<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1617326344338.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Salina Arts &amp; Humanities is launching a Kansas Literacy
Festival program this month. The Salina
Storytelling Project is a pilot program and an effort to strengthen the community’s
literacy and social-emotional growth through listening, discussion, and
reading. Salina Arts &amp; Humanities is one of 10 digital partners with
Wichita-based Storytime Village, the entity leading the statewide initiative featuring
projects taking place from February to September, culminating in the Kansas
Literacy Festival in September 2021. For the Salina Storytelling
Project, SAH staff worked with four community storytellers and three coaching
artists who supported the novice storytellers in preparing their story for
video recording. Each week in April, one storytelling video will be released
through YouTube and shared over social media. During the last week of the Salina
Storytelling Project, on April 29 at 7 p.m., a community discussion
about the project will take place, featuring a panel of local storytellers and
coaches, plus a Q&amp;A time. The community is invited to watch each storytelling video
as they are released via YouTube and shared on Salina Arts &amp; Humanities
social media, then register to attend the culminating Zoom event on April 29. Email
<a href="mailto:sah@salina.org">sah@salina.org</a> or call 785-309-5770 to
request the registration link. The community can also follow the project on
social 



media at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salinaarts">https://www.facebook.com/salinaarts</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SalinaArts">https://twitter.com/SalinaArts</a>,
and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/salina_arts/">https://www.instagram.com/salina_arts/</a>.
“We must all do our part to help
move the needle for Kansas youth,” says Storytime Village founder and CEO
Prisca Barnes. “We are proud of the organizations, artists, authors, and
educators who are joining forces across the state. The theme of the festival, Be
The Village, is a call to action to support literacy through the arts.” The in-person Kansas Literacy Festival
is a community event in Wichita on September 2-4. It will include a teacher’s
conference, Read &amp; Rise Breakfast Gala, and a day-long festival that
provides literacy enrichment to Kansas youth through events and activities designed
to encourage early learning, family engagement, and access to books. The Kansas Literacy Festival is
supported in part by the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which
receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
More information can be found at <a href="https://www.storytimevillage.org/kansas-literacy-festival">https://www.storytimevillage.org/kansas-literacy-festival</a> .

Arts & Humanities launching Salina Storytelling Project