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Wednesday, May 28, 2025
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Warren paints the town REaD By SHARON BONTHUYS There was only one colour in Warren last week as the community, schools, the council and local businesses joined together to support the biennial “Paint The Town REaD” literacy initiative. The event, coordinated by the good folk at the Warren Shire Library and celebrated every second year in Warren, encourages the whole community to read, talk, sing and rhyme with children from birth. “The idea is about getting people, not just kids, but everybody to read more,” explained Library Manager Erica Kearns. “It’s part of a national program,” she added. The Warren Library team makes “participation packs” for local businesses, delivers them, and then it’s up to the businesses to decide how they display the balloons, crepe paper and more onsite. “We ask them to wear red for the day, too,” Erica added. With another nationwide event, the National Simultaneous Storytime taking place on Wednesday, May 21, and this being the 25th anniversary of that special activity, the two events were combined this year, Erica said. The local sports centre became a makeshift reading room as Warren Shire Mayor, Cr Greg Whiteley, suitably attired in red for the event, read aloud the selected book for National Simultaneous Storytime - “The Truck Cat” by Deborah Frenkel and Danny Snell - to the 192 people of all ages who had gathered from local schools and
the community. “He did an amazing job, and the kids were really great,” Erica added. Local teacher Lisa White helped the young ones with the warm up and singing, and the library team distributed custom-made “Paint The Town REaD” caps to those gathered. “Every person who came through the door got one of those fantastic caps, so you’ll probably see a few of those float through the town at the moment,” Erica said. “And then to celebrate the 25th anniversary of National Simultaneous Storytime, everybody got a cupcake each as well.” The vanilla cupcakes with red icing, made by local Linda Fitzgerald, were a hit with attendees. Cr Whiteley mentioned his special reading gig the following day when the Warren Shire Council met for the May Ordinary Council Meeting on May 22. He encouraged other councillors to step up and boldly go where few others have gone before and volunteer for future National Simultaneous Storytime events. Erica said events like these were so important for community development. “It’s moreso now with literacy levels as low as they are across Australia,” she said. The Warren Library has something for everyone, from books, magazine, audio materials, picture books, games and more. The team would love to see more local people walking through their doors and discovering the delightful realm of reading.
Greg Whiteley, Mayor of Warren Shire Council, and Erica Kearnes, Library Manager, before the fun of National Simultaneous Storytime begins. Photos: Warren Shire Library.
Erica Kearnes, Library Manager, Greg Whiteley, Mayor of Warren Shire Council, and Julie Whiteley.
An appreciative audience.