Books can transport readers to new and exciting places — whether to a fantastical land or around their own neighborhood.
During the inaugural Pigtown StoryWalk from Sept. 25 to Oct. 17, families will be able to explore the southwestern Baltimore neighborhood, participate in fun activities, and celebrate their love of reading.
Frieda Ulman, the special events manager for Pigtown Main Street, said Pigtown cancelled its annual street festival this year due to concerns about the large crowds it might draw as COVID-19 remains a threat.
Ulman was looking for something “safe and socially distanced” to fill the gap when she came across the StoryWalk Project.
“We didn’t want to not do anything for our neighborhood and for our merchants, and we thought this was a good combination: bringing the community into play, bringing our business people into play, and just making it an all-around good idea,” Ulman said.
It is just a coincidence that the StoryWalk will begin in September, National Literacy Month. But Ulman said it is a fitting start to the event, which is meant to promote reading among children and families.
Anne Ferguson, of Monteplier, Vt., developed the StoryWalk Project in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library to encourage to people to enjoy reading and the outdoors. Since the project’s founding, communities across the United States and other countries have held their own StoryWalk events.
“I just think it’s a nice little program,” Ulman said. “It gets people out to walk around and be healthy, read a book, and encourages them to love books and literature.”
Ulman said a local library and bookstore helped select this year’s featured book, “Last Stop on Market Street” by Matt de la Peña, because of its vibrant illustrations by Christian Robinson and the book’s exploration and celebration of urban environments.
The Newbery Medal-winning book follows CJ and his grandmother as they ride the bus across town after church on Sunday. CJ is full of questions, his grandmother is full of answers, and together they see the beauty of their city.
The book is perfect for children at a grade 2 or 3 reading level, or a lower level with an older family member’s assistance, Ulman said.
Although many StoryWalk events are held in parks and other nature spaces, where participants read book pages spaced out along a trail, Ulman said organizers were able to adapt the StoryWalk model to businesses and other locations around Pigtown.
The walk will begin at the Washington Village Enoch Pratt Library, located at 856 Washington Blvd., and will travel to about 18 stops, mostly along Washington Boulevard or nearby, Ulman said.
At each stop, families will be able to participate in activities such as skipping and observing their surroundings. They will also be given the location of the next stop on the walk.
“Not every activity is going to appeal to every child,” Ulman said. “So if you have a family that has two or three kids and you want to mix up the type of activities you have, there’s something for everybody to feel good about.”
At the last stop, participants can scan a QR code on the last book page to enter a drawing for prizes. One person will win a doll of the book’s main character, CJ, while 10 other people will each win $20 worth of “Pig Bucks,” which can be redeemed at participating Pigtown businesses. Participants will also receive a completion certificate from Charm City Books.
Participants can complete the StoryWalk on their own schedule, whether traveling to all the stops in one day or spreading out the experience over the four-week event.
Families also do not need to be Pigtown residents to participate in the StoryWalk; everyone is welcome, Ulman said.
The neighborhood will also have a Pigtown Sidewalk Sale from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 25, the first day of the StoryWalk, with special sales from local businesses, prizes, music and a bubble machine.
Ulman said organizers already have a Halloween-themed book picked out for another StoryWalk event in October if this first event is a success. She added that organizers may hold another StoryWalk around the winter holidays, and they plan to pick it up again in spring 2022.
