YAC and LOU Reads Join Together for “Wizard of Oz Walk” in November

By Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com

LOU community members will soon be able to travel down the yellow brick road and into the green world of the Wizard of Oz with The Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and LOU Read’s “Wizard of Oz Walk” Monday, Nov. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Avent Park.

LOU Reads organizations will each design their own activity for the event, according to Meghan Gallagher, YAC’s education and outreach coordinator. For example, the Center for Science and Mathematics Education provided an activity for children at the Harry Potter Walk two years ago that related to math and science.

More than 10 different LOU organizations will facilitate this year’s walk with activities relating to literacy, math and wellness.

Photo via Facebook.

“The coalition asks kids to use their critical thinking skills to imagine new adventures for Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion and to insert themselves into the fun,” Gallagher said.

During the event, organizations such as the University Museum and Oxford Park Commission have planned activities that adhere to each of the respective organization’s missions, Gallagher said.

“Reading isn’t just looking at words on a page—it’s speaking, using vocabulary, listening, and comprehension,” she said.

Gallagher said that society sometimes believes activities, such as reading, math and science, are believed to only exist in an education setting; however, she said literacy and learning happen outside of school time, as well.

“Families can read, act out or make a game of any book,” she said. “It’s not only fun, but it also helps us grow greater readers.”

For more information on this year’s “Wizard of Oz Walk,’ visit the YAC’s event page.