The North Bay Festival of Trees on April 29 and the Parry Sound Festival of Trees on April 30 gave me two fun days of connecting with keen readers, their teachers and librarians from the Near North District School Board. Eleven authors in total made the trek north for the celebration, with lots of laughter, great workshops and chances to talk to the readers we wrote our books for.

The organizers, Karen Upper and her tremendous team, did a super job of keeping the kids reading leading up to the events, and they made our two days so much fun! These were my first ever Festival of Trees celebrations, and I’m still in awe of the enthusiasm from the kids. Having worked hard to get there by reading at least five books, they were all winners and tremendously proud of their achievements!

Festivals in Thunder Bay, London and Ottawa are keeping the excitement going. This week I’m off to related Forest of Reading celebrations in Uxbridge and Ajax, and the Toronto Festival of Trees at Harbourfront. Can’t wait!