Will’s Jams headlines Campbell River’s free Family Literacy Day event

Will's-Jams-MC

The Tidemark Theatre and Campbell River Literacy Association have partnered once again to present their annual FREE children’s concert in celebration of Family Literacy Day on January 27th!  “Family Literacy Week is the Campbell River Literacy Association and its community partner’s gift to the families of Campbell River,” says Kat Eddy, CRLA’s Executive Director. “All events are free and celebrate the parents of our city as their children’s first and best teachers.”

The 2019 theme for Family Literacy Week is:  Make It!  “Children learn best through play and enjoy creating things.  When given time, tools and materials to ‘make it’, you are providing your child with an opportunity to develop skills such as problem solving and communication.  By actively engaging in discussion about what your kids are making, what tools they are using and helping them overcome any challenges faced during the creation builds language and thinking skills,” says, Eddy.  “As the coordinators of Family Literacy Week we want to encourage parents and caregivers to celebrate their role as their children’s first and best teacher.  This year pull out the crafting supplies and tools, or paper and colours and create something together!”

The free concert for Campbell River families was made possible in part by donations from community members and local businesses such as, Greig Seafood to the Tidemark’s Theatre Angels Program.  “We have this incredible program called Theatre Angels,” Heidi Cuff, Tidemark’s Programming and Marketing Coordinator says, “and through it, we make tickets available to people and families in Campbell River with limited incomes to attend selected presentations throughout our season. This helps increase exposure to the arts and promotes inclusiveness of the theatre, as well as reaching youth and adults who wouldn’t necessarily have access to the arts otherwise.” In order to respect the anonymity of recipients, tickets are given to local non-profit, charitable organizations for distribution. The program, which has expanded every year since its inception, supports many different organizations and the communities they serve:  John Howard Society, Campbell River Literacy, Laichwiltach Family Life Society, Campbell River Hospice Society and the Immigrant Welcome Center – to name a few.

Last year, the Tidemark and CRLA partnered to present a free concert with professional ‘zaniac’, Alex Zerbe and tickets sold out in just a few days. “This is our small way of giving back to the community and everyone who has always helped and supported us,” says Cuff. “We have so much fun organizing this event and the community is so appreciative – we are thrilled that we have been able to turn it into an annual event.”

This year, children’s musician and CBC Kids TV star, Will’s Jams will headline the event.  Will Stroet is a Juno-nominated singer-songwriter CBC Kids TV star, educator and dad who creates multilingual music that ignites imagination and motivates movement for the young and young-at-heart. Through witty wordplay and catchy choruses, Will inspires kids to be active, healthy, creative and engaged in the world through educational music in English and French. Will first discovered his talent for writing kids music while completing his education degree at the University of B.C. After releasing his first album in 2005 and playing hundreds of shows around Vancouver, Will knew he had found his calling. In 2009, he took leave from teaching to pursue music full time and has never looked back. Over the years, Will has performed more than 1,800 shows at major festivals, schools and theatres across Canada and in China. He has garnered national recognition for his nine albums in English and French including a 2017 JUNO nomination for his latest album, “Wordplay,” six WCMA nominations, two from the CFMA and two from the Sirius XM Indies. In 2015, UBC’s Faculty of Education honoured Will in their top 100 Alumni awards. In addition to being a devoted dad of two girls, Will is passionate about his work as an artist, educator and board member with ArtStarts in Schools, which supports art and creativity amongst BC’s young people.

Catchy and kinetic, Will’s Jams is a power trio who performs high-energy songs in English and French with fun actions and sing-along choruses. Kids and their parents will be cheering for libraries, loving their bikes and rallying for vegetables – all while they’re on their feet and dancing away. Will’s educational rock, pop and blues songs, peppered with witty wordplay, ignites imagination and motivates movement for the young and young-at-heart.

Sponsored by the Campbell River Mirror, What’s On Digest and Greig Seafood, the Tidemark Theatre and Campbell River Literacy Association proudly present, Will’s Jams in celebration of Family Literacy Day at the Tidemark Theatre on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 1pm.  Tickets are FREE and can be reserved at the Box Office Tuesday through Friday between 12pm and 4pm starting December 14th, 2018.  First come, first served.  Limit four per family with festival seating.

For the full schedule of free events during Family Literacy Week, be sure to follow the Campbell River Literacy Association on Facebook. For more information about the Tidemark’s Theatre Angels Program or to donate, please visit tidemarktheatre.com or call 287.PINK.