PBS Hawai‘i to host free family events on Big Isle

PBS Hawai‘i is hosting two free public events Friday and Saturday, May 17-18, in Waimea and Kailua-Kona.

A Family Night is planned for 5:30-6:30 p.m. Friday at Thelma Parker Memorial Library in Waimea. The evening will include a treasure hunt activity throughout the library.

A another family event is planned for 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kailua-Kona Public Library, during which PBS Hawai‘i will host a storytime with children’s librarian Jennifer Young and a craft-making activity.

During both events, participants will have the opportunity to be filmed, sharing their favorite book on camera as part of PBS Hawai’i’s Get Caught Reading program. Participating children at both events also will receive a special goodie bag.

Get Caught Reading is a statewide multimedia initiative to share the love of reading with the local community. The program’s purpose is to create opportunities for individuals new to reading to discover its joy, for avid readers to celebrate their love of reading and to create excitement to grow the next generation of readers.

Videos can be found online at pbshawaii.org and on the PBS Hawai‘i broadcast station. Videos include such community members as designer Kuha‘o Zane and University of Hawaiiʻs men’s basketball head coach Eran Ganot reading book passages that have deep meaning to them, while others showcase keiki sharing their excitement about their favorite stories. Individuals also were asked to share their encounters of getting caught reading through social media.

“Research tells us that reading books is both recreation and creation,” said Leslie Wilcox, PBS Hawaiʻi president and CEO. “It relaxes you at the same time it powers your imagination and focus, which boosts your creativity. We are proud to work with our valued community partners to help you ‘Get Caught Reading.’”

To learn more about Get Caught Reading or about PBS Hawai‘i, visit pbshawaii.org.