child Care Aware and Parent Aware, Children’s Dental Services, Community Action Duluth, Duluth Parks and Recreation, Duluth Public Library, Essentia Pediatrics, Human Development Center (HDC), ISD 709 Early Childhood Programs (Duluth Preschool, Early Childhood Family Education, Help Me Grow and Early Childhood Screening) Families Rise Together, First Witness, Insure Duluth, Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative, Minnesota Masonic Children’s Clinic of Communication Disorders, Minnesota Ballet, Native Lives Matter Coalition, Northland Foundation, PBS North, Proctor/Hermantown Early Childhood programs, St. Louis County Economic Support, St. Louis County Child and Teen Checkups and WIC, YMCA Early Childhood Education Center, and Zeitgeist and Emergent Seas

“We are excited to bring Family Fest back for the third year. This year will feature our Ready 5 characters, who promote the 5 early learning practices (talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing) that support early literacy and prepare kids for successful learning. I love that it really demonstrates how much our community comes together in support of families with young children. We couldn’t have done this without the help of our community partners, who are amazing champions of the play-based early learning that Family Fest is all about. We hope this event helps parents and caregivers connect with services and resources and have a fun day of playing and learning with their little ones,” said Duluth Public Library Early Literacy Librarian Carmella Hatch. 
  
About Every Child Ready Duluth:
 
Every Child Ready Duluth website: https://duluthlibrary.org/every-child-ready-duluth/ 
 
About the Duluth Public Library:
 
Founded in 1902, the Duluth Public Library serves Duluth and the greater Arrowhead
region. The Duluth Public Library provides free access to reading materials, early
literacy instruction, information, technology, and creative and cultural materials and
services.
 
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CONTACT INFORMATION
 
Elizabeth Spehar – library public relations
espehar@duluthmn.gov
218-730-4236

Carmella Hatch, early literacy librarian
chatch@duluthmn.gov
 (218) 730-4222