The Camden Campaign for Children’s Literacy Summer Celebration was held on September 13th from 12 to 4 p.m. Despite the rainy weather, over 425 children and parents attended the event that was moved indoors to the Camden Campus Center.

Families were treated to performances by Flexitoon Puppet Theatre of New York City and Sister Mafalda and the Kuumba Dancers. Flexitoon’s forty-five minute puppet show was not only entertaining, but also informative. Children were given a “behind the curtain” look at making puppets move and were also introduced to different kinds of puppets. The show highlighted the importance and enjoyment of reading books and sharing stories with friends and neighbors. Flexitoon was founded in 1979 by Craig Marin and Olga Felgemacher. Flexitoon has been featured on Nickelodeon as part of the “Pinwheel” program and turned weekly reader characters into dimensional stars with “Kids-TV” on Showtime. Flexitoon was awarded the first National Endowment for Children’s Educational Television grant and was the recipient of the 1996 Henson Foundation /UNIMA award for Outstanding Broadcast Puppetry.

Later in the afternoon, Sister Mafalda wowed the audience with West African style dancing, drumming and folktales. The performance was highly interactive with many children participating as lions, tigers, giraffes, and elephants. Even the adults got into the act, dancing with Mulfalda as the Kuumba drummers kept the rhythm flowing for over an hour. A recipient of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Preserving Diverse Cultures in Dance grant in 1999, Sister Mafalda and lead drummer Dom Thomas studied drum and dance in Senegal and Mali, West Africa and the National Ballet of Mali.

Attendees of the CCCL celebration also enjoyed face painting, free books, balloons, clowns and a strolling magician act. We were thrilled to have the participation of fifteen Camden community agencies that gave up their Saturday to attend our event! These agencies include: the Camden City Fire Department, Camden County Council of Girl Scouts, Inc., Camden School of Musical Arts, Cooper Health System: Community Service Division, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Planned Parenthood, Literacy Volunteers of America, Voorhees Pediatric Health Systems, Osborne Family Health Center of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, CASA: Court Appointed Special Advocates, and the Brain Injury Association. Our own Dr. Bill Whitlow was also in attendance, providing environmental and safety education information regarding asthma and lead testing.

The Camden Campaign for Children’s Literacy is celebrating its’ third successful year promoting the importance of early literacy through six comprehensive, community driven initiatives. Special thanks to the over fifty community agencies, sixty-two childcare centers and countless individuals that have made CCCL an important part of the Camden landscape. The Camden Campaign for Children’s Literacy has been made possible through the generous support of the following private and corporate foundations: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, the Verizon Corporation, the Schumann Fund for New Jersey, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Georgia Kurr Family Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.