The British Columbia Library Association (BCLA) is pleased to announce a partnership with Green Thumb Theatre for our mystery-themed 2021 BC Summer Reading Club (BC SRC).

The BC SRC is a free public library literacy program that connects school-aged children and families to their local library and encourages children to discover a love of reading. The BC SRC reaches more than 173,000* children and their families. This past summer, in the wake of a global pandemic, the BC SRC launched a brand-new online reading tracking app along with a summer’s worth of online activities for children and their families to explore. The program is made possible by generous funding from the BC Ministry of Education and CUPE BC. The BC SRC welcomes the participation of all children and their families and seeks to provide an accessible and fully inclusive program. All children are invited to join the BC SRC by visiting their local library.

Founded in 1975, Green Thumb Theatre is a force within the field of theatre for young audiences, not only in British Columbia, but across the country and throughout the world. Green Thumb Theatre creates and produces plays that explore social issues relevant to the lives of children, youth, and young adults — touring theatre that celebrates the language and stories of today’s generation to stimulate empathy, debate and critical thinking. In their 45 year history, Green Thumb has commissioned over 50 new plays for young audiences and has toured to every province and two territories in Canada, 36 US States, and 11 countries overseas.

“Green Thumb Theatre is thrilled to be partnering with BC Summer Reading Club. This is a unique opportunity for young people across the province to let their imaginations run wild and explore reading, writing, and visual arts through theatre,” said Patrick McDonald, Green Thumb Theatre’s Artistic Director. “We are excited to announce more details about the project soon.”

Chris Middlemass, BCLA President, expressed similar excitement for this upcoming partnership: “This is an important opportunity for the BC Summer Reading Club to partner with the Green Thumb Theatre. Together we will deliver unique and interactive programming for kids across the province. It’s a privilege to be part of such innovative programming.”
BCLA and Green Thumb Theatre look forward to supporting the BC Summer Reading Club over the summer of 2021 and more details to come.

For questions to BCLA, please contact Annette DeFaveri, Executive Director of the BC Library Association at [email protected].

For more information about Green Thumb Theatre please visit their website and if you have any questions, please contact Georgia Beaty, Education and Outreach Coordinator at [email protected].

* = statistics from 2019