Menu
Select your Location:
Select your Location:
There are always new things happening at The Word On The Street, and this is best place to find out what! All of our most recent press releases are automatically uploaded here, and give you a full idea of what we’re working on. You can also read through our press releases from previous years to find out what we’ve improved.
May 24, 2017
Bite-size book experience touts Sept 16 The Word on The Street festival
May 24, 2017 – Pick up free books or drop off your extras at one of 3 Little Free Libraries built in Downtown Halifax recently, courtesy of The Word on the Street. New signs on the libraries now feature the Book and Magazine Festival date: Saturday, Sept 16, 2017, 10 am -4 pm at the Halifax Central Library, with upwards of 10,000 people expected.
Downtown Halifax’s Gritty to Pretty Grant funded the little library venture. Volunteers built and installed them to add a pick-me-up to their locations. Each one is designed to reflect its neighborhood theme: At the back corner of the Maritime Museum near the playground, one mimics a sea shanty. Another at Scotia Square consists of filing cabinets painted with a Halifax Harbour Bridge. The third is a little house at 1343 Barrington St., a Paramount Management property.
“The festival promotes all forms of literacy and little libraries bring books to where you live and work all year round,” says Lesley Dunn, Chair of Halifax’s The Word on The Street. “It’s been a truly beneficial partnership with Downtown Halifax Business Commission and the property owners who’ve allowed the libraries in their space.”
“Little Free Libraries is a great initiative that has really taken off recently,” said Paul MacKinnon, Executive Director of Downtown Halifax Business Commission. “These small libraries make a positive impact on the pedestrian experience. Passersby can pick out a free book to read while enjoying the sun in Grand Parade or on the Waterfront. What better way to experience Downtown Halifax on a beautiful day?”
“They’re well used,” adds Rose Poirier, Word on the Street Board Member, who spearheaded the project. “Little libraries give you a bite-sized experience while going to a large, regular library gives you the full meal deal. I’ve overheard people walking by say, ‘Do you have one of these in your neighborhood? I wish we had one in ours.’”
Library builders were Jim and Dave McDonald and Adrian LeClaire, as well as Halifax Makerspace, a community group of people who enjoy making things with skills from carpentry to 3D-printing.
Mattatall Signs completed the signage.
https://www.facebook.com/TheWordOnTheStreetHalifax/
http://twitter.com/@WOTSHalifax
https://downtownhalifax.ca/grittytopretty
http://twitter.com/@ScotiaSquare
https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca
FOR BROADCAST USE:
Pick up a free book or drop off extras at one of three Little Free Libraries in Downtown Halifax. They’re courtesy of Downtown Halifax’s Gritty to Pretty Grant and The Word on the Street Book and
Magazine Festival, set for Sept 16th. You’ll find them in front of Scotia Square, at the back corner of the Maritime Museum, and at 1343 Barrington Street, a Paramount Property.
Festival Chair Lesley Dunn says it’s a way to promote literacy by bringing books to where you work and live. Downtown Halifax Business Commission Executive Director Paul MacKinnon notes that “Little Free Libraries is a great initiative that has really taken off recently.”
Board Member Rose Poirier adds that it’s a bite-sized library experience.
Learn more about The Word on the Street Halifax on Facebook and Twitter.
Media Contacts:
The Word On The Street – Halifax:
Lesley Dunn, Chair
902-478-5245
Downtown Halifax Business Commission:
Ivy Ho, Director of Communications
902-428-5433
Download PDF